Explore our grantees and awardees

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Biotech Academy Camp is a free, annual event organized by Biotech Academy – a non-profit organization run by ambitious students from Danish universities. This project supports three Biotech Academy Camps for 30 high school students from all over Denmark. The camps combine theory and lab work at Technical University of Denmark and expose students to opportunities within commercial R&D through company visits. They are run by master’s and bachelor students from the Technical University of Denmark and the University of Copenhagen. The topic changes every year, but in 2025 the theme will be genetic modification. The camp will focus on how genetic modification can be used to address societal challenges, develop and improve cell factories in industrial contexts, and open up discussions about research ethics.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Matematikcenter offers free math support to children and young people in Denmark through local math cafés, the digital platform Webmatematik.dk, and the online math café Webmatlive.dk.

Through its initiatives, Matematikcenter breaks down barriers in mathematics, strengthens students’ skills, helps them succeed in math, and demonstrates how mathematics is an essential part of both education and the job market.

By engaging volunteer role models, Matematikcenter creates a safe learning environment where students can receive support at their level – regardless of where they are.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

With the album Mininaut Musik, complex scientific topics are transformed into catchy, educational songs for children aged 3–6.

The album includes 8 original songs on topics such as poop, plastic, skin, and plants, giving children extraordinary knowledge about subjects in their immediate world.

Behind the album is Radionauterne, who for over 8 years have created engaging and innovative science communication for children aged 3–10. The project Mininaut Musik stems from Radionauterne’s popular podcast for 3–6-year-olds, Mininaut. The idea is to link the original songs directly to selected podcast episodes – both existing and future ones – thereby creating an extra dimension to an already successful science communication project.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

“Denmark in the Future Global AI Society” is an ambitious documentary TV series for DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) that, in an entertaining format, aims to engage Danes in a debate about artificial intelligence (AI) and the societal changes that come with it.

Across six episodes, the series will follow a number of leading Danish AI researchers who, in a time of transition, are confronted with ethical, political, and existential questions surrounding the technological shift. In the international race for new AI technologies – led by the USA and China – the researchers are pursuing groundbreaking methods and unique data to develop AI solutions that not only make Denmark competitive but also protect its citizens and democracy.

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

The Nobel Laureates is an ambitious podcast series in 125 episodes that tells the story of modern science through the most groundbreaking discoveries and the people behind them.

The series takes the listener on a journey through 125 years of Nobel Prize winners and culminates in the anniversary in December 2026, leading up to the award ceremony in December 2027. Each episode portrays one Nobel Prize laureate in chemistry, physics, or medicine and conveys not only the scientific breakthrough but also the personal story and the societal impact the individual has had.

With its captivating format and engaging content, the series builds on the success of the podcast Periodisk and combines fascinating storytelling with academic precision. To make the world’s greatest scientists and their discoveries accessible, understandable, and inspiring for a broad audience of knowledge-interested Danes, they employ techniques such as scenic storytelling, rich sound design, and narrative dramaturgy.

Grant category: LEO Foundation Visiting Researchers

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Patients with skin and joint disease often do not respond well to therapy, particularly if they suffer from calcium stones associated with conditions like scleroderma and psoriatic arthritis. Associate Professor Mette Mogensen will go on a three-month research stay at Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, UK, famous for its valuable research in medical imaging. Subsequently, she will travel to Lund University’s Clinical Center for Spectral and Acoustic Imaging, well-known for exceptional molecular imaging of blood vessels. During these stays, she will gain unique clinical experience in dermato-rheumatology and novel experimental imaging technologies. Through advanced scans of skin and joints, it is possible to observe how severe inflammation leads to formation of new blood vessels and development of hard, painful calcium stones in skin and joints. According to our on-going research, the key to understanding these disease mechanisms lies in mastering innovative scanning methods.

Grant category: LEO Foundation Visiting Researchers

Year: 2025

Geography: Denmark

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a painful, long-lasting skin condition that is hard to diagnose and treat. Patients experience a cycle of blocked hair follicles that eventually burst, leading to repeated inflammation and damage. This ongoing injury alters the skin’s structure, creating large permanent scars in intimate areas. Max Sauerland’s research project studies proteins in skin and blood from over 150 HS patients using an innovative biochemical method that extracts data on thousands of proteins from very small samples. By analyzing how these proteins break down, Max and his colleagues aim to find unique markers that help doctors diagnose HS quickly and choose the best treatment. Computer algorithms will sort patients by their protein “fingerprints,” paving the way for personalized care. Ultimately, their work could lead to a fast, simple test not only for HS but also for other similar or rare skin conditions.

The research visit takes place at Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Germany.

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.

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 20^th. 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

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.