A team of Stanford researchers led by Jean Tang, MD, PhD, professor of dermatology, along with Anthony Oro, MD, PhD, the Eugene and Gloria Bauer Professor and a professor of dermatology, have been awarded an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) contract from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
They will receive up to $26 million in funding to develop and test a topical gene-editing treatment for epidermolysis bullosa (EB). The researchers are using CRISPR, a gene-editing tool, to create the treatment.
Patients with EB have a defect in genes for a protein that holds the skin together. At the slightest touch, the layers of skin can separate, leading to painful wounds that can last for years.
The team is developing a spray, called NueSKIN, that can be applied to EB patients’ wounds. If NueSKIN is shown to work, the researchers believe they will be able to use a similar method to treat other genetic skin diseases.
“We have worked for more than 20 years to find drugs to heal the wounds and skin of patients with EB,” Tang says. “This team will have the greatest shot of using CRISPR to finally cure EB skin.”
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In April 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a treatment for EB that was developed by Tang and her Stanford colleagues—genetically engineered skin grafts, derived from a patient’s own DNA.
Philanthropy has also played a crucial role in advancing Tang’s research. The EB Research partnership, a nonprofit dedicated to funding research aimed at treating and ultimately curing EB, and the family of philanthropist Bowei Lee have provided Tang sustained support that will allow her to further build on her scientific momentum.
The project also involves researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of British Columbia
