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.

Atherosclerosis is the most important underlying process that drives cardiovascular disease, and is characterized by an accumulation of cholesterol which triggers an inflammatory response in the vessel wall.

Influenza CD8(+) T-cell epitopes are conserved amongst influenza strains and can be recognized by influenza-specific cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs), which can rapidly clear infected cells. An influenza peptide vaccine that elicits these CTLs would therefore be an alternative to current influenza vaccines,…

Cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs) are involved in the clearance of viruses and killing of tumor cells.

The loss of T-cell homeostasis and tolerance towards self-antigens is the underlying cause of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases like atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or type I diabetes. Traditionally, the treatment of these diseases consisted on systemic immune suppression, which can entail…

The aim of this work was to study the applicability of antigen-coated pH-sensitive microneedle arrays for effective vaccination strategies. Therefore, a model antigen (ovalbumin) was coated onto pH-sensitive (pyridine-modified) microneedle arrays to test pH-triggered antigen release by applying the…

Joost Beltman (LACDR, Leiden University) has provided novel insights in the way T cells migrate towards virus-infected cells. This was accomplished by a combination of experimental research in the group of Ton Schumacher (Dutch Cancer Institute, NKI) and computer simulations in collaboration with Rob…

Cardiovascular diseases are the primary cause of death in the world with atherosclerosis as primary underlying cause.

Leiden has a long history in the treatment of blood cell cancer. Research to find better therapies never stands still. One of the potential treatments currently being worked on is a ‘living medicine’.

Despite the fact that gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are one of the most studied nanoparticles, there is still a necessity for new approaches allowing for effective protective coating to enable wider use of GNPs in biomedical applications.

How are carbohydrates processed by the immune system? Can carbohydrates be used to trigger T-cells against other conjugated antigens? Can they be used as adjuvants?

The objective is to develop in vitro antigen degradation assays in order to mimic the fate of the antigen in vivo.

Treatment with special stem cells seems to be a good option for suppressing the immune system in organ transplants. Researchers are trying to learn from processes that take place in the human body during pregnancy.

Atherosclerosis (thickening of the artery wall) is the most common cause of heart attacks or strokes, and one of the most common causes of death in the western world. People with this condition have to take medicine all their lives, so a vaccine for atherosclerosis would be a breakthrough.

Promotor: C.A.J. Knibbe, Co-promotor: J.J. Boelens, R.G.M. Bredius

PhD defence

The Immune Activation and Tolerance group is headed by Dr. Bram Slütter. Vaccination is an experimental, but promising, treatment strategy for atherosclerosis. Previous work has shown that immunization of mice with modified LDL particles can reduce atherosclerotic lesion development, however such vaccines…

Leiden researchers are helping develop safe COVID-19 vaccines.

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

In autoimmune diseases such as rheumatism and diabetes the immune system attacks autologous proteins. Leiden researchers are trying to discover how this comes about.

The potential of liposomal cancer vaccines

MHC class I and MHC class II molecules present peptides to the immune system to drive proper T cell responses. Pharmacological modulation of T-cell responses can offer treatment options for a range of immune-related diseases.

Cardiovascular syndromes are the major cause of death in Western societies.

Bispecific antibodies with one Fab arm binding to effector cells, such as T-cells and NK-cells, while the other Fab arm recognizing a tumor associated antigen (TAA) can be used to redirect these effector cells for tumor specific killing. Using bispecific antibodies to treat hematological cancers is…

This project is part of the Next Generation ImmunoDermatology (NGID) consortium, which focuses on the comprehensive phenotyping of six different immune-mediated inflammatory skin conditions. A common factor contributing to these diseases is a dysfunctional skin barrier. The skin barrier function is…

Worldwide resurgence of pertussis necessitates the need for improvement of pertussis vaccines and vaccination strategies.

This thesis focuses on using liposomes in two different treatment strategies; vaccination (or immunotherapy) and delivery of a small molecule, and in two different disease models; cancer and atherosclerosis.

The objective of the Next Generation ImmunoDermatology project (funding NWO, program NWA-ORC) is to deep profile the immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: i) atopic dermatitis (AD), ii) cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) iii) chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) iv) hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) v)…

PhD defence

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, and vaccination may be an attractive method to induce long lasting protection against endogenous factors that contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. We have shown that for example vaccination against modified LDL or interleukin-12 limits…

American pharmaceutical company Bristol Myers Squibb will be building a new (CAR-T) cell therapy facility in the Oegstgeest part of the Leiden Bio Science Park. The company will manufacture and develop CAR T-cell therapy for patients with blood cancer (leukaemia), for example.

Alzheimer’s disease and cancer are two examples of diseases that are related to malfunctioning cellular patterns. The examination of cell tissue, however, takes a lot of time and generates a lot of data. To make the analysis of data easier, Antonios Somarakis of the Data Science Research Programme (DSRP)…

Our immune system protects us against disease, but every now and then, something goes wrong: an enemy invades our bodies or our immune system attacks our own cells and we become ill. Doctors and researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) want to be able to manipulate the immune system…

Ten Leiden researchers have been awarded a Veni grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The grant, of up to 280,000 euros, will enable them to elaborate their ideas over a period of three years.

Professor Tom Huizinga (LUMC) specialises in rheumatoid arthritis. He joined forces with alumni and the Natuurwetenschappelijk Gezelschap Leiden, a society that aims to share knowledge of the natural sciences and medicine, to explore the symptoms of the disease. With this form of arthritis the fluid…

PhD defence

Leiden researchers have carried out successful tests using a new method of packaging a cancer vaccine in nano-particles. The new vaccine has induced a strong immune reaction in mice. The researchers believe that this method can make an important contribution to the treatment of cancer. Their findings…

The immune system plays a paradoxical role in the spread of breast cancer. Some immune cells contribute to metastasis, while other cells can be activated to strengthen the effect of chemotherapy. Kelly Kersten made this discovery in her PhD research. PhD defence 7 February.

Lecture

Nineteen researchers who have recently been awarded their PhD are to receive a Veni grant of up to 250,000 euros. Science funding agency NWO has awarded a total of 158 Venis in this round; Leiden University's share of the awards is 12 percent.