The emergence of complex diseases resulting from abnormal cell-cell signaling and the spread of infectious diseases caused by pathogens are significant threats to humanity. Unraveling the dynamic mechanisms underlying cell-cell signaling and infectious disease spreading is crucial for effective disease…

Chemical biology research at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry is aimed at understanding biological processes at the molecular level to strengthen the knowledge base of human health and disease. The approach to achieve this goal is a fundamental chemical one; with the aid of chemical probes biological…

Microbial Sciences' contribution to the Bioactive Molecules research theme is to discover new bioactive molecules and enzymes and unravel their mechanisms of action, regulatory networks, and the (bio)synthetic pathways required for their production.

The master’s specialisation Biodiversity and Sustainability at Leiden University provides students with a much better understanding of the biological processes which are essential for creating a sustainable society.

The master's specialisation Bioinformatics at Leiden University focuses on research, development and application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral and health data.

Research at the BIOSYN group is comprised of the following research themes:

Rembrandt Year is concluding with a major exhibition at Museum De Lakenhal. There are still numerous other activities such as lectures, the University Rembrandt Route and the screening of a critical documentary.

Mechanical interactions between cells and their environment play an important role in many biological processes.

Find out how to apply for Research in Physics, Biological and Soft Matter Physics at Leiden University by following our step-by-step guide.

Ecotox is located in an ambitious surrounding at the Leiden University. It is an initiative of both institutes Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) and Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL).

Making systems biology modelling a central pillar of research in biology

The group Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences has expertise in individual differences in child development, in particular the development of psychopathology, ranging from mild to severe neurodevelopmental disorders.

In this thesis, we show how MRFM can usefully contribute to the field of condensed-matter.

Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are the most abundant biological entity in nature. They shape bacterial communities and are a major driving force in bacterial evolution.

Vitamin A or retinol is essential in embryonic development, the visual cycle and the immune system.

The master’s specialisation Evolutionary Biology at Leiden University investigates biology at all levels. The specialisation includes genomics, functional developmental genetics, paleobiology, behavioral biology and evolutionary ecology.

Do you have any questions about the master’s programme Research in Biological- and Soft-Matter Physics? Please contact us.

What is the mechanism of action preceding a physiological effects induced by metallic nanoparticles?

Which metabolites of sponge are influenced by individual environmental or biological factors?

Research at the SBC group is comprised of the following research themes:

The close interaction between organic chemi stry and biology goes back to the late 18th century, when the modern natural sciences began to take shape. After synthetic organic chemistry arose as a discipline, organic chemists almost immediately began to pursue the synthesis of naturally occurring compounds,…

Development of micro-scale analytical tools to be used to address relevant biomedical questions in the field of neuroscience, and other application areas intrinsically dealing with small sample amounts.

The Biological- and Soft-Matter Physics Master specialisation is one of the two programmes Leiden offers in experimental Physics. The programme can to a high degree be tailored to individual needs and interests.

LED3 is the combined effort of three excellent institutes of Leiden University. Through joined hands, we are able to give rise to a more effective early drug discovery pipeline. Let us briefly introduce the three institutes.

In photoactivated chemotherapy (PACT), a biologically active compound is caged by a light-cleavable protecting group.

Biological polymers, including proteins and the genome, undergo folding processes crucial for their proper functioning. Even slight changes in the folding structure of these biopolymers can have significant implications, leading to the development of various pathological conditions, such as neurodegenerative…

Research in the BioTherapeutics research programme is aimed at a smoother and speedier transition from preclinical research to pharmacological interventions, and the delivery of drugs in the human body by use of small molecules and biologics.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.N. Kok

Projects within the theme ‘Computational Biology’ aim to employ mathematical or computational dynamical modelling approaches to discover novel concepts that are important for drug development.

Climate change is a challenge for both current and future generations. New biological resources have to be developed in order to meet the demand for energy as well as the demand for food.

The aim of this project is to explore the use of statistical interaction models to quantify cross-omics and omics-drug interactions in large-scale clinical and experimental datasets

The research in Biological- and Soft-Matter Physics specialisation consists of 120 European Credit Transfer System (EC) points and includes electives (60 EC) and two research projects (60 EC).

The surface and the edges of graphene are expected to provide higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting and characterizing single molecules. However fundamental physical limits exist in reaching an ultimate precision in detecting the dynamics of chemical and biological systems. The research in…

The group Theoretical Physics of Life Processes, led by Helmut Schiessel, focuses on the physics of chromatin, the DNA-protein complex that fills the nuclei of eukaryotic cells.

Metabolomicshas emerged as an important discipline to study molecular and cellular processes in living cells and organisms with the ultimate aim to obtain an answer to a given biological/clinical question.

The Biomedical Microscale Analytics group is led by Dr. Rawi Ramautar. In present-day metabolomics, and bioanalysis in general, the analytical toolbox used encounters difficulties for the analysis of limited amounts of biological samples. As a result, a significant number of crucial biomedical/clinical…

The chemical industry must continue to innovate for a more sustainable, healthier society. The reseachers from the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) contribute by applying their knowledge to themes such as sustainability, energy and health.

Can a proposed new radiofrequency approach to graphene biosensors lead to groundbreaking changes in genome mapping?

Are you interested in the neurocognitive and biological roots of learning, behaviour and emotions in children? If so, the programme in Applied Neuroscience in Human Development might be the specialisation you are looking for.

Towards a Biological Understanding of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic Transition

Does Artifical Light at Night (ALAN) disrupt seasonal physiological and behavioral patterns in migrating freshwater fish?

During adolescence, mood disorder onset peaks. Mood variability is associated with negative mental health outcomes, so understanding biological factors that might be associated with mood variability, such as sleep and structural brain development, could elucidate the mechanisms underlying mood and anxiety…

Promotor: Prof.dr. T. Hankemeier, Co-promotor: Dr. Theo Reijmers

This work has described synthetic strategies towards well-defined structures resembling capsular polysaccharide (CPS) fragments, CPS mimics, teichoic acid (TA) fragments as well as a third-generation ring-closing tandem metathesis (RCM) linker to better exploit the potential of automated synthesis.

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…

Promotor: J.G.E.M. Fraaije, Co-Promotor: A. Kros

All life on earth contains DNA, which is used to store biological information. Organisms compact their DNA in order for it to fit inside their cell(s).

Where did species survive the cold cycles of the current Ice Age?

Key publications of the Biologics Formulation group