{"id":10761,"date":"2023-12-20T08:04:05","date_gmt":"2023-12-20T07:04:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leo-foundation.org\/en\/?p=10761"},"modified":"2023-12-20T10:56:07","modified_gmt":"2023-12-20T09:56:07","slug":"new-serendipity-grants-find-first-grantees-to-explore-unexpected-discoveries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leo-foundation.org\/en\/2023\/12\/20\/new-serendipity-grants-find-first-grantees-to-explore-unexpected-discoveries\/","title":{"rendered":"New Serendipity grants find first grantees to explore unexpected discoveries"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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20 December 2023<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four explorers of unexpected ideas – Vasileios Bekiaris, Beate Lichtenberger, S\u00f8ren Degn, and Marta Giacomello – are the first researchers to receive Serendipity grants from the LEO Foundation worth a total of DKK 14 million. The new Serendipity grant instrument is to enable active LEO Foundation grantees and awardees to investigate novel and unexpected ideas or discoveries which have arisen from their skin research.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2023 is the first year that the LEO Foundation awards Serendipity grants seeking to nurture and support current LEO Foundation grantees to pursue novel and unexpected\u2013 or serendipitous \u2013 research ideas and findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea with this grant type is to allow established researchers, regardless of seniority, to remain curious and keep pursuing new research ideas \u2013 even if these fall outside the scope of their original project or the researcher\u2019s recognized expertise area or field of research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHistory has shown us that scientific breakthroughs often originate from researchers following their curiosity in investigating unexpected findings. With our Serendipity grants, we would like to support discoveries that, within the context of the pursued project, can be seen as unsuccessful or outside scope but still might have the potential to generate brand-new insights and knowledge,\u201d<\/em> Anne-Marie Engel, Chief Scientific Officer at the LEO Foundation, explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s four \u2013 and first-ever \u2013 Serendipity grantees are all set to transform unexpected findings into valuable new scientific insights. They receive a total of DKK 14 million to explore their ideas and findings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Celebrating unexpected discoveries \u2013 from psoriasis treatment to cancer tumor suppression<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Associate Professor Vasileios Bekiaris from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU, Denmark), is one grantee to receive a Serendipity grant, awarded DKK 4 million to explore a new research avenue. Initially, his work focused on the potential of a supposedly anti-inflammatory drug to suppress inflammatory skin diseases like psoriasis, targeting a specific molecule in the immune system\u2019s T cells. However, the outcomes defied expectations; rather than mitigating inflammation, the drug intensified it. This unforeseen result, paradoxically, opened a new potential value of the drug in cancer treatment, particularly in tumor immunotherapy, which often works better in the presence of inflammation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vasileios Bekiaris\u2019 findings, supported by data from a mouse skin cancer model developed by his team, suggest that this drug could be instrumental in treating skin cancers such as melanoma while also shedding light on novel mechanisms regulating skin inflammation – hence turning unexpected discovery to strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reflecting on the journey, Bekiaris shares:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn research, we very often discover things amid a project that either don\u2019t fit with our original hypothesis, or they may even contradict it, as in our case. Sometimes these findings stay in a drawer and can cause frustration because they are very interesting but lack funding for further exploration. The Serendipity grant allows us to not only continue our work in areas like skin inflammation but also to explore a new side with significant potential for future discoveries.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From investigating skin cancer to seeking a cure for cutaneous calcinosis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Principal Investigator Beate Lichtenberger from the Medical University of Vienna (Austria) has received a Serendipity grant of DKK 2.8 million to investigate an intriguing and serendipitous discovery in her research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her original research focused on skin cancer, specifically investigating the effects of over-activated Hedgehog signaling in dermal fibroblasts \u2013 the most abundant cell type in connective tissue. Hedgehog signalling in cells has diverse functions in development and tissue homeostasis. Dysregulation of the pathway has been implicated in several developmental syndromes and cancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This research \u2013 to the researcher\u2019s surprise \u2013 led to development of papilloma-like structures, which, contrary to her hypothesis, were identified not as cancerous tumors but as manifestations of cutaneous calcinosis – a painful and debilitating skin condition caused by the deposition of insoluble calcium salts within the skin, for which there is currently no cure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this newfound understanding, Beate Lichtenberger will partially pivot her research within Hedgehog signaling in dermal fibroblasts to concentrate on finding improved treatments for cutaneous calcinosis, aiming for a cure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cutaneous calcinosis remains a complex and challenging medical condition. The underlying mechanisms of its pathogenesis are not fully understood, and current treatment options are largely empirical and of limited efficacy. Beate Lichtenberger highlights that she looks to develop new therapeutic strategies that could potentially improve patient quality of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBefore this serendipitous discovery, I did not know much about calcinosis cutis. Now, we have a model system in our hands that allows us to study the disease in detail, with the overarching goal of finding a cure for patients. The funding from the LEO Foundation enables us to immediately pursue this important research objective,\u201d <\/em>Beate Lichtenberger states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more about all four grantees, their research projects, and their serendipitous ideas or discoveries below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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