What is Leiden University doing to make its buildings future-proof and independent of fossil energy?

We investigate the processes underlying the patterns. We aim to explain biodiversity by investigating the distribution, function, development, and evolution of body forms, as well as physiological and behavioural variety among species. We collaborate with those specialized in describing, archiving,…

Bacteria that fluoresce green, blue or red may play a role in combatting resistance against antibiotics. Under the motto of 'Say yes to stress', thirteen ambitious Leiden students are aiming to amass 9,000 euros to carry out their research project.

Even though it is generally known that Autism and ADHD are more common in men, and depression or anxiety disorders are more common among women, it is still not well understood if, how and when sex differences impact neurodiversity and mental health. To better understand this complex issue, 25 international…

To facilitate the search for new antibiotics. That is the aim of Gilles van Wezel, professor molecular biotechnology at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL). He wants to do this by looking at similarities in the DNA of antibiotic-producing bacteria. Van Wezel has been awarded an ERC Advanced grant…

Stress among students is a growing problem. A new Student Wellbeing taskforce will be looking at the mental health of students at Leiden University.

Liwen Meng has been granted a CSC fellowship to initiate her PhD project, which will delve into the role of nature in buffering stress response. Her research will be carried out under the supervision of Dr. Henk van Steenbergen.

Nature's role in buffering stress response

PhD defence

PhD defence

PhD defence

PhD defence

PhD defence

The more opportunities a child has to learn and develop, the stronger his or her future position in society. Leiden University investigates how the brain picks up information, and how learning processes can be influenced positively.

The Urban Studies bachelor’s programme is based on two learning trajectories. One is dedicated to knowledge related to urban issues, while the other focuses on a wide range of practical and academic skills.

In the specialisation Health and Medical Psychology, part of the Master in Psychology, you will acquire knowledge on clinical and scientific topics in health promotion and disease prevention as well as practical training on clinical skills and behaviour change.

In September 2023, we started transforming a under-utilised outdoor space into a greener and more biodiverse garden in which all students and staff of the Schouwburgstraat can relax and enjoy.

Electronic versions of our publications can be obtained by sending an e-mail to Esther van den Bos: bosejvanden@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

“Endophenotypes of Social Anxiety Disorder: Can we detect them and are they useful in clinical practice”

Light makes us flourish – in this respect we humans are just like a rose or an azalea. Light can also be used to treat people who are ill. In Leiden, Sylvestre Bonnet and Esther Habers are working – each in their own discipline – on new applications of light in a clinical context.

Eleven Leiden researchers have been awarded a Veni grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The grant will enable them to develop their research ideas for a period of three years.

Finding structure in disordered proteins and developing drugs for undruggable diseases: it might sound like mission impossible, but pharmacologist Alireza Mashaghi and his team are right on top of it. Their project was awarded by NWO through the Open Competition Domain Science -XS, a competition that…

Alireza Mashaghi from the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) will use state-of-the-art technology to investigate proteins that play a role in muscular dystrophy. His goal is to provide new insights for designing novel therapeutic strategies in the future. To accomplish this, Mashaghi receives…

Not one, but two initiatives won this year's Van Bergen prize. The prize was awarded during the university's Diversity symposium on 22 January. One of the winners is OpenUp, an interactive symposium on coping with stress and fear. Students are invited to tell their stories. The Hague Campus' study advisers…

Streptomyces is used extensively in industry for the production of bioactive metabolites and enzymes. These multicellular bacteria grow as filamentous, branching cells, via a process called polar growth. This process is driven by the DivIVA protein, making it crucial to gain a deeper understanding of…

Our main research interest is to understand the underlying mechanisms of plant protection against (a)biotic stresses mediated by microorganisms. Our group is specialized in the development of new multidisciplinary approaches to systematically correlate microbial genes and biosynthetic gene clusters…

Martijn Bezemer has been appointed as professor in “Ecology of plant-microbe-insect interactions” within the Faculty of Science at the Institute of Biology from the 1st of September 2016. His main research focus is on aboveground-belowground interactions.

Developmental psychologist Barbara Braams has moved to Harvard University to study social influences on adolescents’ decision making in risky and ambiguous situations. NWO awarded her a Rubicon grant for talented scientists who have recently obtained a PhD.

Researchers led by Professor of Chemistry Marcellus Ubbink have recently published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) about the dynamics of an important redox enzyme. This work was accomplished thanks to an NWO VICI subsidy granted to Professor Ubbink.

On 3 April, Professor Syed Faisal Ahmed from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) will give his inaugural lecture ‘Strength in Numbers’. He will emphasise the benefit of registries to rare disease research.

Our mission is to improve the description, prediction, understanding and the prevention and treatment of mood disorders, including unipolar and bipolar depression, as well as suicidal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. To tackle this ambitious mission, we focus on several research streams.

Knowledge and culture subproject 4:

Decent work involves opportunities for work that delivers a fair income, care for occupational health and safety, freedom for people to organize and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men. The Labour Law department at Leiden University conducts research and provides education on…

What does it mean to eat healthily and responsibly? This question is gaining a new urgency now that in many countries undernourishment is being overtaken by diseases of affluence, such as obesity, and we are also becoming more aware of the environmental impact of our eating habits. It’s time to take…

At Leiden University College we are determined to offer the best Liberal Arts & Sciences programme, and we believe that our students have the potential to play a leading role in tackling the challenges our world faces. Therefore, we aim to ensure that any student - regardless of their background - can…

We know this, but we don’t act on it: eat healthily, move more, address our stress levels and sleep well. Internist and Professor of Diabetology Hanno Pijl is fascinated by the effect that a healthy lifestyle can have on health. He researches how this lifestyle is achievable and satisfying, for patients…

In the specialisation Occupational Health Psychology, part of the Master in Psychology, you will integrate knowledge of several disciplines in psychology, with a clear focus on workers and their work setting.

How to access the end-of-supply risk of spare pares using big data analytics

How do you ensure that research is performed, evaluated and managed in a responsible way? This question is also of the utmost important to the University itself. The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) studies scientific research and its relationship with technology, innovation and soci…

Understanding what motivates foreign fighters to go and fight in war zones and analysing their social environment offers a basis for preventing them from going.

Spontaneously helping one another, why do we bother? It is believed that lending a hand to others promotes social bonding, helping us to connect with each other and even build friendships. In our experiment, in which the adult researcher ‘accidentally’ dropped matches on the floor, most adolescents…

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