Apply for the International Societies for Investigative Dermatology (ISID)-LEO Foundation Awards.
A boost to young talents.
The ISID-LEO Foundation Awards – worth USD 100,000 – recognize outstanding young scientists from around the world whose work represents an extraordinary contribution to skin research and has the potential to pave the way for new and improved treatments for skin diseases.
The award was born out of the aim of advancing the understanding and treatment of skin diseases and strengthening the pipeline of excellent dermatology researchers. It recognizes promising young talents and hopefully provides a boost to their future careers.
The award is well aligned with the Foundation’s goal of continually promoting and advancing skin research.
Since the first LEO Foundation Award in 2008, around 40 scientists have received the award.
View past awardees here.
ISID-LEO Foundation Award Self-Nomination Deadlines
The award is applied for in open competition.
Three awards are made each year, one in each of the regions: Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) and Asia-Pacific. Each award is worth USD 100,000.
Submission deadlines are at Midnight Eastern Time.
2026 The Americas Region:
- February 2 – Applications Open
- February 28 – Applications Close
- Early April – Winner Notified
EMEA Region:
- June 1 – Applications Open
- June 30 – Applications Close
- August – Winner Notified
Asia-Pacific Region:
- September 1 – Applications Open
- September 30 – Applications Close
- November – Winner Notified
Eligibility Criteria for LEO Foundation Awards
Self-nominees
- must be working within the region for which a given call is open to
- must be between 30 and 40 years of age at the time of being awarded
However, natural and/or reasonable career breaks may be deducted (information on duration (start and end dates) and the nature of such breaks must be provided as part of the application). Parental leave can be deducted with twice the duration of the leave. All other forms of approved career breaks can be deducted with the duration of the leave. Such breaks include military service and other mandatory obligations as well as extended sick leave from own illness or care for relatives.
- must be active scientists within skin-related research
- must be able to demonstrate scientific merits in the form of at least 5 peer-reviewed first author, co-first author, or last author publications within skin-related research
Self-nominees cannot:
- Have commercial or cosmetic/aesthetic research as their primary focus
- Have personal or financial ties to LEO Pharma, including involvement in e.g. sponsored studies or clinical trials at PI level
- Be an earlier recipient of a LEO Foundation Award
- Be an earlier recipient of another prize or award (personal or for research) exceeding a value of USD 50,000. Regular research grants are exempt from this requirement.
Application Checklist
- A comprehensive CV
- A letter of recommendation from a more senior colleague / collaborator / mentor or similar
- An overview of current and previous (up to 3 years) independent funding (as PI or co-PI)
- A list of top-10 peer-reviewed publications
- A paragraph on previous research achievements
- A paragraph on future research vision
Global Review Panel
All panel members represent their respective society in region Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific.
Society for Investigative Dermatology (SID):
Committee member |
Titles |
|---|---|
| Niro Anandasabapathy | Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology Weill Cornell University (USA) |
| Heidi Kong | Senior Investigator, National Institute for Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (USA) |
| Julie Ryan-Wolf | Associate Professor, Department of Dermatology, University of Rochester (USA) |
European Society for Dermatological Research (ESDR):
Committee member |
Titles |
|---|---|
| Knut Schäkel | Professor, University Hospital, Ruprecht-Karls-University Heidelberg (Germany) |
| Georg Stary | Professor, Medical University of Vienna (Austria) |
| Christina Zielinski | Professor, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology – Hans Knöll Institute (Germany) |
Taiwanese Society for Investigative Dermatology (TSID) Korean Society for Investigative Dermatology (KSID) Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology (JSID):
Committee member |
Titles |
|---|---|
| Chia-Yu Chu | Professor, Department of Dermatology, National Taiwan University College of Medicine,(Taiwan) |
| Dong Hun Lee | Professor, Department of Dermatology, Seoul National University College of Medicine (Republic of Korea) |
| Yayoi Tada | Professor, Department of Dermatology, Teikyo University, Tokyo (Japan) |
Past Awardees
View past awardees here.
The ISID-LEO Foundation Awards – worth USD 100,000 – recognize outstanding young scientists from around the world whose work represents an extraordinary contribution to skin research and has the potential to pave the way for new and improved treatments for skin diseases.
Evaluation Process
The ISID and the LEO Foundation will ensure an independent and unbiased evaluation process in which all applications will be evaluated based on the same criteria and towards the same scientific level.
It will normally take approx. three months from application deadline to award decision.
If you are selected as awardee, you become an ISID-LEO Foundation Alumni and you may be requested to participate and contribute at two events within three years following your receipt of the award.
The LEO Foundation will agree on events and contributions with all awardees.
Evaluation process
Once the call deadline has expired, an ISID administrator screens your application for formal requirements and if approved, sends it to an independent Global Research Panel for evaluation.
The ISID-LEO Foundation Award recruits a Global Research Panel consisting of internationally recognized, independent experts to evaluate the applications for grants and awards that are submitted in open competition. Applications are assessed according to the evaluation criteria provided.