{"id":11841,"date":"2024-04-25T11:01:46","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T09:01:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leo-foundation.org\/en\/?p=11841"},"modified":"2024-04-25T11:01:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T09:01:48","slug":"funding-for-skin-research-new-technology-for-treatment-and-insight-into-aging-cells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leo-foundation.org\/en\/2024\/04\/25\/funding-for-skin-research-new-technology-for-treatment-and-insight-into-aging-cells\/","title":{"rendered":"Funding for skin research: New technology for treatment and insight into aging cells"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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25 April 2024<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the LEO Foundation\u2019s latest round of Research Grants in open competition, 11 skin research projects are awarded a total of DKK 42 million. These projects range widely in their dermatological focuses, from the exploration of wound healing to the study of the herpes simplex virus, which infects the skin.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The LEO Foundation\u2019s Research Grants program aims to support the best skin research projects worldwide which have the potential to better our understanding of the skin and its diseases. In its latest funding round, 11 skin research projects receive a total of DKK 42 million to generate novel and exciting dermatological insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The round attracted 39 reviewed applications requesting a total of DKK 132 million in funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A glance into the projects<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New technology with the potential to revolutionize skin disease treatment<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the 11 projects to receive a grant from the LEO Foundation is Associate Professor Niclas Roxhed\u2019s, who hails from KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden. Niclas Roxhed\u2019s  technology-focused project offers promise to potentially revolutionize the treatment of skin diseases, as he aims to look for new ways to deliver biopharmaceuticals to treat atopic dermatitis directly through the skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great challenge for modern biological drug therapies is their inability to penetrate the skin\u2019s outermost protective layers to deliver their large-molecule drugs to the deeper areas of the skin. The outermost layer of the skin is particularly tough and does not allow large molecules such as biological drugs to pass, therefore necessitating delivery methods like injections. Niclas Roxhed, however, takes on this challenge with his tailor-made ultra-sharp spiked microspheres that are able to transport the drugs and painlessly penetrate the skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With his funded project, Niclas Roxhed and his team will trial this technology in an atopic dermatitis model, with the results potentially forming the basis for highly effective topical treatment of skin diseases through creams, replacing the need for typical techniques such as injection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A novel approach to tackling scleroderma<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assistant Professor Eliza Pei-Suen Tsou from the University of Michigan in the USA also receives a grant from the LEO Foundation, as she looks to pave the way for novel treatments for scleroderma \u2013 an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation, scarring of tissues and organs, including the skin, and changes in blood vessels throughout the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More specifically, Eliza Pei-Suen Tsou places the spotlight on a process called senescence, as she hypothesizes that the aging process of dermal blood vessel endothelial cells might play a crucial role in scleroderma\u2019s progression. Senescence can be described as a process by which a cell ages but fails to die, leading to a large buildup of these potentially dysfunctional senescent cells in the body. Such cells remain active, releasing harmful substances that can cause inflammation and damage in nearby healthy cells.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having already determined that dermal endothelial cells from scleroderma patients function differently compared to healthy controls, Eliza Pei-Suen Tsou now looks to elaborate upon senescence\u2019s role in the development of scleroderma. She particularly aims to determine the process\u2019 part in both the vascular abnormalities and tissue scarring seen in the disease, with her work potentially paving the way for novel treatments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Mapping\u2019 the genetics behind keratin disorders<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark also receives a Research Grant as his project will look to understand and characterize the genetics behind keratin disorders, which are linked to a range of hereditary disorders, including several epidermal skin diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keratins are proteins that form a cytoskeletal network within cells. Rasmus Hartmann-Petersen hypothesizes that variations in the genes encoding these proteins can cause their misfolding, which in turn may cause skin disorders. Along with his research team he therefore sets out to explore this hypothesis using advanced computational tools, including large language models – a form of AI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His important work will involve \u2018mapping\u2019 the genetic variations linked to keratin-related disorders to provide information on how the pathogenic variants operate on the molecular level. The findings therefore stand to not only potentially improve diagnostic capabilities but also provide new therapeutic targets for skin diseases in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Read more about all 11 projects below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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