The LEO Foundation Award 2025 – Region Americas
Grantee: Christoph Ellebrecht, Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies, University of Pennsylvania, USA
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2025
Geography: USA
Dr. Christoph Ellebrecht is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Dermatology and the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the University of Pennsylvania.
He received the prestigious LEO Foundation Award 2024 in Region Americas during the SID annual meeting in San Diego. The award recognizes Dr. Christoph Ellebrecht for his scientific contributions to our understanding of T cell biology in the skin and its diseases.
The LEO Foundation Award – worth USD 100,000 – recognizes outstanding young researchers and scientists from around the world whose work represents an extraordinary contribution to skin research and has the potential to pave the way for new and improved treatments for skin diseases.
The LEO Foundation Award 2024 – Region Americas
Grantee: Shruti Naik, Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2024
Geography: USA
Dr. Shruti Naik is Associate Professor at the Ronald O Perelman Department of Dermatology, NYU Langone Health, in the US.
She receives the award in recognition of her exceptional scientific achievements, clear long-term career objectives, and innovative vision for skin research – which delves into the complex interactions between immune cells, surrounding skin cells, and skin-dwelling microbes to understand the origins and progression of skin diseases.
The LEO Foundation Award 2023 – Region Americas
Grantee: Dr. William Damsky, Assistant Professor, Yale University
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2023
Geography: USA
Dr. William Damsky is Assistant Professor at Yale School of Medicine in the US.
He receives the award for his noteworthy contributions to the understanding of inflammatory skin diseases, as he particularly looks to expand our presently incomplete understanding of the cutaneous diseases Sarcoidosis and Granuloma Annulare (GA).
The LEO Foundation Award 2022 – Region Americas
Grantee: Dr. Shadmehr Demehri, Associate Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2022
Geography: USA
Dr. Shawn Demehri is Associate Professor at the Department of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA.
He receives the award for his more than noteworthy contributions to the dermatology field, his truly exciting trajectory within skin research as well as his clinical skills. Dr. Demehri is a brilliant and exceptionally talented physician-scientist who leads a creative and accomplished research team studying the intersection between the immune system and early cancer.
The LEO Foundation Award 2021 – Region Americas
Grantee: Hunter Shain, Assistant Professor, University of California - San Francisco
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2021
Geography: USA
Hunter Shain is Assistant Professor at the University of California in San Francisco, USA.
He receives the award for his excellent and high-impact research in the field of dermatology and for his outstanding vision for research which outlines clear questions and approaches.
The LEO Foundation Award 2020 – Region Americas
Grantee: Dr. Ya-Chieh Hsu
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2020
Geography: USA
Ya-Chieh Hsu is the Alvin and Esta Star Associate Professor at the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
Ya-Chieh Hsu receives the award in recognition of her research achievements in studying cell-cell interactions and how systemic changes in the body influence these interactions in the skin.
The LEO Foundation Award 2019 – Region Americas
Grantee: Maksim Plikus
Amount: USD 100,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2019
Geography: USA
Maksim Plikus is Associate Professor at the Department of Developmental and Cell Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA
He receives 100,000 USD for his research in skin stem cells and regeneration.
The LEO Foundation Award 2018 – Silver Award
Grantee: Dr. Tiffany Scharschmidt
Amount: DKK 500,000
Grant category: LEO Foundation Awards
Year: 2018
Geography: USA
The Silver Award went to Dr. Tiffany Scharschmidt from University of California San Francisco, USA, for her work on the skin microbiome and its interplay with the adaptie immune system.
Have a sneak peek into her research Video about Dr. Tiffany Scharschmidt