Atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathology of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis is caused by an immune response which is directed against (modified) lipoproteins which accumulate in the vessel wall.

Cardiovascular syndromes are the major cause of death in Western societies.

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

From molecule, to cell, to organism. The high-level drug research at the Cell Observatory aimes at reducing the spread of cancer and developing new medicines for tuberculosis.

In this thesis, single-cell approaches were applied to characterize the impact of aging on the immunological B cell landscape in different models of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with the goal to identify and study new B cell-associated biomarkers and therapeutic targets to halt atherosclerosis…

Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) and tumor cell migration play an important role in cancer progression, and an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying these concepts is essential for developing new targeted approaches.

Cell adhesion signaling

This thesis aims to test in vitro pipelines to rapidly and cost-effectively identify molecular mechanisms that drive adverse outcomes in clinical use.

Mechanobiology is a major area in biology, however, mechanics is currently a missing element in drug development pipelines. This has led to a high cost for the society. Mechanotoxicity of drugs often appears as a long-term side effect of drugs, and has led to removal of drugs from the market. Furthermore,…

The Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) will start construction this year of the largest non-profit stem cell and gene therapy facility in the Netherlands, and one of the largest facilities in Europe. NECSTGEN – the Netherlands Center for the Clinical Advancement of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies…

In this research project, we aimed to obtain more insight in the role of mast cells in the immune driven disorders rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis.

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

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 work describes the use of click-to-release chemistry to get spatiotemporal control over immunocytokine activity. Until now, immunocytokines (cytokines coupled to a tumor-targeting-moiety) remained active throughout the body, being able to bind their respective receptors, causing mild to severe…

Pericytes, the mural cells of blood microvessels, are important regulators of vascular morphogenesis and function that have been postulated to mechanically control microvascular diameter through as yet unknown mechanisms.

Promotores: Prof.dr. M.K. Richardson, Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink

In this thesis, the role of mast cells in atherosclerosis and novel therapeutic strategies to inhibit atherosclerosis progression are discussed. The first part of the thesis specifically focuses on the relation between mast cells and advanced human atherosclerotic plaque characteristics.

Kidney transplantation used to be an experimental risky procedure, but is now routinely performed by many countries worldwide.

The first steps are made in personalised cancer vaccination strategies, which aim to induce a more specific immune response with fewer side effects. The activation of cytotoxic T cells is crucial for an effective immune response.

A new type of tripodal squaramide-based supramolecular hydrogels is developed and studied.

Decision support tool for cell therapy commercialization and business development

During embryonic growth, cells proliferate, differentiate, and collectively migrate to form different tissues at the right position and time in the body.

Bacteria have the ability to alter their morphology in order to adapt to changing environments.

Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world. One of its symptoms is the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta.

Aspergillus niger is an important industrial producer of organic acids and enzymes producing large amounts of spent fungal biomass.

Promotoren: G.F.A. Kersten, W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: J-P. Amorij

My PhD thesis investigates the ecological significance of resistance against drought-induced air bubble formation inside the water conduits of plants (embolism), and the plasticity and functional aspects of stem anatomical traits in woody and herbaceous species.

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

This dissertation aims to advance understanding of amoeboid single cell migration under the influence of changing physicochemical environmental properties. The particular focus is on the relatively unknown influence of differing physical properties in the extracellular environment, such as the migratory…

In this thesis, time-lapse fluorescent microscopy plays a pivotal role in investigating functional materials within living cells as well as the migratory behaviour of neural progenitor cells.

This project investigates the role of art in the public and academic debate on biosolar energy

What is the most effective way to eliminate tumour cells? The DNA repair mechanism could play an important role in increasing the effectiveness of chemotherapy in the fight against cancerous cells. If we are to influence this mechanism, we need fundamental knowledge about how the mechanism works.

The central question of this Vici proposal is to investigate if, and how actinobacteria exploit life without a cell wall.

Searching for ways to delay the need for a transplant and trying to build kidneys to order.

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

In this thesis, we have studied cell images from two types of cells, including pollen grains and the immune cells, neutrophils. These images are captured using a bright field microscope and a confocal microscope.

There is an urgent need for more physiologically relevant cell culture methods to guide compound selection in pre-clinical stages of the drug development pipeline.

We aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of eukaryotic cells by Agrobacterium.

Influenza CD8(+) T-cell epitopes are conserved amongst influenza strains and can be recognized by influenza-specific cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs), which can rapidly clear infected cells. An influenza peptide vaccine that elicits these CTLs would therefore be an alternative to current influenza vaccines,…

The cellular metabolism of immune cells constitutes an important part of their proper function and activation. Using T cells as an example, this phenomenon is highlighted by the metabolic reprogramming that occurs in these cells upon activation.

Develop a prototype combined chemical-microbial enzymatical process for the sustainable, green recycling and revalorization of polyamides and polystyrene

Promotor: Huub J.M. de Groot, Co-promotor: Francesco Buda

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), as a partner in the reNEW consortium, is once again receiving tens of millions of euros for research into new treatments based on stem cells. The collaboration will receive a total of €150 million to develop new therapies in regenerative medicine.

We aim to engineer streptomycetes to fully exploit their potential for natural product productions, by a rational design and evolution approach.

The group of Dr. Roxanne Kieltyka designs and synthesizes molecules that self-assemble into polymeric materials using specific non-covalent interactions. These substrates can be used for numerous applications in medicine ranging from disease detection to cell delivery depending on the (bio)molecular…

This dissertation focuses on the systematic vowel alternations displayed by the Proto-Germanic n-stems. The fact is, that many of these nouns now appear to have preserved the ablaut system of the Indo-European proto-language spoken some five millennia ago. In this respect, the n-stems are truly comparable…

‘Regenerative medicine’ explores ways to repair or replace damaged cells, tissues and organs with cell, stem-cell or gene therapy. It can lead to valuable breakthroughs in the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart problems and kidney diseases or muscle diseases.