Grant geography: Denmark

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2023

Geography: Denmark

Hans Wandall’s project aims to investigate the potential role of sugar molecules (glycans) in inflammatory skin diseases.

Several skin diseases, including atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, and psoriasis, are caused by a cascade of inflammatory events localized to the epidermis and the dermis.

Based on substantial preliminary findings showing dysregulation of glycosylation (sugarcoating) of the cells in the skin of patients with inflammatory skin diseases, Hans Wandall and his team hypothesize that carbohydrate receptors on immune cells recognize inflammation-induced glycan changes and induce a vicious cycle that aggravates inflammatory skin diseases in susceptible individuals.

They will investigate this through a three-pronged approach: 1) characterize the glycosylation patterns of skin samples obtained from patients diagnosed with contact dermatitis, psoriasis, and atopic dermatitis, and also analyze glycosylation patterns on human keratinocytes and fibroblasts from skin-inflammation models based on human 3D organ-like skin systems with exogenous cytokines and inflammatory cells and samples from murine models of inflammatory skin diseases. 2) Next, they will co-culture immune cells with keratinocytes ablated for select glycosylation pathways to define the functional role these in relation to glycan changes, and finally, 3) analyze the importance of key immune receptors sensing the glycan changes.

Through the investigations, the project will systematically evaluate the role of glycans in inflammatory skin diseases with a promise to provide new targets for interventions.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2023

Geography: Denmark

“Danske Stjerner” (translated to Danish stars) is a series of children’s books about important Danish scientists. The series is for kids of aged 4-8 years. The books’ stories are illustrated, and their tales begin  when the scientists are the same age as their young readers. They then follow the scientists into adulthood, exploring their lives and discoveries. The aim of the series is to increase children’s interest for science, and to inspire them through role models. So far, the series consists of eight published books, illustrating the lives of, amongst others, physicist Niels Bohr, seismologist Inge Lehmann, and astronaut Andreas Mogensen.

The grant is for DKK 380,000 and supports the publishing of four additional books to the series, including one about Morten Peter Meldal, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2022 for the development of “click chemistry”, and one about Elise Sørensen, creator of the colostomy bag, which today is used globally.

Visit The Children’s Book Publisher’s webpage

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2023

Geography: Denmark

The Biology Olympiad (Biologiolympiaden) is an initiative which encourages education within biology and biotechnology. The Biology Olympiad is a Danish, nation-wide, online competition for high school students, where the 30 best students progress to the semi-final as well as a talent program – established in partnership with the University of Copenhagen (KU), Aarhus University (AU), University of Southern Denmark (SDU), and Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The talent program, which combines both theory and laboratory exercises, follows the young participants through a series of exercises within cell biology, biochemistry, physiology, ecology, genetics, and evolution. 15 students then progress to the final, and four national winners invited to participate in the international final with participants from 78 countries.

The grant for DKK 100,000 supports introductory exercises and training sessions, as well as travel andfor the four Danish winners invited to compete internationally in 2023. The international final will take place in the United Arab Emirates.

Visit the Biology Olympiad’s webpage

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2023

Geography: Denmark

High5Girls is a non-profit organization which works to inspire young women (ages 13-19) to take an education within the STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Through camps, workshops, and hackathons, the aim is to strengthen women’s opportunities to create, think innovatively, and turn ideas into reality.

All events are free, and the focus is on solving real challenges. Mentors and role models are also women working within STEM, both from the academic world but also from within the industry.

The grant of DKK 259,884 is to help fund three STEM camps as well as three events for young women and their mothers. The project will create a safe space, where young women can learn about STEM, experiment, and learn through both successes and failures. The goal is also to strengthen the young participants’ self-esteems as well as belief in their own capabilities. Focus is placed on finding solutions for societal challenges through technology and science. Close collaboration with role models throughout hopes to provide inspiration for the young participants to choose an educational or career path within the STEM area.

Visit High5Girls webpage

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2023

Geography: Denmark

Maria Jarjis is an influencer who goes by the name “Videnskabsmaria”, and has for the last six years run the YouTube channel “WTF is that?” (“WTF er det?”). Using engaging cases, Maria Jarjis fosters an awareness through her channel for the world of sciences, and she specifically targets a youthful demographic of viewers between the ages of 14-24 years – who can be challenging to reach through more the traditional media. The YouTube channel “WTF is that?” has 63,500 followers, and altogether, Maria Jarjis’ videos have been viewed over 22 million times.

The LEO Foundation’s grant of DKK 243,000 supports the production of five videos with a focus on skin and skin diseases. In the videos, Maria Jarjis will interview researchers and other experts. The videos will be released on the YouTube channel “WTF is that?” throughout 2023 and be publicly accessible to young viewers, as well as to anyone else with an interest within the area.

Visit the YouTube channel “WTF is that?”

Grant category: Standalone grants

Year: 2023

Geography: Denmark

The Costerton Biofilm Center (CBC) at Department of Immunology and Microbiology (ISIM), University of Copenhagen, is a world-leading interdisciplinary research center dedicated to exploring chronic infections caused by bacteria, including skin infections. The center runs two infrastructure facilities which are open to external users from basic, clinical, and industrial research. 

There is an urgent need in the center’s Biofilm Test Facility to replace an outdated confocal laser scanning microscope which can no longer be serviced. The grant from the LEO Foundation therefore hopes to provide this upgrade, the microscope a critical tool in the CBC’s pioneering work on understanding how the ability of bacteria to form biofilm is key to addressing antimicrobial resistance and developing novel antibacterial treatments.  

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: Denmark

Nils Færgeman’s proposal investigates the role of acyl-CoA binding protein (ACBP) in regulating dermal white adipose tissue function in the skin.

Dermal white adipose tissue (dWAT) is a distinct type of fat depot located under the reticular dermis (the deepest layer of the dermis) and comprises a special layer of the skin. Compared to other well-defined fat depots, dWAT shows a very high degree of plasticity, and can rapidly and locally expand and reduce its volume in response to various stimuli.

Via lipolysis (an enzymatic process that releases free fatty acids from triglycerides in fat depots) dermal white adipocytes (fat cells) release fatty acids into the extracellular space, which for example can regulate production of extracellular matrix in dermal fibroblasts and differentiation of keratinocytes.

Recently, Nils and colleagues have demonstrated that acyl-CoA binding protein plays a fundamental role in lipid metabolism in the skin and is indispensable for its barrier function. Given that ACBP is required for differentiation of white adipocytes and given its high expression in the skin, the hypothesis behind this project is that ACBP plays a critical role in dermal adipose tissue by serving as a key regulator and driver of intracellular fatty acid metabolism.

The group will use state-of-the-art lipidomics (global analyses of lipid composition and abundance) and genomics technologies and a series of novel mouse models, to clarify the role of ACBP in dWAT functions in the skin and to define the role of dWAT in systemic energy metabolism.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: Denmark

This project led by Lotte K. Vogel aims to elucidate the role of the protease matriptase (an enzyme that cleaves proteins) in a variant of Ichthyosis, a common skin disease that causes “fish-scale” like skin with poor treatment options.

The molecular mechanisms behind ichthyosis are not understood, but variations in several genes may cause ichthyosis. Variants of the ST14 gene, which encodes the serine protease matriptase, lead to a type of ichthyosis called Autosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis 11 (ARCI11). The prevalence of ARCI11 is elusive at present.

Lotte and her team’s preliminary data show that ARCI11-related matriptase variants are unable to activate a certain substrate (a protease on its own), suggesting that ARCI11 is caused by a lack of activation of this protease. Results from the group also suggest that inactivation of a certain enzyme cascade leads to Ichthyosis. Surprisingly, for several enzymes in this cascade both the zymogen form and the activated form of the enzyme exhibit proteolytic activity.

In this project, Lotte aims to investigate the importance of matriptase in ARCI11 through a three-pronged approach: (1) by elucidating whether a protease located downstream of matriptase in the same pathway can be activated by an appropriate soluble enzyme which is suitable for topical application to the skin. (2) by elucidating whether ARCI11 is caused by a difference in substrate preferences between the zymogen form and the activated form of these enzymes and (3) by systematically screening for genetic variants of matriptase causing ARCI11 and estimating their frequency in the population. The genetic material to do a more systematic search for ARCI11-causing variants of matriptase and estimate their frequency Is already available.

If successful, Lotte’s project will make a solid and original contribution to the understanding of ichthyosis that may lead to improved treatment options.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2022

Geography: Denmark

Gregers Andersen’s project aims to understand the role of disease-related mutations of a central inflammation-regulating protein on immune cells in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a severe autoimmune disease in which our immune system is erroneously activated. This leads to inflammation that may destroy tissue, such as the kidney. SLE often manifests itself with visible skin rashes that are difficult to treat and debilitating for the patient. Current options for treatment of SLE are insufficient and still rely heavily on steroids as the mainstay of treatment.

Both environmental and genetic factors contribute to SLE pathogenesis. The strongest association between SLE and the information encoded in our genetic material is observed for a specific mutation in a gene called ITGAM. This gene codes for a protein called αMβ2 located at the surface of our immune cells. When the αMβ2 protein recognizes specific proteins on other cells, the immune cell contributes to dampening inflammation. When the ITGAM gene is mutated, the immune cells are less efficient in suppressing inflammation.

Using the most powerful microscope available, Gregers’ research project will investigate in atomic detail how the mutation interferes with the normal function of the αMβ2 protein. Furthermore, the effects of a new antibody capable of increasing the activity of αMβ2 will be exhaustively investigated. Experiments comparing the effects of this antibody on immune cells from healthy and SLE individuals will be central in deciding whether the antibody is a candidate for a new type of therapeutic agent.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2022

Geography: Denmark

The Bloom Festival is celebrated annually and places a focus on acknowledging the wonders of nature and science – the festival is held each year in Søndermarken on Frederiksberg. The festival has existed since 2017, with the LEO Foundation offering funding support since 2019.  

The festival is organized by ADBC, which has success in running other alike initiatives, such as the annual Golden Days festival. The annual Bloom Festival is a contribution to strengthening the landscape of STEM-initiatives in Denmark, and functions as an innovative event which aims to enlighten us on the universe, the world, and ourselves. 

By uniting the best from the worlds of festivals and science, Bloom aims to tackle Life’s greatest questions through debates, talks, laboratories, conversations, and nature walks. 

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