Conference
New Year's Reception
- Date
- Tuesday 7 January 2025
- Time
- Address
-
Gorlaeus Building
Einsteinweg 55
2333 CC Leiden - Room
- CM.1.26
Programme
15:00 hrs Take a seat
15:30 hrs New Year's Reception
- New Year's Speech
- Tuesday Talks: Science Insights with Mario van der Stelt. Mario is a professor of Molecular Physiology at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry. He will discuss his research on 'Unlocking the Brain’s Mysteries with Chemical Biology'.
- Presentation of Faculty Awards
17:00 hrs Drinks at De Fusie
Tuesday Talks: Science Insights is Leiden Science’s monthly dose of research inspiration from our staff, for our staff. You can find more information here.
Unlocking the Brain’s Mysteries with Chemical Biology
Understanding how the brain works is central to understanding what makes us human, yet our knowledge remains surprisingly limited. The brain is incredibly complex, with a wide variety of cell types and chemical processes. One important group of molecules in the brain are signalling lipids, like endocannabinoids, which help control communication between brain cells. These lipids play a role in critical processes such as memory, pain, inflammation, stress, and anxiety. Unlike traditional neurotransmitters, they are only produced when needed and are quickly broken down, ensuring their effects are tightly controlled.
To study these lipids and their roles in the brain, we use chemical biology approaches. In this presentation, I will share how our research uses advanced tools like chemical probes and proteomics to map out lipid metabolism in the human brain. These techniques help us better understand how these molecules work in both healthy and diseased brains, and they may reveal new ways to develop treatments for neurological conditions.
About Mario van der Stelt
Mario van der Stelt is a professor of Molecular Physiology at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry. As a medicinal chemist and former project leader at Merck Research Laboratories (2004–2011), his research focuses on integrating chemical biology strategies into drug discovery, developing small molecule drugs for oncology and neurological disorders. He has received several prestigious awards, including a VICI and the Prix Galien Research Award for best preclinical research in the Netherlands. Mario is a member of the Oncode Institute, a co-founder of the Institute for Chemical Neuroscience (established by a Gravitation Award in 2024), and an architect of the small molecules workstream within the Oncode Accelerator, supported by the National Growth Fund.
