To increase clinical success rate of drugs, a better understanding of drug action mechanism and disease dynamics is required. Metabolomics, which studies small molecules involved in biochemical processes in organisms, has shown to be a useful tool for this better understanding.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most prevalent cancer in males.

Nature, nurture and neural mechanisms of social emotion regulation in childhood

This dissertation derives from the development of tools for algorithmic composition which extract pitch materials from sound signals, analyzing them according to their timbral and harmonic properties, putting them into motion through diverse rhythmic and textural procedures.

In this thesis, we describe the latest advances in SQUID-detected Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM).

Animal Sciences’ contributions to the Host-Microbe Interactions research theme focus on the interaction of animal hosts with pathogenic microbes but also the beneficial role of the gut microbiome.

This thesis describes the development and optimization of the first molecular tools to study the enzyme PLA2G4E.

Stimulating the vagus nerve, which provides a direct link between the gut and brain, makes people pay less attention to sad facial expressions. This research study by psychologists Katerina Johnson and Laura Steenbergen is published in the journal Neuroscience, and made it to the cover.

This thesis describes our search to identify and understand possible regulatory mechanisms of integrin α6β4 in cell-matrix adhesion and intracelular signaling.

How do animals choose their partners? The answer is simple: it’s all about quality. While humans tend to wear clothes that happen to be in fashion, animals do nothing without a reason. Behind beautiful plumage or a deafening roar is only one message: I am in great shape. The evolutionary courtship displays…

An international research team consisting of Katharina Riebel as leading PI and two international collaborators were awarded a Human Frontier Science Program grant for their proposal ‘Seeing voices’: the role of multimodal cues in vocal learning.

How can we develop a new microscope that can distinguish individual atoms in proteins?

After an initial suggestion of a move toward Israel, India’s Prime Minister Modi has signaled a significant recalibration of his government’s engagement with the Middle East region. Now, India seems to be prioritising strong ties with the Gulf states.

Dynamic nuclear polarization with paramagnetic agents can enhance nuclear magnetic resonance signals by orders of magnitude. The mechanism of enhancement depends a.o. on the magnetic resonance properties of the agents used. Electron spin relaxation times at NMR relevant magnetic field/microwave frequencies,…

A deceptively simple, complicated paper

Source: Purinergic Signal., Volume 10, Issue 3, pp. 441-53 (2014)

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

In this dissertation, electrophysiological (EEG) and behavioural measures are used to investigate how allophonic tonal variants and sub-phonemic features are processed during Mandarin and Dutch speech production, visual processing of written words and reading aloud.

For centuries astronomers studied the Universe by collecting light. Nowadays, we are living in times of great technological advancements, which allow us to explore our Universe in a new way - though gravitational wave radiation.

The soil ecosystem consists of the largest reservoir of biodiversity on Earth.

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

Source: Biosens Bioelectron, Volume 74, pp. 233-42 (2015)

The experiments described in this thesis employ local lentiviral knockdowns in brain areas of female zebra finches followed by behavioural assays consisting of preference and Go/Nogo tasks.

Plants produce an astonishing variety of secondary metabolites (SMs) which are thought to play vital roles in the fitness of plants through ecological interactions.

Key publications of the Cancer Drug Target Discovery group

PhD defence

PhD defence

PhD defence

Smart algorithms and powerful processors are just as essential for astronomy as big telescopes. Astronomers at Leiden University therefore constantly operate at the interface between astronomy and data science.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. de Jong, Co-Promotor: Dr. A.J. Heijboer

Maartje van der Woude, Professor of Law and Society, was a guest on NPO Radio 1 programme 'Spraakmakers' to talk about more border fences on the EU’s external borders and the usefulness of such measures. She was also a guest on 'Vroeg!' to discuss a court case about ethnic profiling.

In order to gain insight into the structure and function of the molecular complexes involved in chemotaxis, we use electron cryotomography (ECT). This technique allows us to directly study microbes in their native state at resolutions capable of visualizing individual proteins.

How does stress affect different components of behavioral impulsivity and aggression in patients with Borderline Personality Disorder compared to clinical controls (patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and healthy controls?

This thesis focuses on two processes involved in fighting infections: metabolism and immune cell motility and navigation.

Promotor: Erik F. Smets, Co-promotores: Barbara Gravendeel, Niels Raes

We study cell-fate decision-making using embryonic stem cells as a model system. Stem cells integrate a large number of cues to direct their development into a great variety of cell types.

This thesis focuses on the study of transient and variable radio sources in the universe.

Humanities Campus Project is the name of the redevelopment of the Witte Singel-Doelen Complex, the location of the Faculty of Humanities and associated knowledge partners and institutes. Over a period of ten years the complex will undergo a gradual metamorphosis, while classes continue to be taught.…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.J.J. Groenen

Unconstrained day-to-day activities are difficult to quantify and how the corresponding movements shape the brain remain unclear. Here, we recorded all touchscreen smartphone interactions at a sub-second precision and show that the unconstrained day-to-day behavior captured on the phone reflects in…

Drug-target binding kinetics determine the time course of the central event in pharmacotherapy: Drug-target interaction.

In this thesis, I study 1) metabolic alterations in tuberculosis related to wasting syndrome in human patients as well as in rodent and fish animal models. 2) effects of the mutation of the leptin gene on cachexia and diabetes in rodent and zebrafish animal models.

The subject areas covered encompass functional genomics, signal transduction, cellular differentiation, development, host-microbe interactions and animal behaviour.

The book 'Darwin comes to town’ by Menno Schilthuizen has been awarded the best nature book in the Netherlands. The Leiden biologist received the Jan Wolkers Prize, awarded annually by Dutch TV and radio show 'Vroege Vogels'. In his book Schilthuizen describes evolution in one of the newest and most…

PhD defence

The current projects of the Molecular Physiology group focus on proteins of the endocannabinoid system, kinases and antibacterial targets. MSc- and BSc-students can contact Jessica van Krimpen-Kraaijenoord to apply for research internships.