2026 Grant Winners

Developing therapies to repair the skin barrier in eczema

Queen Mary University of London

Lead researcher: Professor Ryan O'Shaughnessy
Award: PhD Studentship
Funding: Fully funded PhD Studentship
Duration: 3 years

The skin barrier plays a critical role in protecting the body from the external environment and is impaired in eczema. This PhD research will investigate approaches to repairing the skin barrier, with the longer-term aim of contributing to the development of new treatments for eczema.

Online information, trust and treatment adherence in eczema

University of Stirling

Lead researcher: Dr Elaine Cameron
Co-investigator: Dr Lesley McGregor
Award: PhD Studentship
Funding: Fully funded PhD Studentship
Duration: 3 years

People affected by eczema encounter large amounts of health information online, which can influence how they understand their condition and make decisions about treatment.

This PhD will investigate relationships between online information, trust and treatment adherence in eczema, helping us understand how people navigate health information and how this may affect eczema management.

Funding round results

About our success rates

Eczema UK publishes information about the outcomes of our competitive research funding rounds as part of our commitment to transparency.

Success rates are calculated as the proportion of eligible full applications considered through the relevant funding round that received an award.

How funding decisions are made

All eligible applications are assessed through Eczema UK’s established research funding process.

Scientific quality and merit are assessed independently through expert review and our Grant Advisory Panel. Eczema UK staff may check applications for eligibility, completeness and alignment with the funding call, but do not undertake scientific-quality triage.

People with lived experience of eczema also contribute to our research funding activities, helping us consider the relevance of proposed research to people affected by the condition.

Learn more about how we fund research.

Meet our Grant Advisory Panel.

Following the research we fund

Our relationship with researchers continues after an award is made.

We monitor the progress of funded research and encourage researchers to communicate their work and findings to people affected by eczema. As projects develop, we will share research updates, publications and other outputs through our website and communications.

Learn More 

For updates on our research programme and information on how to apply for future funding opportunities, please visit our Grants Page. 

Thank you for your continued support of Eczema UK and the future of eczema research.