American Skin Association Announces 2025 Research Grants for Skin Cancer and Diseases

NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- American Skin Association (ASA) today announced the names of the fifteen recipients chosen to receive their coveted annual research grants. These hard-working researchers join a list of over 300 exceptional researchers with the vision, drive and dedication to find new and innovative new ways to prevent, detect and treat skin disease.

Four Investigative Scientist Awards were presented including: Patrick Brunner, MD, MSc of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was awarded the Calder Investigative Award in Vitiligo, Anna Eisenstein, MD, PhD of Yale University was awarded the Sanofi Regeneron Investigative Scientist Award in Atopic Dermatitis, Nicholas Gulati, MD, PhD of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was awarded the Sun Pharma Investigative Scientist Award, and Jinwoo Lee, MD, PhD of Stanford University was awarded the Sun Pharma Investigative Scientist Award.

ASA awarded the Johnson & Johnson Research Scholar Award in Psoriasis to Christine Yokoyama, MD, PhD of Washington University in St. Louis. In addition, two research grants and seven medical student grants were also awarded.

All grants were made possible through the generosity of individuals, foundations, and corporations who are dedicated to ASA's most vital mission of advancing research, championing skin health, particularly among children, and driving public awareness about skin disease.

For thirty-eight years, ASA and its affiliates have funded over $50 million in grants that have advanced this mission serving the more than 100 million Americans afflicted with skin disorders. ASA's primary goal is to enhance treatments and continue working towards cures for melanoma, vitiligo, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and other skin diseases.

"Our annual grant program is vital to advancing dermatological research and supporting ASA's mission of defeating skin cancers such as melanoma," said ASA Chairman, Howard P. Milstein. "This research will increase the likelihood of discovering urgently needed treatments and offers hope to millions affected by skin cancer and other skin diseases."

ASA's grant program is administered by its Medical Advisory Committee (MAC), comprised of leading scientists and physicians who volunteer their time to oversee the annual grant process. Through their leadership, ASA's grant program has supported the work of hundreds of investigators, ranging from talented researchers in the early phases of their careers to recognized leaders in the field of dermatology.

"The Medical Advisory Committee is excited to present the 2025 awards," said ASA President and MAC Co-Chair, Dr. James G. Krueger. "We salute the researchers working daily to discover new treatments for vitiligo, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, melanoma, and other skin cancers and hope that our important funding contributions can help realize long sought-after cures."

ASA provides significant research awards to established investigators and medical students studying melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, and other skin diseases. Through these grants, ASA has promoted the early careers of many gifted young investigators and has had a profound influence both on dermatology research and clinical care of dermatologic disease. Over the years, ASA-funded researchers have had an extensive impact on the understanding of melanoma by improving our insight into the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. With an exclusive focus on skin disease research, ASA has helped open new frontiers in skin science by producing results that will change how we understand and treat these diseases.

The following are the recipients of the 2025 Investigative Scientist Awards, Research Scholar Award, Research Grants, and Medical Student Grants:

2025 ASA Calder Investigative Award in Vitiligo
Patrick Brunner, MD, MSc
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Project Title: Tape-strip profiling of patients with vitiligo

2025 ASA Sanofi Regeneron Investigative Scientist Award in Atopic Dermatitis
Anna Eisenstein, MD, PhD
Yale University
Project Title: Skin inflammation of atopic dermatitis mediate lung and esophageal allergic immune responses

2025 ASA Sun Pharma Investigative Scientist Award
Jinwoo Lee, MD, PhD
Stanford University
Project Title: Assessing the Role of RNA-Protein Particles in Autoimmune Skin Diseases

2025 ASA Sun Pharma Investigative Scientist Award
Nicholas Gulati, MD, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Project Title: Assessing mechanisms underlying stable vs progressing lesions in vitiligo

2025 ASA Johnson & Johnson Research Scholar Award in Psoriasis
Christine Yokoyama, MD, PhD
Washington University in St. Louis
Project Title: Regulation of epidermal homeostasis by centrosomal protein CEP43

2025 ASA Research Grant in Atopic Dermatitis
Benjamin Casterline, MD, PhD
University of Missouri
Project Title: Alpha-gal Sensitization in Atopic Dermatitis: Defining a Novel Immunological Endotype

2025 ASA Mulvaney Family Foundation Research Grant in Vitiligo
Courtney Matson, PhD
University of Minnesota
Project Title: Tissue-resident memory T cells as a novel therapeutic target in vitiligo

2025 ASA Mulvaney Family Foundation Medical Student Grant in Vitiligo
Saloni Patel
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Project Title: Quantifying Cardiovascular Risk and Immune Dysregulation in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus Using Non-Invasive Vascular Testing and Single-Cell Transcriptomics

2025 ASA Christopher Andrew Te-Jiong James Medical Student Grant in Melanoma
Michelle Verghese
University of Chicago
Project Title: Investigating the role of ALKBH1 in melanoma pathogenesis and anti-tumor immunity

2025 ASA Christopher Andrew Te-Jiong James Medical Student Grant in Melanoma
Maya Deshmukh
Yale University
Project Title: DNA Hypomethylation as a Strategy to Potentiate Anti-Tumor CD8+ T Cell Function in Melanoma

2025 ASA Christopher Andrew Te-Jiong James Medical Student Grant in Melanoma
Haniyah Shareef
Stanford University School of Medicine
Project Title: Investigating the Impact of Telomere Length and Telomere Maintenance on High Burden Melanoma Development

2025 ASA Christopher Andrew Te-Jiong James Medical Student Grant in Melanoma
Sara Khoshniyati
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Project Title: Metabolic Reprogramming of Tumor-Infiltrating Immune Cells Following PBAE-mediated 4-1BBL/IL-12 Treatment in a Murine Melanoma Model

2025 ASA Christopher Andrew Te-Jiong James Medical Student Grant in Melanoma
Olivia McGeough
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Project Title: Survey study on the surgical management of dysplastic nevi

2025 ASA Christopher Andrew Te-Jiong James Medical Student Grant in Melanoma
Jaanvi Mehta
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Project Title: Use of machine learning to diagnose melanoma from non-invasive reflectance confocal microscopy images

2025 ASA Christopher Andrew Te-Jiong James Medical Student Grant in Melanoma
Brandon Block
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Project Title: Defining melanoma and other skin cancer characteristics differentiating young versus older adults

ABOUT AMERICAN SKIN ASSOCIATION

A unique collaboration of patients, families, advocates, physicians, and scientists, ASA has evolved over nearly four decades as a leading force in efforts to defeat melanoma, vitiligo, psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and other skin diseases. Established to serve the now more than 100 million Americans – one-third of the U.S. population – afflicted with skin disorders, the organization's mission remains to: advance research, champion skin health, particularly among children, and drive public awareness about skin disease. ASA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. For more information, visit americanskin.org.

American Skin Association has earned Candid's 2025 Seal of Platinum Transparency and the Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator.

SOURCE American Skin Association