SAILS and CAIRELab, the LUMC’s AI expertise centre, recently held an event that gave healthcare professionals and computer scientists the chance to meet. The meeting proved fertile ground for new collaborations.

Ten years later, a group of veterans still struggle daily with the effects of their deployment to Afghanistan. Sanne van der Wal, a PhD candidate at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), conducted research into the effects of PTSD.

Michiel Veldhuis received the most public votes for the C.J. Kok Public Award and may therefore call himself Discoverer of the Year. Veldhuis researches how climate change affects savannah ecosystems in Africa and how we can protect them.

We do it every day but barely give it a thought: chewing our food. But the ‘simple’ process of masticating food may have played a crucial role in the evolution of our jaws, facial muscles and teeth.

'We are very happy with this recognition! The great thing about this prize is that it celebrates team effort', Joanne Mouthaan responds to the Casimir Prize for the education project 'E-learning Suicide Prevention'. Colleague Maartje Schoorl calls the prize the icing on the cake of good education in…

How can you increase the effectiveness of inspectors using responsible artificial intelligence (AI)? This is the question the Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) Lab AI4Oversight is tackling. By developing algorithms and methods, they try to provide optimal support for, for example,…

Why is the sky blue? Why are most people right-handed? Why are spiderwebs so strong? These are just some of the questions arriving at Postbus 71, a Leiden2022 project where everyone can ask their questions. Friso de Hartog, the driving force behind Postbus 71, is busy answering as many questions as…

A world-famous light experiment from 1801 has now been carried out with sound for the first time. Research by physicists in Leiden has produced new insights that could be applied in 5G devices and the emerging field of quantum acoustics.

Rogier Creemers is a lecturer in Modern Chinese Studies. While he looks for challenges in his lectures, in his free time he much prefers to go back to basics and work with his hands.

Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.

Hari Nugroho explores the role of local dynamics in shaping Indonesian labour movements. By focusing on the micro-level, this research reveals how labour organisation strategies are influenced by individual actors' personal histories, their interactions, and the way in which they respond the local economic…

All students receiving their bachelor diploma in Political Science last week had a reason or two to celebrate. Two of them especially so: they won the annual award for the best thesis in the International Relations and Organisations and the Politicologie/Internationale Politiek programmes. Congratulations,…

Always wanted to go to a real art auction? Now’s your chance! On 15 February over a hundred works from the LUMC’s art collection will go under the hammer. ‘It’s great fun just to be there, regardless of whether you buy anything,’ says dean and auctioneer Pancras Hogendoorn.

To truly understand Dutch literature, we have to look beyond borders. At least, that is the view of Sander Bax. From 1 August, he will be Professor of Contemporary Dutch Literature and Culture in a Transnational Dynamic.

‘Art and science can co-exist.’ On 16 August, Dean Suzan Stoter spoke these words when she opened the exhibition ‘Wet op beeld: De Saksenspiegel eeuwenoud modern’, created by visual artist Ilja Walraven and legal scholar Helen Stout. They believe that images can enhance the comprehensibility of legal…

Dilara Erzeybek and Oumaima Hajri, two PhD students in Cultural Anthropology and Development Sociology received a Mosaic 2.0 grant last week. This NWO programme supports PhD students with a non-western migration background - an underrepresented group within science - in order to foster diversity in…

The first staff symposium on Student Wellbeing – from abstract idea to practical tips – will take place on 15 March 2022. Why have we chosen a practical approach and what can you expect? Sonja Wagenaar (SEA) is project manager and she tells us more about it.

Board members Annetje Ottow and Hester Bijl recently visited the Leiden University Centre for Linguistics (LUCL, Faculty of Humanities) and the Mathematical Institute (MI, Faculty of Science). This was the start of a series of visits to institutes at our university. The focus is on talking to researchers…

Since 1 February 2016, Paul van Trigt is postdoctoral researcher in the project Rethinking Disability: the Impact of the International Year of Disabled Persons (1981) in Global Perspective at the Institute for History.

Since the demonstration over a year ago on the Wijnhaven campus, Leiden University has developed plans and initiatives to create the safest possible work and study environment for our university community. The Executive Board would like to explain what has happened since and what else we can expect…

On Wednesday, 21 February, a diverse group of students, staff, and representatives from 21 embassies gathered in The Hague for International Mother Language Day. Under the banner of 'a bit of fun and many serious topics,' language took centre stage.

On 16 May 2022, Professor Michel Wouters from the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), will deliver his inaugural lecture titled ‘Quality of Cancer Care: why the real world matters’. Wouters will use the opportunity to describe how quality registries…

Many students dread writing a thesis. Master’s student Laura Robustella's practice-based thesis shows that it is well worth the effort. She developed an art exhibition based on her master’s thesis.

There are two vacant seats available in the upcoming interim elections for the Faculty Council. What can prospective council members expect? Professor Jos Schaeken, a member of the Faculty Council, explains in more detail.

The impact of war extends beyond destroyed buildings and torn families. In bilingual Ukraine, the ongoing war with Russia is a major driver for increasingly discarding the Russian language. What does this mean for the position of Russian in Ukraine?

Using mathematics to determine whether scientific results are significant or not. Peter Grünwald, full professor of Statistical Learning at the Mathematical Institute (MI) and senior researcher in the Machine Learning group of Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI), has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant…

Researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have developed an AI model that accurately predicts the risk of endometrial cancer recurrence.

During the kick-off meeting, master students taking part in the Thesis Workshop The Hague Southwest presented their thesis ideas to stakeholders from the neighbourhood.

From monitoring pollution to tracking rainfall, citizen science comes in different shapes and sizes. But at its heart, it’s about the relationships between citizens, policymakers and researchers.

Jianfeng Ge and Milan Allen of Leiden University look for majorana quasiparticles using shot noise measurements

Planning the timetables in FGGA is a challenging process. To offer a look behind the scenes, we spoke to Quino - functional administrator, Mandy and Ric - the faculty's timetable makers.

Early treatment benefits patients who have not fully developed rheumatoid arthritis but are in the preliminary stages of the disease. This is what researchers from the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) have reported in The Lancet. Patients in the pre-arthritis stage who were temporarily prescribed…

On Prinsjesdag, 16 September 2025, the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs (FGGA) opened the new faculty year with a reception at Wijnhaven. The opening was dedicated to the university’s lustrum theme: ‘Ahead of Time’.

Understanding the behaviour of tiny droplets in our cells could aid the search for new treatments. A team of Leiden researchers has developed a groundbreaking method to study how these droplets transition from liquid to solid. This change plays a role in various diseases, including neurodegenerative…

Library, Research

Hans Slabbekoorn is specialised in animal sounds. On 1 July, he was appointed professor of Acoustic ecology and behaviour. A great honour, according to the new professor. ‘This job never gets boring, whether I am investigating the urban jungle or marine noise.’

To eat or get eaten. It describes the evolutionary race of snakes versus the mammals and birds that prey on these snakes. Muzaffar Ali Khan devoted his PhD to investigating the molecular mechanisms play of the evolutionary arms race, and has his promotion 16 February. What makes mammals and birds successful…

It’s time once again to take the National Student Survey (NSE), the annual student satisfaction survey for all students at research universities and universities of applied sciences. Annie de Jong is a Policy Officer for Quality Assurance at Strategy and Academic Affairs and the central contact person…

Hundreds of beautiful and timeless photos by Emmy Andriesse, one of the most important Dutch photographers of the twentieth century, are now freely accessible for everyone and can be used for research, education or other purposes. Large parts of Andriesse's oeuvre are already available online via Digital…

Hoe kan het dat universele mensenrechten wereldwijd niet hetzelfde in de praktijk worden gebracht?

Leiden University Centre for Digital Humanities (LUCDH) has had a new director since 1 February. Associate Professor Angus Mol wants to connect people and knowledge in his new role.

A banker who puts making money second and makes a profit nonetheless. A farmer who stops ploughing and using insecticides but still has a good harvest. A new white paper by Leiden-Delft-Erasmus and Naturalis Biodiversity Center shows how the meeting of disciplines provides solutions to climate change…

The International symposium on artistic research methods organized by ACPA and the Platform for Arts Research in Collaboration (PARC), in coordination with Fontys Tilburg and SAR– took place on 9th April, 2024 at the Textile Museum in Tilburg. The recordings are now online at whatmethodsdo.com.

Over two days in the middle of April the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society hosted the virtual Bodies Matter conference. Almost two years in the making, the conference was an exciting and timely opportunity to discuss and debate histories, theories and practices of bodies.

A few law students were given the opportunity to conduct an eight-week internship at the Rechtbank Den Haag. They took part in hearings as clerks, in discussions about cases in the judges’ chambers, and contributed to the formation of decisions. They held a presentation about their experiences during…

Twaalf rechtenstudenten krijgen tot maart 2025 de kans om achter de schermen te kijken bij rechtbank Den Haag via het Honours College Law-vak ‘Masterclass rechtbank Den Haag’. Studenten Quinten Heerma en Eva Verdellen delen hun ervaringen met deze Masterclass.

Ever did something for the first time and got an award for it? Sabine Wenzel did. Her research about the surface of zinc oxide won her the Surface Science Young Investigator award.

Paul Behrens and his team have won the Frontiers Planet Prize of half a million euros for their research into the effects of switching to a plant-based diet.

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) has spent the past five years coordinating an international study of genetic mutations and breast cancer risks. The results will make it easier to determine which genes increase the risk of breast cancer and to what extent. The researchers published their results…