Explore our grantees and awardees

Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2021

Geography: Denmark

Bloom is an innovative festival about science and nature, which enlighten us on the universe, the World, and ourselves.

It takes place in the lush Søndermarken in the heart of Copenhagen, Denmark, where some of the World’s greatest scientists, poets and philosophers have found inspiration through history.

In recent years, Bloom has extended to become a year-round platform for science communication, which includes, e.g., the digital magazine Bloom Explore with videos, podcasts and essays, Summer Bloom at Geopark Odsherred, Bloom School targeted at 7^th – 9^th grade students, and a coming book series from Gyldendal.

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

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Grant category: Education and Awareness Grants

Year: 2021

Geography: Denmark

Big Bang is Denmark’s largest conference for teachers, teacher students, didactics, and researchers involved in natural science education. The purpose of Big Bang is to strengthen participants’ network, cooperation, and knowledge sharing.

The conference is held annually and gathers more than 1,000 people for two inspiring days with relevant keynote speakers, a humming exhibition atmosphere, interactive workshops, and novel ideas for the continued renewal and improvement of the Danish natural science education.

As good teachers are essential in developing children’s interest, knowledge, and skills within the natural sciences, Big Bang may in the long run incite more youngsters to choose an education and career within this important field.

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Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2021

Geography: Denmark

The research project by Professor Christian Olsen pursues a cutting-edge strategy for the treatment of skin infections.

Staphylococcal bacteria are the most common cause of skin and soft tissue infections, and with the rise of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), this new strategy could – if successful – help prevent minor infections from becoming severe medical conditions. Furthermore, the strategy could minimize the risk of emerging antibiotic resistance.

Bacteria produce and release molecules known as ‘virulence factors’ which cause damage. The production of these harmful molecules is regulated through a form of cell-to-cell communication called ‘quorum sensing’, where the concentration of virulence factors increases as a function of cell density. The present project aims to weaken the severity of bacterial skin infections by inhibiting ‘quorum sensing’ with synthetic auto-inducing peptide (AIP) analogs, and as a result, decrease the excretion of virulence factors.

‘Quorum sensing’ inhibition will target the severity of the bacterial infection, rather than the viability of the individual bacterium and represents an alternative to antibiotics, as there is no evolutionary pressure on the individual bacterium to develop towards a state that is not affected by these compounds. Therefore, minimal risk of emerging antibiotic resistance is to be expected from this strategy.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2021

Geography: Denmark

This project aims to investigate the potential of using bacteria exchange or “microbiome transplant” as a viable treatment option for acne vulgaris.    

Acne vulgaris remains one of the most prevalent skin conditions worldwide affecting close to 10% of the population and impacting the quality of life of millions of people. Multiple factors contribute to acne, including genetics, excess sebum production, colonization of the skin by Cutibacterium acnes and an inflammatory cascade. Current treatments for acne such as retinoids and antibiotics have varied outcomes and side effects. As antibiotic resistance becomes an increasing concern in clinical practice, there is an unmet need for alternative treatment approaches.   

The team have previously identified a range of bacterial strains, isolated from healthy skin, that can selectively inhibit acne-associated Cutibacterium acnes strains. The current project takes a microbiome transplantation approach to acne treatment, utilizing a pre-existing in-house library of more than 1000 bacterial strains and testing their ability to modulate the skin microbiome and reduce acne symptoms in patients with mild-to-moderate acne.  

This project may pave the way for developing a personalized treatment to a very common skin disease while avoiding the issue of antibiotic resistance. 

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2021

Geography: Denmark

The project aims to better understand the molecular basis of Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS). HS is a debilitating chronic skin disease characterized by the formation of painful nodules and abscesses predominantly in the armpits, groins, and buttocks. With time, the disease may progress resulting in persisting tunnels in the skin and pronounced scarring. While there are many treatment options for HS, successful management often remains difficult and sometimes elusive – which likely reflects the still incompletely understood pathogenesis.  

Simon Francis Thomsen and his team will approach this by doing a large-scale, prospective study where they determine the protein composition of blood from more than 500 HS patients. They will follow the changes during disease progression (identified as Hurley stage I to III) to identify key biomarkers and signaling pathways specific for the disease.  

The study is a unique translational endeavor which brings together clinical dermatologists with basic scientists to explore and characterize the serum proteome of patients with HS through analysis of blood serum samples obtained at the Department of Dermatology, Bispebjerg Hospital.  

Grant category: Standalone grants

Year: 2021

Geography: Denmark

A new grant of DKK 15 million will enable the LEO Foundation Center for Cutaneous Drug Delivery (LFCCDD) at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Copenhagen to further strengthen its research on how drug permeation into and through the skin can be enhanced for improved treatment outcome.

The LEO Foundation Center for Cutaneous Drug Delivery was established in 2017 based on a 10-year grant of DKK 40 million from the LEO Foundation. The new DKK 15 million grant adds to the previous grant.

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Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2020

Geography: Denmark

Patients with atopic dermatitis (AD) are often colonized by the bacterial pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus (S. Aureus). S. aureus produces a large variety of toxins that contribute to the severity of AD and expression of these toxins is controlled by a cell-cell communication process called “quorum sensing”.  

Professor Ingmer and her team has previously demonstrated that some bacteria produce signaling molecules, which in S. aureus abolish toxin production through repression of quorum sensing and preliminary analyses indicate that probiotic bacteria also belong to this group. 

Thus, the goal of this project is to deliver results addressing the efficacy of probiotics. The project proposes that probiotic bacteria can reduce S. aureus toxin production and that some of the reported benefits of probiotics in AD may be associated with such activity. 

Professor Ingmer will address this hypothesis in collaboration with Statens Serum Institut, the LEO Foundation Skin Immunology Research Center, UCPH and Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, UCPH. 

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2020

Geography: Denmark

Psoriasis is an inflammatory disease characterized by overproduction of tissue-damaging cytokines by immune cells and keratinocytes. Central cytokines in psoriasis are TNF (tumor necrosis factor) and IL-17 (interleukin 17), which are currently approved therapeutic drug targets. To improve current therapies targeted towards TNF and IL-17, it is important to better understand the biology of the two cytokines in relation to psoriasis.  

The goal of this project is to confirm that two enzymes known as cIAPs (cellular inhibitors of apoptosis proteins) play a central role in psoriasis.  

The two cIAPs are believed to modulate the response of the immune system and of keratinocytes to TNF in order to fine-tune IL-17 production. The project will investigate whether lack of the two cIAPs or their pharmacologic inhibition makes the immune response less pathogenic and reduces the pro-inflammatory nature of keratinocytes during psoriasis.  

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2020

Geography: Denmark

Atopic Dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disease affecting 15% of children and 3-5% of adults. AD is associated with the risk for developing co-morbidities such as other atopic diseases (food allergy, asthma, and rhinitis) and infections. Co-morbidities are believed to occur because of functional changes in the immune system of AD patients, however, it remains unknown how these changes are established. Emerging experimental studies suggest the existence of a skin-gut immune axis, but the role for the gut remains largely unexplored in AD.

The goal of this project is to determine if AD changes the bacterial microbiota composition and function in the gut, alters the intestinal and systemic immune system, and increases the risk for food allergy co-morbidity via oral sensitization. The project hypothesizes that AD drives dysregulated immune responses to the gut microbiota, which in turn changes the immune system giving rise to atopic co-morbidities and risk for infections. In other words, it is envisaged that AD patients become “allergic” to the bacteria present in their intestine – leading to a “persistent allergic reaction” due to continuous presence of bacteria in the intestine.

The project will use a rat model of AD to investigate the hypothesis and perform a human case-control study to support the clinical relevance of the findings. Identification of bacterial drivers of persistent type-2 inflammation could open new avenues for the prevention and treatment of AD and related co-morbidities.

Grant category: Research Grants in open competition

Year: 2020

Geography: Denmark

This project aims to answer key questions related to a recently discovered new class of biomolecules, called circular RNAs. These RNA molecules appear to have an important role in early immune responses and the project aims to functionally characterize them in psoriasis patients and compare the results with data from healthy controls.

To study the RNA molecules, the project uses a combination of traditional molecular biology approaches and high-throughput technologies such as RNA-sequencing and NanoString technology.

In summary, this project aims to shed light on the distribution and functional relevance of circular RNAs within psoriatic plagues as well as in normal skin and potentially open new avenues for better treatment and management of psoriasis.