2020 Research Grant Recipients Announced

In December, NEA announced the research grant recipients for its 2020 research grants cycle. Out of a record number of U.S.-based and international applicants, six investigators were selected and awarded varying amounts to total $310,000. 

The largest private nonprofit funder of eczema research, NEA has invested over $1.4 million since its first grant was awarded in 2004. Notably, for every $1 NEA has invested in eczema research, grantees have collectively gone on to obtain an additional $11.84 in subsequent National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to support further research.

The 2020 research grant recipients were awarded in three categories as follows:

Champion Research Grant  – Proven researchers that will continue research on emerging or ongoing challenges in eczema or bring their expertise to the field of eczema.

• Anna DiNardo, MD, PhD, University of California San Diego
  • Exploring the synergy and counter regulation between the skin barrier and immune systems; targeting S1PR2 signal to improve dermatitis
• Ethan Lerner, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital
  • Exploring the basic science of what drives the itch and inflammation of atopic dermatitis and the contribution of molecules called Mrgprs 

Catalyst Research Grant  – Early-career scientists on the path toward becoming the next generation of eczema thought leaders by supporting hypothesis-driven research projects.

• Jeffrey Cheng, MD, PhD, University of California San Francisco
  • Enabling atopic dermatitis personalized therapy through immune cell spatial mapping
• Eran Cohen-Barak, MD, Emek Medical Center Afula, Israel
  • • Deciphering the genetics of severe atopic dermatitis

Engagement Research Grant  – Emerging investigators intending to explore a new research concept, pilot a new experiment or undertake a novel or secondary data analysis. 

• Ge Peng, MD, Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo Japan:
  • Exploring the therapeutic effect of the antimicrobial peptide human ß- defensin-3 on atopic dermatitis through autophagy regulation.
• Victor Band, PhD, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD:
  • Exploring metabolic alterations of skin microbiome during pharmaceutical treatment in atopic dermatitis

Learn more about NEA’s ongoing support of eczema research at NationalEczema.org/research/research-we-fund.