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.
Research Stay at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, USA
Grantee: Beatrice Dyring-Andersen
Amount: DKK 1,157,196
Grant category: Research Networking
Year: 2023
Geography: Denmark
The main purpose of the research stay is to gain hands-on experience on two state-of-the-art technologies, namely spatial transcriptomics, which enables the investigation of gene expression across a tissue and CRISPR technology, which is an advanced method to edit genes within cells to investigate the function of specific genes in health and disease or to modulate cell functionality. These technical skills will be developed as part of two primary research projects to be conducted during the research stay.