Associate professor at the Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University - the Netherlands

Brownian motion is the random motion of (colloidal) particles due to collisions with the atoms and molecules of the solvents, which are moving due to temperature.

Being a Slave brings together scholars and writers who try to come to terms with the histories and legacies of European slavery in the Indian Ocean.

Research on the process of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) in West-Africa

This thesis discusses several questions regarding the double ramification cycle as a Chow class on the moduli space of stable n-pointed genus g curves using tools from so-called logarithmic geometry.

The archaeology domain produces large amounts of texts, too much to effectively read or manually search through for research. To alleviate this problem, we created a search system (called AGNES), which combines full text search with entity and geographical search.

The Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Modern computer-aided simulation tools used by various industries produce gigabytes of data. But currently, they take days and even up to weeks of computation effort. To make the best use of all these data, the DAMIOSO project focuses on developing algorithms and tools for managing, mining, and optimizing…

This is a yearly event where we move in one week from the physics of light through the composition of the microscope, fluorescence microscopy and end up with some image analysis All the lectures are backed by practicals to really put your obtained knowledge into practice

Can zebrafish larvae be used as a behavioural model for screening natural products as potential neurotropic drugs?

Promotores: H.S. Overkleeft, G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: B.I. Florea

The deeper understanding of an organism's pathology is important for developing treatments. Over centuries of systematic research, clinical researchers have demonstrated that the more information they acquire about the cellular properties and their organisation in the tissue, the better they can understand…

Glycoconjugate vaccines are composed of microbial poly- or oligosaccharides covalently linked to a carrier protein.

Morphometric and morphological differences have been used extensively in the past to study domestication of the wolf and the origin of dogs. Certainly before genetic testing was performed, these methods were the only means to diverge both groups. But still now, when aDNA cannot be extracted, morphometry…

Promotor: E.F. Smets, Co-promotor: J. Geml

Irna Hofman defended her thesis on 10 January 2019.

New and reemerging infectious diseases call for innovative and efficient control strategies of which fast vaccine design and development represent an important element.

Promotor: J.N. Kok, Co-promotor: C.M. Soares, A.J. Knobbe

On 7 December 2021, Georgina Kuipers defended the thesis 'Beschadigd vertrouwen'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. W. den Ouden and Prof. M.A. van der Steen (EUR).

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.N. Kok, Co-promotor: Dr. A.J. Knobbe

Promotor: B. van de Water, Co-Promotores: J.H.N. Meerman, F.J. Verbeek

The lipid membrane is a basic structural component of all living cells. Embedded in this nanometer-thin barrier, membrane proteins shape the membrane and at the same time respond to the shape of the membrane.

What did it mean to be enslaved in in the Indian Ocean world in the 18th and 19th centuries? Over the last decades, historians have mined French, British, Portuguese and Dutch records for quantitative data on the European slave trade. This project focuses on the experience of being a slave and seeks…

Can we link multiple components from herbal extracts with their biological activities?

Promotor: J.N. Kok, Co-Promotor: A.J. Knobbe

On the 28th of June, Laura Smorenburg successfully defended a doctoral thesis. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Laura on this achievement!

Lysosomal glycosidases are acid hydrolases that fragment glycoconjugates in lysosomes.

Atherosclerosis, in particular rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, is the underlying cause of most heart attacks or strokes and is the leading cause of death worldwide.

Radiography is an important technique to inspect objects, with applications in airports and hospitals. X-ray imaging is also essential in industry, for instance in food safety checks for the presence of foreign objects.

Can we establish a new quality control system for herbal medicines that is based on bioactivity rather than a few abundant chemicals?

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink

Acidobacteria is a widely distributed phylum but their functional roles in ecosystem processes are still largely elusive.

Heterogeneous catalyzed processes are highly significant to the chemical industry. Dissociative chemisorption (DC) of molecules on surfaces is always considered as a step with a high degree of rate control for heterogeneous catalysis.

Within the MAC our Enabling Analytical Technology team is working to innovate all steps of analytical workflows. This includes developing novel sample preparation modules, creative sample handling methods, automated workflows, and more. Several projects implement the microfluidic principle of segmented…

Carbohydrates, alongside proteins and nucleic acids, constitute a crucial and versatile family of biomolecules present in all life forms. They manifest as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides, covalently bonded to proteins and fats. Carbohydrates are integral to plant and arthropod…

Metabolomics has the potential to play a pivotal role in understanding disease onset and progression, and ultimately personalized treatments. One of its major challenges is its large-scale implementation, which is necessary to deal with the high variability of the metabolome. In this work we have developed…

This week an article was published in the American popular science magazine Scientific American on the uncertainty surrounding the extent to which territory can be claimed on the moon.

Our institute aspires to be the center of excellence for strategic and quantitative research and education on sustainable use and governance of natural resources and biodiversity. We have two distinct research programmes: Environmental Biology and Industrial Ecology. The department of Industrial…

Challenges for the protection of traditional knowledge and genetic resources, traditional cultural expressions, and traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples in the international scenario.

Our courses embrace developments in technology. Our teachers adapt technological innovations to their discipline, and we keep our teaching up to date on rapid developments in the digital world.

On 9 May 2018, Roy van Keulen defended his doctoral thesis 'Digital Force: Life, Liberty & Livelihood in the Information Age'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A. Ellian.

Together@FGGA – Together towards a safe, inclusive and balanced work environment

A few weeks ago, Dutch pension giant ABP decided to divest from fossil fuels. But is this actually going to help the climate? Natascha van der Zwan, Arjen van der Heide and Philipp Golka (Institute of Public Administration, Leiden University) address this question in our new article for S&D.

How to ensure the environmental and economic benefits of circularity transition at macro-scale?

Recent publications

The goal of this book is to place architectural studies, in which people’s interactions with each other and material resources are key, at the crossing of both landscape studies and material culture studies, where it belongs.

TARA aims to accelerate research assessment reform through: Systematic review of new or innovative research assessment policies and practices at academic institutions, primarily in the United States and Europe Analysis & assessment of new or innovative research assessment policies and practices…

You can do a degree in Artificial Intelligence at Leiden University, but its role is also increasing in other degree programmes.

Joe Powderly was recently awarded a Leiden Global Interactions Advanced Seminar grant (GIAS) for a project that looks at heritage destruction, human rights and international law. The project approaches cultural heritage destruction from an interdisciplinary perspective and involves an exciting collaboration…

The ability to create objects and structures with our hands has been essential to human development. This ability is something modern society is at risk of losing. Leiden archaeologists gather knowledge about ancient processes of ‘making and creating’ over the centuries, knowledge that helps our current…