Source: Eur J Med Chem, Volume 101, pp. 681-91 (2015)

Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) was tested in chronic worriers. tVNS may reduce spontaneously occurring negative thought intrusions. After a worry induction, there was no longer an effect of tVNS. tVNS did not affect physiological responding to worrying.

Can animal venoms yield novel antimicrobial peptides?

The cannabinoid CB2 receptor (CB2R) represents a promising therapeutic target for various forms of tissue injury and inflammatory diseases. Although numerous compounds have been developed and widely used to target CB2R, their selectivity, molecular mode of action and pharmacokinetic properties have…

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.N. Kok, Co-Promotor: W.A. Kosters

The ADAPTED (Alzheimer's Disease Apolipoprotein Pathology for Treatment Elucidation and Development) project is a major new initiative to investigate an area of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) research which has previously received little attention. The project aims to improve understanding of the function…

The glycosylation reaction is a pivotal reaction in creating new and complex oligosaccharides.

The Plant BioDynamics Lab (PBDL) is a laboratory dedicated to experiments designed to develop and validate quantitative mathematical models of dynamical processes in biology. The principal objective of developing these models is to make quantitative predictions about these processes.

I want to understand the overlap between physical health, mental health, and healthy aging and whether/how stress (behaviorally and biologically) may tie these concepts together.

Drug development is a time- and resource-consuming process that starts with the discovery and validation of a (protein) target that contributes to pathogenesis or disease progression.

Research in the group Clinical Neurodevelopmental Sciences is focused on understanding and influencing developmental mechanisms in children and adolescents.

Patterns of paleomobility in the Caribbean were studied through an inter-disciplinary approach using a combination of archaeological, osteological, mortuary, and isotopic data.

The relative simplicity of the bacterial cell, short generation times and well defined and inexpensive culturing conditions have significantly contributed to our understanding of many complex biological systems. Yet the workings of the bacterial genome, seemingly impossibly compressed within a tiny…

The aim of the RAISE study is to investigate how resilient people respond to stress. Specifically, we will study how key biological systems (HPA-axis, immune system) interact with the brain and social environment in order to facilitate resilient functioning after childhood adversities.

We have studied the impact of particle shape anisotropy, multivalent interactions and flexibility on systems of micron-sized colloidal particles.

Promotores: C. J. ten Cate; M. A. Ainslie. Co-promotor: W. Slabbekoorn

What are the functions of the endocannabinoid system?

The studies reported in this thesis were situated in the context of an innovation of Dutch secondary school biology curricula. As in any innovation, the practical knowledge of teachers determine the outcomes through the decisions they make while planning and teaching their lessons. The aim of the studies…

Organisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances.

Some species of proteins which can form liquid-like condensates, also exhibit growth into fibers (or fibrils). One particularly interesting set of such proteins are those that are associated with neurodegeneration in which the fiber growth may be related to the pathological fibrils observed in disea…

The deeper understanding of an organism's pathology is important for developing treatments. Over centuries of systematic research, clinical researchers have demonstrated that the more information they acquire about the cellular properties and their organisation in the tissue, the better they can understand…

This thesis describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of TLR2/6, TLR4, TLR7/8 and TLR9 ligands, of which the activity can be conditionally controlled.

Source: Org Biomol Chem, Volume 13, Issue 8, pp. 2407-22 (2015)

Developing robust and comprehensive analytical methods to size and quantify subvisible particles in biopharmaceutical products.

Research projects

Promotor: H.J.M. de Groot, Co-Promotor: A. Alia

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: J.D.C. Codée

How can species literacy in the Netherlands be explained and improved?

The group is involved in training in areas of diagnostic skills, treatment/prevention/intervention, neuropsychological assessment, behavioral observations, clinical interviewing, knowledge of intellectual disability, autism, ADHD, psychosis and aggression.

Promotor: M. Ubbink, Co-promotor: G. Siegal

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper, Co-Promotor: S.C.A. de Jager

Promotor: J.P. Abrahams, Co-promotor: T. Grüne

In the Drug Research theme, we primarily work with rodents. Rodents, such as mice, are one of the most common laboratory animals. These small mammals are easily housed and exhibit a rapid rate of reproduction.

This thesis is a collection of experimental attempts to enhance photoluminescence of fluorescent molecules and quantum dots with single gold nanorods (GNRs) and relevant applications.

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.W. Canters, Prof.dr. T.J. Aartsma

Bioarchaeology covers the study of all biological remains from archaeological sites.

Can we link multiple components from herbal extracts with their biological activities?

Traditional drug discovery approaches have been hampered by (in vitro) cell-culture models that poorly represent the situation in the human body.

The Leiden University-European Center for Chinese Medicine and Natural Compounds (LUECCM) is a virtual research Centre bringing together research projects of many different researchers from different origin.

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

Aggression inflicts a huge personal, psychological and financial burden on affected individuals, their relatives, and society at large. Despite large scientific, preventive, and treatment investments, no decrease in aggressive behaviour is seen. By combining interdisciplinary expertise the ACTION consortium…

Promotor: Prof.dr. B. van de Water, Co-promotores: L.T.M. van der Ven, A.S. Kienhuis

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink

There is a need for alternative methods to replace, reduce and refine (3R) animal experimentation. Combining experimental data from high-throughput in vitro studies with in silico modeling is a promising approach to unravel the effect of chemicals on living cells and to gain a better understanding of…

This thesis systematically analyzes the physical-chemistry of lipid-graphene interactions with the major objective of reconciliating the variety of results reported in the literature.

Electron microscopy has become an extremely important techniquein a wide variety of elds.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) constitutes a small subtype (~15%) of breast cancer, but causes the majority of breast cancer-related deaths.

N-acylethanolamines (NAEs), which include the endocannabinoid anandamide, represent an important family of signaling lipids in the brain. The lack of chemical probes that modulate NAE biosynthesis in living systems hamper the understanding of the biological role of these lipids.