SkinmetaP – a platform to decode the functional landscape of human skin
Grantee: David Gomez Varela, Senior Scientist/Director of a Research Center, University of Vienna, Austria
Amount: DKK 3,244,717
Grant category: Research Grants
Year: 2026
Geography: Austria
Skin plays a major role in our well-being. Its role depends on a balanced molecular “conversation” between skin cells and the microorganisms living on its surface – the skin microbiome. When this balance is lost, diseases can develop.
Skin microbiome research has relied on DNA-based methods that reveal which microbes are present, but not what they are doing or how human cells respond. This limits progress toward precision dermatology, because the role of skin microbes in health depends less on who they are than on what they are doing – their function.
This project will develop a new technology, skinmetaP, to decode this functional conversation. We will measure thousands of human and microbial skin proteins from a simple, non-invasive swab.
SkinmetaP will allow us to create the first functional map of human skin in health and disease, revealing mechanisms that drive inflammation and treatment response – an important step toward better therapies and more personalized dermatological care.