‘It was a discovery we did not expect,’ says Remko Offringa, professor of Plant developmental genetics. Today he publishes a new trait of a versatile gene in Current Biology: it makes the difference in plants between herbaceous and woody stem growth. A useful feature to prevent dehydration.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research has awarded dr. Geeske Langejans a Veni grant for the research project What's in a plant? Tracking early human behaviour through plant processing and exploitation.

Mapping sanitary infrastructure in large urban societies in the Low Countries, 1200–1900

Science, Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

The collaboration between Leiden University (Medical Center) and the Autonomous University of Barcelona forms one of the most powerful international alliances for the creation and transmission of knowledge in the field of transfusion medicine.

The project MiCRop receives 20.3 million euros from the Gravitation programme of the Dutch Research Council (NWO). MiCRop will unravel the microbial community around crops. This knowledge will help to develop more sustainable crops that require fewer fertilizers and pesticides. Leiden professors Jos…

The Leiden Hortus Botanicus is the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands. Although perfect for a ramble, it is much more than an open air museum. PhD students carry out their research here and the Hortus makes a serious contribution to biodiversity through the exchange of rare seeds with other…

A publication in Nature Plants by a team of Leiden biologists has received national and international media attention. The researchers can have annuals flower multiple times thanks to a particular gene they discovered.

On October 9th, Peter Alexander Kerkhof succesfully defended his doctoral thesis and graduated. The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Peter Alexander on this great result.

This volume edited by Jan Lucassen and Leo Lucassen aims to quantify and qualify cross-cultural global migrations and was published in the series 'Studies in Global Migration History'.

In Migration and Membership Regimes editors Ulbe Bosma, Gijs Kessler and Leo Lucassen bring together ten essays in an analytical framework which looks beyond the Transatlantic migration of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in a deliberate attempt to incorporate the experience of earlier periods…

When Henriëtte Hoffman was ten years old she was enthralled by The Last Emperor, a 1987 film about the twelfth and last emperor of the Manchu dynasty. It was an interest that eventually led to a five-month stay in Chengde in China for her Asian Studies research master’s programme. During her time in…

On December 6th, 2024, Rector Hester Bijl welcomed participants at the Leiden Jewish Studies Association’s First Annual Conference “Jews at Home: From Creation to Corona” and also presented two Leiden University students with the inaugural Leiden Jewish Studies Association “Best Thesis in Jewish Studies”…

The aim of this project is to investigate the (cost)effectiveness of two innovative forms of trauma-focused therapy for patients with childhood abuse related PTSD. The ultimate goal is to improve quality of care and contribute to treatment innovation for this severely ill target population.

The Hortus Botanicus is celebrating its 425-year anniversary this year. It’s the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands, but how did it come into existence and what kind of research takes place there?

How do you progress from an immense gas cloud somewhere in the universe to a star with planets? Research by Astronomy PhD student Martijn van Gelder sheds more light on the earliest phases of this process. He will receive his doctorate on November 24th.

Roll-up solar panels, bendable phone displays, or better computer chips… The EU project STIBNITE investigated the next generation of semiconductors, made from organic materials based on carbon, nitrogen, and boron. The project has now concluded. During the Open Science Debate on 1 July, the group will…

Great news! From Whit Monday at noon, the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands will be open for visitors again. After twelve weeks of closure, visitors will be able to come and enjoy everything that grows and blossoms in the heart of Leiden's city center. In order to offer all visitors and staff…

Plant scientist Omid Karami is the first winner of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award. The jury praises the outstanding quality of his scientific research as well as the positive societal impact and commercial potential of his work.

On February 10 at 4.15 PM Henk Borgdorff will give his inaugural lecture ‘Reasoning through Art’ at the Academiegebouw.

Huub de Groot is one of the 55 authors for the book The Colours of Energy. The book consists of Essays on the Future of Energy in Society in which leading energy thinkers explore the future of energy in society.

The number of insect species is plummeting, which is why the University is creating a more biodiverse environment around its buildings. Annetje Ottow, President of the Executive Board, planted the first bee-friendly plants in the front garden of Oude UB on 20 September.

Leiden biologist Suzanne Lommen and an international team of scientists have investigated how a beetle can reduce hay fever in Europe. Locally, the beetle is even able to stop pollen production in a plant that causes allergic reactions. Publication in Nature Communications on April 21.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to develop a cheap and fast method to produce hollow microneedles and an applicator for injecting vaccines into the skin at a pre-defined depth and test the applicability of the system for dermal polio vaccination.

On 1 December 2020, Bernadette Muscat defended her thesis 'Insolvency Close-out Netting: A comparative study of English, French and US laws in a global perspective'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. M. Haentjens and Prof. B. Wessels.

On 26 June 2019, Lisa Louwerse defended her thesis 'The EU’s Conceptualisation of the Rule of Law in its External Relations: Case Studies on Development Cooperation and Enlargement'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. C.A.P. Hillion.

Vocal learning is a trait shared by songbirds and humans. It is also a trait that is restricted by the brain rather than by a species' vocal apparatus. In this dissertation, functional MRI is employed in both species in order to explore potential common neural mechanisms underlying the ability to develop…

Programme director of the bachelor's programme Security Studies Daan Weggemans kicked off the first webinar for prospective students this afternoon. In Kaltura Live he had an international audience of about 60 interested people.

Scientific methods and techniques have been employed in archaeological research since the very birth of the discipline. It is impossible to imagine modern archaeology without this expertise in archaeological sciences. These archaeological sciences take centre stage in the new temporal exhibition at…

On Tuesday 3 September 2024 Straton Papagianneas successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Science, Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL)

To be eligible for Biology at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

To be eligible for Biology and Education at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

On 2 September 2022, 300 students received their Bachelor Diploma of International Studies. The students were awarded their diplomas in the historic Pieterskerk in Leiden, in front of a large audience of family and friends. With about 1000 people present, including the graduates, the International Studies…

This study discusses the position of the monasteries in pre-1950s Tibetan societies and how that position was informed by Buddhist monastic ideology.

Cramming from a book, making notes or learning summaries. In the past these were about the only ways to memorise your course material. But that has long since changed. Multimedia is the code word. But is it effective?

Primate and test specialist Jane Goodall paid a visit to the Hortus botanicus in Leiden on 21 May for a ‘meet & greet’. Goodall, a world-famous researcher and nature protectionist, was presented with an orchid named after her and used the occasion to draw attention to the issue of plant protection.…

Hugo de Groot, one of history’s most famous legal scholars, was already studying arts and law in Leiden at the age of 11. How did his career take off from that point and who inspired him?

University is often a period of sexual exploration and experimentation, generally to the satisfaction of all involved. But sometimes you want it and the other doesn’t. Or vice versa. Or you can’t really tell. This is what the Safe Space play at Theater Ins Blau was about on 11 October. And: can your…

Salma Balazadeh, Víctor Carrión, and Jos Raaijmakers, biologists at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), have successfully applied for an NWO grant and got awarded 730.000 euros. The board of NWO Domain Applied and Engineering Sciences awarded funding for their project within the Open Technology Programme…

In the tropical rainforests of Southeast Asia the soursop family (Annonaceae) can be found. The genus Uvaria is a part of this family, but it has not yet been described entirely correctly. That is what Annas Rabbani will be studying during the next four years as a PhD student at the Hortus botanicus…

On Friday 23 June, the Austrian Studies Fund was established with a festive gathering in the Faculty Club. This fund is the successor of the Austrian Studies Foundation and will continue and expand the program of activities of the Central European Studies chair at Leiden University, which was established…

Are you thinking about studying abroad for a semester? We came across two students who want to share their experiences with you.

LUGO has some news: If you are using a public computer from Leiden University, you can now set your default search engine to Ecosia.

Haunting the future through poetry

Are you interested in the BA programme International Studies but not yet sure what it all means?

The Leiden Jewish Studies Association is pleased to announce a call for nominations for the

The Hortus botanicus Leiden has one of Europe’s largest collections of living plants from the Asian region. This rich resource is no longer the sole domain of botanists. Multidisciplinary research, teaching and the general public are equally at home in the Hortus. This is the view of Paul Kessler, professor…