Can we find new chemical and biological sensing routes on the edge and surface of graphene to improve the potential of graphene to act as a sensor?

How can we implement the technique of pharmacological resting-state fMRI to improve the diagnosis of dementia?

The master’s specialisation BioTherapeutics at Leiden University is a two-year programme which trains students in research in specific drug delivery techniques. The programme also examines the development of new therapeutic approaches to treat immune-based disorders, such as atherosclerosis, metabolic…

Bones contain information about people’s lives such as where they came from, their age at death and which diseases they suffered from. Researchers can deduce a lot from them about a person’s life and about human evolution. This generates leads that could help solve present-day problems, such as how…

The need for novel drugs as well as innovations in their development and application is as urgent as ever. Below we present our vision , mission, and our key research areas.

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Identifying novel antibiotic compounds to tackle antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Researchers from Leiden University and VU Amsterdam will unite through a project now funded by NWO’s Open Technology Programme (OTP), which awarded the collaboration nearly one million euros.

Policy studies and interventions in the field of Youth

The brain is a complex organ, and researching medicine to treat brain disorders is equally if not more complex. Elizabeth (Liesbeth) de Lange, Professor of Predictive Pharmacology, calls for a structured approach. ‘In effect, it's like playing Mastermind.’ Inaugural lecture on 22 March.

There are many complex links in the chain that provides patients with new drugs: from fundamental science, to clinical tests, to production. The entire chain can be found in Leiden. Leiden University, the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the businesses at the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP)…

Recent publications in the BLRN book series can be found below.

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Current research at the Skin Barrier and Vaccination group.

Sanne Kellij and colleagues systematically reviewed 142 articles, examining evidence for three hypotheses on the relation between victimization and social information processing.

The infectious diseases malaria and tuberculosis are responsible for 2.1 million deaths every year. Leiden researchers are currently testing a new tuberculosis vaccine.

Methods of treatment for chronic illnesses are limited. Doctors and researchers at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University are working on new therapies as an alternative for organ transplants. The goal is to cure the illnesses by restoring organs to their original function. Stem…

Although the world has made tremendous progress in health, education, sanitation and hygiene, global public health challenges still exist. Disparities in health exist between and within nations as evidenced by inequalities in disease burden, mortality, nutrition and environmental well-being. How does…

Researchers from Leiden Law School and the LUMC have received a grant for a joint research project. They will be looking into ways in which caregivers and patients can work together to come to a better decision.

Central elements in the research activities of all programme group members are: attachment, sensitive caregiving, and prevention and intervention.

The programme group Parenting, Child Care and Development studies how parents and other educators affect children's development, well-being and health. The emphasis is on the child's social, emotional and cognitive development and prevention of problems in these areas.

Terrorist attacks are not an end in themselves, but a means of creating unrest and fear. Terrorism policies and research should focus more on managing fear and social unrest.

On 11 March, pharmaceutical company Janssen received approval to launch its corona vaccine on the European market. This made Janssen the fourth company to be given the green light by the European Medicines Agency. As Lead of the Janssen Campus in the Netherlands, Biology alumnus Bart van Zijll Langhout…

Genes predict whether you have a propensity for an illness but environmental factors often have the last word: nutrition, air pollution, lifestyle, stress. The exposome as both culprit and chance. Large-scale research is being carried out into this at Leiden. Thomas Hankemeier, Professor of Analytical…

The ‘Leer te Durven!’ program (Learn to Dare) is a preventive training program for children with mild anxiety symptoms (Simon & Bögels, 2014). The program has been developed for children between the ages of 8 and 12 who feel or behave anxiously, avoid situations, are afraid of doing things wrong, appear…

Publication by: Amanda Foks, Gijs van Puijvelde, Jolien Wolbert, Mara Kröner, Vanessa Frodermann, Thomas van der Heijden, Peter van Santbrink, Louis Boon, Ilze Bot and Johan Kuiper. Cardiovascular Research. 2016;111(3):252-261.

What is the effectiveness of (booklet or online) self-help programmes for people with somatic stressors and depressive symptoms? What works best for whom? How to improve motivation and adherence?

In her inaugural lecture on 11 September, Miranda van Eck, Professor of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Therapeutics, addressed her research related to developing medications to keep our blood vessels clean.

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On the basis of the characteristic aspects of a picture, certain computers can tell us what the picture is showing. They can learn this in the same way that young children are able to learn to recognize images. Further improving these techniques opens the way to a whole range of new applications. Biology…

The Skin Barrier and Vaccination group is led by Prof. Joke Bouwstra. One of the key functions of the skin is its barrier function, which is located in the uppermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum consists of enucleated dead cells (corneocytes) embedded in a lipid matrix.…

The Faculty of Archaeology at Leiden University offers education in Human Osteoarchaeology. We offer a second-year Bachelor course in Human Osteoarchaeology and an extensive one-year track in the Master’s in Archaeological Science specialisation, resulting in a Master of Science degree after complet…

Serge Rombouts is a physicist whose PhD thesis was about functional MRI (fMRI). This visualises activity in regions of the brain. The appealing images of glowing brain regions that emerge from the computer are the result of calculations. According to Rombouts, this isn’t proper artificial intelligence.…

The chemical industry must continue to innovate for a more sustainable, healthier society. The reseachers from the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) contribute by applying their knowledge to themes such as sustainability, energy and health.

Our research programme collaborates with all kinds of partners to achieve our goal: bringing scientific discoveries to the clinic as soon as possible.

How do plants lure microscopically small 'support teams' into their roots for protection against diseases? And what functions are activated in the microbes and the plants?

This research area is focused on the development and application of novel concepts and models in the emerging area of quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP).

Supervisor: Maarten Doornbos

The two-years master’s specialisation System Biomedicine and Pharmacology at Leiden university focuses on predicting drug response with computational modelling, developing individualised therapies, and developing innovative analytical tools for personalised health strategies.

Researchers need to work in specialized environments when they work with dangerous bacteria and viruses. These microbes spread easily, so only in labs with a high biosafety levels they can be studied. Unfortunately, to look at the microbes properly, expensive microscopes are needed that are not always…

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Professor of Ultrastructural Biology Ariane Briegel has received a grant in the NWO Open Competition Domain Science in the XS category. This grant emphatically encourages curiosity-driven and bold research with a maximum of 50,000 euros.

Deficiency of glucocerebrosidase (GBA) underlies Gaucher disease, a common lysosomal storage disorder. Carriership for Gaucher disease has recently been identified as major risk for parkinsonism. Presently, no method exists to visualize active GBA molecules in situ. We here report the design, synthesis…

Assessing and implementing new diagnostics strategies for stratifying patients

Cardiovascular disease is a major global burden and atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathological process.

Aim of the proposal is to develop lugdunomycin into a drug candidate able to treat infectious diseases caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens.

Glycosidases are important enzymes in the turnover of polysaccharides and glycoconjugates, and are involved in a range of human pathologies including genetic disorders such as Gaucher and Pompe disease, but also in various cancers.

The European Lead Factory has been created with the ultimate goal to develop lead drug candidates to address neglected diseases including bacterial infections, psychiatric disorders and oncology.

The division of BioTherapeutics consists of the former divisions Biopharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Technology.