The two-years MSc programme spans the entire spectrum of Analytical BioSciences, Biopharmaceutics, Drug Delivery Technology, Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology and Toxicology.

What is the Fine Mechanical Department?

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.

Many important topics in computer science, such as the correctness of software, the efficiency of algorithms and the modeling of complicated systems, depend on sound theoretical underpinnings. In the Theory group, we study these fundamental building blocks and develop verification methods to prove system…

Leiden has much to celebrate: first, 450 years of the Relief of Leiden and then 450 years of Leiden University. And that is no coincidence.

Science, Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

Sustainability issues are often highly complex problems, which can only be understood if you combine knowledge on both natural systems and the communities which need to deal with the issues. Throughout your 3-year Science for Sustainable Societies programme, you learn to analyse complex sustainability…

Science, Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

In this project, we will study the genetic and environmental drivers of woodiness and stem lignification at the level of plant‐to‐gene‐to‐molecule.

Science, Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL)

Science, Mathematical Institute (MI)

Accelerating the development of new cancer medicines by joining forces—that’s the mission of Oncode Accelerator, a Dutch consortium that recently welcomed three Leiden-based PhD candidates. Under the guidance of Gerard van Westen, Marc Boef, Remco van den Broek, and Lucina-May Nollen are exploring how…

With a MSc in LST you are well prepared for a wide range of career opportunities. Life Science research and business is one of the fastest growing economic activities worldwide.

For the third consecutive year, LACDR organized the international symposium on topology, Circuit Topology III, on November 29, 2023. The event aimed to bring together experts from diverse fields, including mathematics, computer science, physics, chemistry, and biomedical sciences, to discuss cutting-edge…

Chemist Prof. Marc Koper was awarded the Carl Wagner Memorial Award of the Electrochemical Society.

During the congress of the Royal Dutch Association for the Advancement of Pharmacy (Koninklijke Nederlandse Maatschappij ter bevordering der Pharmacie, KNMP) Jacqueline Gerritsen, former student Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences at Leiden University, was awarded the KNMP student prize.

Drs. Bart Lenselink won the oral presentation at the LACDR Spring Symposium with his presentation “Predicting Drug Potency”.

The Leiden- Delft joined MSc programme on Industrial Ecology has been accredited by the NVAO as an independent MSc programme within Leiden University and Delft University of Technology. Industrial Ecology is an emergent scientific discipline that promotes a systemic approach to sustainability problems,…

Leiden University has started a collaboration with the Nicolaus Copernicus University in Poland. The project includes the exchange of students and staff, joint research, and the organisation of seminars and conferences. Besides Leiden, the universities of Copenhagen, Newcastle and Innsbruck are also…

Former PhD student Annelien Zweemer was granted the C.J. Kok Award 2014, also known as “Discoverer of the Year”. A festive ceremony took place at the Faculty’s New Year’s reception on January 6, 2015.

On 11 and 19 April, the International Leiden Leadership Programme students got together to participate in a Business Game: a simulation game where the participants get a business case-study they have to solve. The goal? An agreement between all stakeholders – but most importantly: to employ the different…

A group of 18 Leiden students and alumni are advising the University on diversity and inclusiveness. Portraits of 11 members of the Diversity Policy Feedback Group.

Climate change and energy transition were an important theme of the Dutch provincial elections: how should we invest in new sources of energy? Leiden University conducts multidisciplinary research into renewable energy solutions. Read more about this in the ‘Renewable Energy’ research dossier.

Three Leiden astronomers have shown that some asteroids that are considered harmless for now, can collide with Earth in the future. They did their research with the help of an artificial neural network. The results have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

How can KLM remain the most sustainable airline? Master’s students from the Leiden Leadership Programme immerse themselves in practice and advise companies on major issues.

Interest group Animal Rights has started a test case to prompt the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) to tackle farmers who do not adequately protect their livestock against wolves. The test case concerns a rejected enforcement request to the NVWA. In it, the NVWA were called…

The Leiden Science Run 2019 has raised a record sum of 12,135 euros for refugee student foundation UAF. No less than 101 teams – also a record – and the sponsors CORPUS and Janssen Biologics raised the amount.

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (RMO) was due to open its doors to the small photography exhibit Frank Scholten: Archaeology and Tourism in the ‘Holy Land’ in April. Since the organisers, Leiden University and the RMO, have had to temporarily close, researchers Karène Sanchez and Sary Zananiri would like…

The ‘Stans Prize 2015' (for the best thesis, report or article produced by a CML student) has been awarded to Kevin Groen. Other CML prizes were awarded to Laura Bertola, Patrik Henriksson and Rene Kleijn.

Last January, the education assessors of the different study associations chose Fouzia Lghoul-Oulad Saïd of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) as teacher of the year. Her passion for teaching extends beyond her classes, according to the students who nominated her: ‘ She is always ready…

Dr Erik Kwakkel, Leiden specialist on medieval manuscripts, has one foot in the world of medieval book production and the other firmly planted in the modern environment of social media. He is co-editor of Author, Reader, Book aimed at specialists in medieval authorship, and tweets daily to bring the…

On 1 March 2023, the Dutch Safety Board (Onderzoeksraad Voor De Veiligheid, OVV) published its report on the protection provided by the Dutch security services and lessons learned from three cases. The OVV was highly critical of the use of key witnesses and the protection offered to them. Jan Crijns,…

Eleven days, 100 films, various unique locations transformed into temporary cinemas. From 26 October until 5 November it’s once again time for the Leiden International Film Festival (LIFF). So which of these films are an absolute must for students and staff of Leiden Law School? An overview of our four…

On Sunday 29 October the annual open day of the Old Observatory will take place. During this day, people can visit the Old Observatory for free and enjoy the historic building.

‘Very interesting’ is what two bachelor students have to say about the stories by Liesbeth van Vliet and Niki Antypa during the Psychology Science Day. The icing on the cake were the poster presentations about the bachelor's theses, admired and commented on by scientists and fellow students. Teachers…

Cells in our body are constantly performing small tasks, such as repairing wounds. They exert force by changing shape. But how do cells translate their shape into exerting a force in a specific direction? Experimental and theoretical Leiden physicists have now found a clue to answer this question. Cells’…

The Dick Stufkens Prize 2021 for the best PhD thesis of the Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry (HRSMC) has been awarded to Klaas van Leest for his thesis 'Open- Shell Cobalt Complexes with Redox-Active Ligands; Electronic Structure and Nitrene Transfer Reactivity'. Van Leest, who is now…

Professor Ewine van Dishoeck, together with an international team of colleagues, has written an overview of everything we know about water in interstellar clouds thanks to the Herschel space observatory. The article, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, summarizes existing knowledge and…

For the first time, astronomers have detected the presence of complex organic molecules, the building blocks of life, in a protoplanetary disc surrounding a young star. The discovery reaffirms that the conditions that spawned the Earth and Sun are not unique in the Universe. The results are published…

Leiden chemists have developed a new technique with which they can determine the role of kinases – a group of proteins – in a living cell. This technique makes it easier to find new drug targets for diseases such as cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The team published the findings in the journal Nature…

The Honours Class From Solar to Fuel with Bio consisted almost entirely of the workshop on Solar Biofuels from Micro-organisms that drew more than eighty specialist researchers to Leiden's Lorentz Centre in late March/early April. Students Erica Wenker (chemistry) and Jasper van Dobben de Bruijn (law)…

During the Faculty of Science New Year's reception, Daniël Rozen was named Discoverer of the year 2015. Nienke van der Marel and Koen van der Maaden both won the prize for the best dissertation and Jeroen van Smeden was named Best Teacher of 2015.

Bringing together institutes and research groups, how do you do that? The Faculty of Science set up a joint research theme and financed three PhD positions. After four years, the profiling programme Endocannabinoids expires. ‘It really brought us together, and the collaborations remain.’

'What nature made isn’t necessarily an optimized medicine to use in the human body,’ says Professor of Biological Chemistry Nathaniel Martin. That’s why a group of Leiden researchers is making a chemistry-based improved version of the frequently used antibiotic vancomycin. They received an NWO NACTAR…

With 8.9 million euros from the Danish National Research Foundation, Aarhus University and Leiden Observatory will establish the Center for Interstellar Catalysis. The centre is led by Aarhus professor Liv Hornekær and aims to find out how and when the building blocks of life formed in the Universe.…

On Friday 28 October, Leiden University organized its annual Physics Ladies Day for female high school students. To mark this festive day, we put the spotlight on four female researchers, who talk about their experiences in physics.

Leiden astronomer Xander Tielens has been awarded a Spinoza prize, the highest scientific prize in the Netherlands. Tielens is Professor in the Physics and Chemistry of Interstellar Space. He studies large and complex, often organic, molecules found in interstellar space. The Spinoza prize carries a…

An international team of researchers, including Federico Calle-Vallejo of Leiden University’s Institute of Chemistry, have taken the atomic-scale design of catalysts to the next level. Their research contributes to the quest for a method to generate or store energy more efficiently. The report is published…

Gianne Derks is the MI’s new scientific director from 1 May. She has worked abroad longer than in the Netherlands and, after more than 27 years in Surrey, she dreams in English. Who is this new director and who or what managed to entice her to make the move to Leiden?