20 Years of NEA’s Research Grants for Eczema

The last few years, we’ve seen a record number of targeted eczema treatments approved by the FDA, as well as a profusion of new studies and insights about the lived experience of eczema, all culminating from decades of research. 

But this investment in eczema research wasn’t always happening; in fact, for a disease that affects over 30 million people in the U.S, it was woefully underfunded. Consequently, eczema was not well understood and there were very few treatments available or in development. 

In 2003, the National Eczema Association (NEA) aimed to fill this gap with the creation of its Research Grants program, awarding its first grant of $30,000 in 2004 to a single investigator. In addition to supporting cutting-edge research in basic, clinical and translational science, the program aimed to encourage scientists and researchers to dedicate their careers to the eczema field.

In the two decades since it was established, NEA has increased its investment exponentially every year, with new grant categories to fund more investigators in various stages of their careers. To date, NEA has invested over $3 million in grants that have collectively supported a deeper understanding of eczema, provided insights into the biology contributing to eczema, targets for new potential treatment strategies, and furthered the ability to improve patient care and disease prevention.

Most notably, for every $1 NEA has invested in eczema research, grantees have collectively gone on to obtain an additional $10.12 in subsequent National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to support further eczema research, which is a remarkable return on investment.

As NEA’s Research Grants have expanded to include more categories across career levels, from students to well-established investigators, the program has seen the number of applications increase and the diversity of research proposals expand.

Today NEA’s Research Grants program is known worldwide for supporting critical and wide-ranging contributions to eczema research, which will ultimately lead to better treatments, care and outcomes for eczema patients.

“Each of the NEA grants was instrumental in my career trajectory. My work on the burden of disease helped establish me as a recognized expert in the epidemiology of eczema. My project on the risk of suicide associated with eczema was my first using population-based data — data that I now use routinely to answer questions that are important to clinicians and patients. My most recent Eczema Champion Grant has provided a large sum of money that supports me and my research team to tackle a large, nuanced body of research encompassing multiple research questions.”

–Aaron Drucker, three-time NEA research grant recipient

Recipient Spotlight

Anna De Benedetto, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Rochester Medical Center, is a repeat NEA awardee looking at the basic biology of the skin barrier. Her NEA-supported work identified several components in the stratum corneum and tight junctions of the epidermis that aren’t functioning properly, and opened up new avenues of investigation into approaches that could enhance skin barrier repair and/or reduce infection with Staphylococcus aureus. 

Eric Simpson, professor of dermatology at Oregon Health & Science University, received a grant to investigate whether emollient use from birth could be a preventative strategy for atopic dermatitis (AD). This work, which was one of the first to look into this topic, has since been built into a large clinical trial and is also being studied globally. It’s still a very active and promising area of investigation.

Aaron Drucker, a scientist at Women’s College Research Institute and associate professor of dermatology at the University of Toronto, is a three-time NEA research grant recipient. The first project that received funding was the first-ever comprehensive documentation of the burden and unmet needs of AD, a report that is still widely cited today, especially for the economic and societal impact of AD. His subsequent grants were awarded for projects investigating the association between AD and suicide risk and the longterm safety of topical corticosteroid use.