Increased scientific collaboration and networking on skin immunology and allergies in skin of color
Grantee: Charlotte Bonefeld, Associate Professor, University of Copenhagen, SIC
Amount: DKK 394,170
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2025
Geography: Denmark
Contact Dermatitis (CD) are common skin diseases caused by exposure of the skin to chemicals. While widely studied in Europe, CD is often overlooked in Sub-Saharan African countries. To improve prevention and treatment globally, we need better understanding of how CD appears in different skin types and regions. The European Society of Contact Dermatitis (ESCD) will host its 2026 congress in Copenhagen from June 24–27. A pre-symposium titled “Novel Understanding of Skin Allergies” will highlight recent advances in skin immunology and increase the focus on the immune responses that leads to CD worldwide. Moreover, the main program at the ESCD congress will include the workshop ‘Patch Tests on Skin of Color’ and a focus session on ’Eczema in Sub-Saharan Africa’. The Research Networking Grant will cover expenses to the pre-symposium and 10 travel grants to researchers from Sub-Saharan African countries. For more details, visit the event website.
Epidermolytic Ichthyosis Global Symposium
Grantee: Helen Lill, CH, Head of Research on behalf of the Symposium
Amount: DKK 158,000
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2025
Geography: Switzerland
The EI Cure Project and EI Cure Project Research Alliance will host a 2-day symposium dedicated entirely to rare genetic skin disease Epidermolytic Ichthyosis. The symposium will be held at the Zurich Careum, Switzerland from March 19th to 20th. The full-day presentations, for interested individuals and coming researchers, include the following themes:
- Patient and Parent Perspectives
- Clinical Classifications and Current Care
- Proteomics and Drug-Repurposing
- Gene-Editing Research Updates
The 18th International Workshop on Langerhans Cells #LC2025
Grantee: Eynav Klechevsky, Associate Professor, Washington University in St. Louis on behalf of the Workshop
Amount: DKK 499,812
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2025
Geography: USA
The 18th International Workshop of Langerhans Cells and Related Myeloid Cells in the Skin will take place on September 3–5, 2025, at Washington University in St. Louis. This global scientific meeting brings together researchers to explore the biology and interaction of immune cells in the skin – how they protect us, how they contribute to diseases like eczema, psoriasis, and skin cancer, and how they can be targeted for new treatments. The workshop fosters discovery, collaboration, and innovation in skin science, with talks by leading scientists, and early-career researchers, males and females from around the world. Read more information here.
72nd Annual Montagna Symposium on the Biology of Skin: Mechanistic Insights into Emerging Therapeutic Platforms
Grantee: Sancy Leachman, Professor, Oregon Health & Science University, US on behalf of Montagna Symposium on the Biology of the Skin (MSBS)
Amount: DKK 221,290
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2025
Geography: USA
The 72nd Annual Montagna Symposium will be held October 16th-20th on the Oregon Coast. The symposium will focus on emerging paradigms in personalized medicine.
Population studies have raised questions about why individuals do not respond to established therapies. Patients are individuals with personalized social, behavioral, and genetic determinants, but knowledge gaps exist regarding how these determinants influence diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous diseases. The goal is to highlight emerging avenues of investigation and streamline their incorporation into clinical medicine.
This event is designed for senior and junior level leaders in the field: scientists, dermatology clinicians, clinical, translational and basic science researchers, and trainees. The format includes lectures, discussions, and many networking opportunities which enable interaction between new and established scientists and dermatologists. Visit the website for the program and registration.
ESDR Future Leaders Academy 2025
Grantee: Thomas Florestan, European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR)
Amount: EUR 25,000
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2025
Geography: Switzerland
ESDR Future Leaders Academy, a 3-day event from 6.-8. November 2025 held in Nice with the theme ’Excellence in skin science, future is ours’. The goal of this initiative is to foster excellence in academic dermatology and encourage gifted young dermatologists to further pursue their careers through guidance and mentoring. The program is primarily open to European residents currently engaged in skin-related research (MD, PhD, Post-Doc). There will be 25 applicants who will be selected to present their current research, along with 7 mentors who will make a more personal and inspiring presentation. Besides scientific sessions there is a strong emphasis on encouraging young people to network and to exchange ideas during the academy.
SID Resident and Post Doc Retreat
Grantee: Rebecca Minnillo, Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID)
Amount: EUR 25,000
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2025
Geography: USA
The Resident and Post Doc Retreat is a conference hosted by the Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID) each year since 2001. The program format provides a protected space in which residents can interact with senior faculty and established investigators for the purpose of fostering attendees’ interest in academic research careers. The program is a combination of formal lectures and presentations, informal discussions, brainstorming sessions and social activities. The retreat is held at the time of the SID annual meeting, which allows attendees to establish connections with each other, and to other meeting attendees. These social networks foster collegiality, collaborations, and appreciation for the creative, multidisciplinary nature of science and other productive interactions.
The 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Barrier Function of Mammalian Skin
Grantee: Associate Professor Pankaj Karande, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, US on behalf of Gordon Research Conferences, US
Amount: DKK 495,729
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2024
Geography: USA
The skin barrier is the first defense against the external environment, and barrier disruption plays a key role in skin and systemic diseases that impact millions of people. The main purpose of the GRC Barrier Function of Mammalian Skin conference is to bring together young investigators and prominent leaders to present the latest developments in skin barrier research.
The 2025 conference, Technologies and platforms for understanding, modelling and intervening in skin barrier function and disorders, will bring together researchers, scientists, engineers, and clinicians involved in research related to skin health and disease. Diverse areas of science will be covered, including cell biology and pathology, microbiology, environmental sciences, bioengineering, biophysics, physical chemistry, and drug delivery.
The meeting will be held August 10-15, 2025.
The LEO Foundation has provided support for the previous Gordon Research Conferences.
The 2025 Gordon Research Conference on Epithelial Differentiation and Keratinization (GRC-EDK)
Grantee: Associate Professor Maria Kasper, Karolinska Institutet, SE on behalf of Gordon Research Conferences, USA
Amount: DKK 319,712
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2024
Geography: USA
The Gordon Research Conference on Epithelial Differentiation and Keratinization (GRC-EDK) has been the premier international meeting in skin biology since 1979. The 2025 GRC-EDK meeting is called Epithelial Development, Aging, Disease and Regeneration Across Cells and System and brings together speakers at the forefront of areas including skin immunity, tissue sensing and crosstalk, genomics and epigenomics, aging, regeneration, and novel technologies to drive therapy. The meeting will foster intense interactions at the interphase of these different disciplines and promote discussion to discover synergies and novel therapeutic prospects to advance the field as a whole.
The event will take place May 31-June 1, 2025.
The LEO Foundation has provided support for the three previous Gordon Research Conferences.
JSID Young Investigator Event
Grantee: Akimichi Morita, JSID
Amount: EUR 25,000
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2024
Geography: Japan
To strengthen the interactions between young scientists a collegiality night and a symposium are arranged in conjunction with the 49th annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology (JSID).
The mission of JSID is to advance the position of dermatology in the interdisciplinary world and to enhance the quality of science and research presentations in dermatology for the purposes of maintaining healthy skin and further advancing the treatment of skin diseases.
71st Annual Montagna Symposium: Skin of color Dermatology: The Intersection of Science and Society
Grantee: Oregon Health and Science University
Amount: DKK 170,783
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2024
Geography: USA
The goal of the 71st Annual Montagna Symposium, Skin of Color Dermatology: The Interaction of Science & Society, is to promote practicing clinicians, residents, trainees, basic and translational researchers who are underrepresented in science and medicine, assembling leading scientists and clinicians engaged in research and treatment of diseases that disproportionately affect skin of color to share knowledge and foster collaborations.
The event will take place on 17-21 October 2024 in Washington, USA and aim to enable interaction between new and established scientists and dermatologists who work collectively to advance the field of skin research. The format will include short talks organized in sessions by topic, with time for questions and discussion. Young investigators get the opportunity to interact with experienced researchers and clinicians in their fields both formally and informally throughout the meeting, and the meeting provides participants with a springboard for new research activities or clinical practices.
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