NAAF is proud to announce the recipients of our 2025 Early Career and Research Grant Awards. These investigators are dedicated to advancing knowledge of alopecia areata and accelerating progress toward more effective treatments. Through their work, we are deepening our understanding of disease mechanisms, improving therapeutic strategies, and advancing options and outcomes for people living with alopecia areata. Learn more about these award winners and their work below. Early Career Award 2025 winner Poppy Gould, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Dermatology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine with expertise in genetics, epigenetics, and regulatory genomics. Project Title: Constructing an epigenetic map of hair growth waxing and waning in alopecia areata. Using advanced single-cell technologies, Dr. Gould will measure DNA methylation in thousands of individual cells from scalp biopsies, including both immune and hair-follicle cells. By integrating these data with gene expression profiles, her team will create the first comprehensive map of epigenetic changes across both compartments of AA. This work will deepen understanding of disease drivers, identify potential biomarkers, and help lay the foundation for improved disease classification and future targeted therapies. Early Career Award winner Otgonzaya (Zaya) Ayush, MD, PhD, is a board-certified dermatologist trained at the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNUMS) and a researcher at the University of Iowa. Project Title: Integrated Single Cell and Spatial Transcriptomic Analysis of Hair Cycle and Alopecia Areata Pathogenesis in murine and human Dr. Ayush’s project aims to create detailed maps of hair follicle biology in both healthy and diseased states, using state-of-the-art technologies to identify differences in hair follicle biology under normal conditions and in the setting of alopecia areata. The two techniques we will use are single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomics. The goal is to clarify the sequence of events that lead from immune infiltration to hair follicle damage and to highlight specific interactions between immune cells and the different compartments of the hair follicle. These findings will help researchers prioritize therapeutic targets aimed at restoring protection around the HF and preventing relapse. Research Grant Award winner Ilka Netravali, MD, PhD, is the Founding Director of the Pediatric Hair Disorders Program at the Stanford School of Medicine, where she leads translational research and clinical trials to advance therapies for pediatric alopecia areata. Project Title: Transcriptomic Profiling of Plucked Hair Follicles in Pediatric Alopecia Areata: Linking Molecular and Clinical Outcomes Dr. Netravali’s project will test a painless, child-friendly way to “read” immune activity in hair follicles by gently plucking a few hairs and studying the genes that are turned on or off in those bulbs. If successful, this study will deliver the first noninvasive “molecular check-in” for pediatric AA—helping clinicians and families know sooner whether a treatment is working. It will also lay the groundwork for larger studies and future precision medicine tools that personalize care, reduce unnecessary procedures, and improve the experience of both children and adults living with AA. Research Grant Award winner Joel Sunshine, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Pathology, Oncology, and Biomedical Engineering at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where his research focuses on developing multiomics approaches with a focus on better understanding immunologic responses to skin cancers and the tumor microenvironment (TME). Project Title: 3D Histologic Reconstruction and Spatial Transcriptomic Mapping of Alopecia Areata Dr. Sunshine’s project aims to develop 3D models of alopecia pathology using advanced histologic reconstruction and spatial transcriptomic technologies to generate three-dimensional models of alopecia areata. By creating highly detailed spatial maps of hair follicle units and surrounding skin tissues, his team aims to elucidate the complex immune cell interactions, inflammatory pathways, and tissue microenvironment changes that drive the disease. The insights gained from this work will not only deepen our understanding of the pathological process but also open new avenues for 3D diagnostics and personalized treatment strategies. Pediatric Challenge Research Grant Award (in partnership with PeDRA) winner Leslie Costello-Soccio, MD, PhD, is a board-certified dermatologist and pediatric dermatologist. Her research has focused on unifying knowledge of basic mechanisms of disease with the collaborative voice of patients to advance clinical research and therapeutics for children with alopecia and other rare dermatologic diseases. Project Title: SPARC AA Spatial Patterning Analysis and Relapse in Children with Alopecia Areata Dr. Castello-Soccio’s project aims to understand the spatial and temporal dynamics of alopecia areata (AA) patches across the scalp, and to develop scalable outcome measures that improve the prediction of disease activity and relapse. The central hypothesis is that patch location and evolution contain prognostic information that is not captured by current severity tools, and that automated image analysis can enable objective, scalable quantification of these patterns. The study will establish the feasibility of standardized spatial monitoring in routine clinics, create a scalable data infrastructure to use for clinical research, and inform larger studies linking scalp patch geolocation to prognosis and therapeutic decision-making.
