NAAF awards research grants to researchers with promising proposals to learn more about alopecia areata – what is happening in the immune system to cause it and identifying new avenues for treating the disease. NAAF also supports research about how alopecia areata affects people psychologically and financially. Last year, NAAF awarded several research grants that we hope will move the needle forward on understanding and treating alopecia areata, and helping families cope with living with the disease. Natalie Artzi, PhD and Jamil Azzi, MD, PhD Developing a Microneedle Patch Natalie Artzi, PhD, and Jamil R. Azzi, MD, PhD, from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, are researching the use of microneedles to manage alopecia areata. The concept of microneedling isn’t new. But Dr. Artzi and Dr. Azzi developed a novel device that would make microneedling easier to do and possibly more effective: a patch that contains many tiny (micro) needles attached. The research is currently in the early preclinical phase, with experiments in a mouse model. The experimental microneedle patch will be used to manipulate and characterize the immune system environment in the area of hair loss. The long-term goal is the development of a microneedle patch that can be used for targeted and painless administration of treatments to localized areas of hair loss in alopecia areata. Zhenpeng Dai, PhD Immune system targets in alopecia areata Zhenpeng Dai, PhD, from Columbia University, received a research grant for his study “Identification of autoantigen epitopes in alopecia areata by T-Scan.” Using a scanning method called T-Scan, Dr. Dai and his team are studying mice to see how certain immune cells, CD8+NKG2D+ T cells, damage the hair follicles and cause alopecia areata. The T-Scan system allows the team to test how the cells damage the follicles by identifying the targets of the immune system attack in alopecia areata, , which could pave the way to finding targeted treatments for alopecia areata. Thy Huynh, MD, FAAD and Vinayak K. Nahar, MD, PhD Psychological well-being In collaboration with the Pediatric Dermatology Research Alliance (PeDRA), NAAF awarded a Pediatric Alopecia Areata Challenge Grant to Thy Huynh, MD, FAAD, and Vinayak K. Nahar, MD, PhD, from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Dr. Huynh and Dr. Nahar have focused their research attention on the mental health of children living with alopecia areata, particularly those in underserved communities. The researchers and their team will speak with parents to see how they cope and to learn about their experiences in helping support their children with hair loss. Dr. Huynh and Dr. Nahar hope to find ways to better support families who live with alopecia areata and improve their overall well-being. More information about NAAF grants Read more about recent and past grants funded by NAAF here. To keep track of new grant announcements, follow this page or join NAAF’s research grant interest list here.
