Grant category: Research Grants

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) are much more likely to develop other environmental (pollen, dust mites) or food allergies, but we do not understand why. Our immune system usually ignores most proteins in contact with the skin, yet some people, have a strong reaction. With this project we aim to determine whether human and microbe enzymes on AD-affected skin can turn harmless proteins into allergens by cutting them or chemically modifying them. We will use lab-grown human skin models and cutting-edge tools to see how bacteria and damaged skin cells alter proteins like those from pollen, dust mites, of peanut and whether these changes make them more likely to trigger allergic reactions. We will also study how these modified proteins are recognised by the immune system. The results could lead to better ways to prevent allergies in people with AD, such as treatments that block harmful enzymes, protect the skin barrier, or train the immune system to tolerate allergens.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Chronic urticaria, also known as chronic hives, is a common skin condition causing itchy rashes and swelling, considerably impacting the quality of life. Although common, the exact cause remains unknown. We will study the proteins involved in chronic urticaria to better understand the underlying disease mechanisms and hopefully find new treatment options. We will use a specialized technique called mass spectrometry to measure the proteins in skin samples from patients with hives and healthy controls. With this approach we can determine which proteins are altered in affected skin, offering new insights into the underlying causes of the condition. Additionally, we will study how immune cells and nerve signals affect the disease by conducting laboratory experiments. By understanding the biology of chronic urticaria better, we hope to contribute to the development of more effective and targeted treatments that could help people suffering from this challenging condition.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Canada

Some rare skin conditions, like Epidermolytic Ichthyosis (EI) and Harlequin Ichthyosis (HI), are caused by changes in certain genes. These diseases can be severe and often have no effective treatments, making life very hard for patients. Gene editing—a powerful new technology—could fix these faulty genes and provide lasting cures, but delivering these tools into the skin and targeting the right cells is a major challenge. This project aims to develop new, skin-applied gene-editing treatments. The goals are to: (1) create ways to correct the gene changes that cause EI and HI, (2) design messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules that work well in skin cells, and (3) make tiny delivery packages, called lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), that carry the tools to skin stem cells. By improving mRNA design and targeting, the approach could lead to long-lasting, possibly permanent treatments for severe genetic skin diseases.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: USA

Psoriasis is a prevalent chronic autoimmune skin disease considered a major global health issue, driven by overactive immune signals, especially those from interleukins IL-17 and IL-23 pathways. Current therapies, mainly injectable antibody drugs, can be highly effective but are costly, requiring medical administration, and remain in patients for weeks, causing long-term safety concerns. Our project aims to create a new class of smaller molecules that work like antibodies but act rapidly and will ultimately be taken orally. Using discoveries from our lab on CDR-H3-mimicking small molecules—structures inspired by the critical binding loops of antibodies—we can precisely block interactions that trigger IL-17 and IL-23 activity. This innovative technology could deliver powerful anti-psoriasis molecules that are easier to dose, more affordable, and potentially safer for long-term care. Success will open the door to a new generation of small-molecule therapies for autoimmune diseases.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: USA

Pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) is a rare and very painful skin disease that causes rapidly enlarging ulcers which can destroy tissue and severely impair quality of life. It is often misdiagnosed because there are no specific tests and its ulcers resemble other chronic wounds, leading to delays, wrong treatments, and prolonged suffering. PG is frequently linked to other serious conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease or arthritis. Current therapies mainly suppress the immune system but are often ineffective, and no approved targeted treatment exists. Our project will apply cutting-edge technologies to study genes, proteins, and single cells in PG skin samples and compare them with other types of ulcers. By defining unique “molecular fingerprints” of PG, we aim to develop the first reliable diagnostic test, uncover disease subtypes, and identify new drug targets. This will allow earlier diagnosis, guide personalized therapy choices, and ultimately transform patient care.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are commonly associated with non-healing and aggravated wounds, since they can colonize and invade host tissues, and many times cause life threatening conditions such as sepsis. Resistance to the available antibiotic therapies has been reported for both bacteria, and serious S. aureus skin infections are noted in both humans and animals. This project will investigate the ability of proteasome-derived defence peptides (PDDPs) – which can be naturally produced by our body – to protect against infection whilst promoting wound healing. It will also analyse the mechanisms by which PDDPs exert their effects. For this, different techniques (in vitro, ex vivo and molecular biology) will be used. For the ex vivo experiments, a wound dressing containing PDDPs will be developed with specific characteristics to allow PDDPs to target the pathogens whilst promoting wound healing.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Switzerland

Treatments for chronic inflammatory skin diseases rely on immunosuppression, which can increase infection risk and can fail to fully control disease. Keratinocytes of the epidermal barrier also actively drive inflammation. A protein family called the Gasdermins may play a key role in mediating release of inflammatory mediators from cells by forming pores in the cell membrane. At very high activity this kills the cell, but at lower activity these pores may allow controlled release of inflammatory signals, shaping communication between skin cells and immune cells.

This project will investigate:

1. How keratinocytes use Gasdermins for signaling without dying.

2. How chemical modifications fine-tune Gasdermin activity.

3. How these processes are altered in chronic inflammatory diseases, such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

By identifying targets and biomarkers, this research could pave the way for new therapeutic avenues of exploration for inflammatory skin diseases.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Austria

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a serious complication of bone marrow transplantation, where donor immune cells attack the patient’s skin and other organs. In its different acute and chronic forms, GVHD can cause painful skin rashes, scarring, and long-term disability. Recent discoveries show that special long-lived immune cells, tissue-resident memory T cells (TRM), survive in the skin and drive this persistent inflammation. Current treatments do not specifically target these cells, which may explain why GVHD often flares up after treatment cessation. Our project will study skin samples from GVHD patients using cutting-edge technologies to uncover how TRM survive, reactivate, and interact with other cells in different GVHD stages. By identifying unique features and weaknesses of these cells, we aim to pave the way for new therapies that more effectively control chronic skin inflammation—improving care for GVHD patients and informing treatment of similar skin diseases.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: United Kingdom

Discoid lupus (DLE) is an autoimmune disease giving rise to disfiguring facial lesions, with limited drug options. DLE lesions contain dense accumulations of B and T lymphocytes, but the reasons they develop, persist and recur is currently unknown. DLE’s systemic counterpart, SLE, affects many organs throughout the body. We can utilise the overlap between these related conditions to ask whether similar mechanisms might operate in both DLE and SLE. In systemic lupus, engagement between co-stimulatory molecules on the T and B cell surface drives B cell survival and produces a co-stimulatory effect. We will investigate whether a similar mechanism operates in lesion-resident B cells to promote lesion persistence and identify the cell surface molecules implicated. We will discover whether specific immune cofactors in the skin prevent cessation of the costimulatory signal. If successful, blocking co-stimulatory signals on B cells from DLE may provide the basis of future drug discovery.

Grant category: Research Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Australia

Buruli ulcer is a neglected tropical skin disease caused by a bacterial infection and widespread across west and central Africa. Prompt diagnosis and correct antibiotic treatment is essential to prevent the serious disability and suffering that can arise with this disease. This project will develop a simple-to-use, rapid and low-cost diagnostic test for Buruli ulcer. This test can be used by health teams working in disadvantaged rural communities across Africa to provide prompt and correct treatment to reduce the suffering caused by this disease.