Healthy University Leiden aims to promote a working environment where staff and students can do their jobs responsibly, healthily and in positive surroundings, and where they can achieve their potential.

Gilles van Wezel has been appointed the new Scientific Director of the Institute of Biology Leiden starting September 1st, 2018. Van Wezel succeeds Herman Spaink, who has been the Scientific Director since September 2014.

Leiden University’s contribution to the national SSH Sector Plan is built on a layered and interconnected structure. The Sector Plan themes define shared national priorities; the university’s profile themes embed these priorities within a broader interdisciplinary strategy; and the five FSW Core Themes…

Soil bacteria can produce a wealth of antibiotics that are new to us, claims Gilles van Wezel, Professor of Molecular Biotechnology at the Institute of Biology Leiden. His research group has developed a method that can rapidly identify and produce these unknown compounds.

Prof. Gilles van Wezel and Prof. Mike Richardson of the Institute of Biology Leiden received €1.4 million to find new antibiotics.

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 the specialisation Clinical Neuropsychology, part of the Master in Psychology, you will focus on fostering clinical and scientific skills based on a solid theoretical background as well as practical training in neuropsychology and (clinical) neuropsychological research.

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…

Are you curious about how health, behaviour and our living environment are connected? At Leiden University, you’ll explore how people grow up, age and live together in a changing world. From mental health to sustainable cities, from lifestyle to healthcare policy: you’ll learn to understand societal…

The Leiden Institute of Education and Child Studies aims to conduct high-quality research that addresses major social issues. This inspires its BSc, MSc and PhD programmes.

Are you curious about how health, behaviour and our living environment are connected? At Leiden University, you’ll explore how people grow up, age and live together in a changing world. From mental health to sustainable cities, from lifestyle to healthcare policy: you’ll learn to understand societal…

Are you curious about how health, behaviour and our living environment are connected? At Leiden University, you’ll explore how people grow up, age and live together in a changing world. From mental health to healthcare innovation, from lifestyle to healthcare policy: you’ll learn to understand societal…

Are you curious about how health, behaviour and our living environment are connected? At Leiden University, you’ll explore how people grow up, age and live together in a changing world. From mental health to healthcare innovation, from lifestyle to healthcare policy: you’ll learn to understand societal…

Our research examines mental health risk and resilience in young people. We do so by integrating cultural, social, cognitive and neurobiological factors and their interactions.

This is an Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility project of Leiden University's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences with University of Botswana in Botswana.

The aim of the REACT Study is to examine whether baseline inflammation, and/or neuro-immune responses to stress in a sample of adolescents with experiences of childhood adversity predicts: the perception of stress, social behaviour and general mental and physical health during and after the COVID-19…

Increasing resistance and a lack of new antibiotics are a serious problem for public health. Against this background, Gilles van Wezel of the Institute of Biology Leiden is looking for new medicines. Together with former PhD student Changsheng Wu and colleagues he discovered the special antibiotic lugdunomycin,…

With the search for new antibiotics becoming increasingly urgent, artificial intelligence offers valuable help. Smart software developed by Leiden PhD candidate Alexander Kloosterman searched genomes of bacteria and found clusters of DNA that code for proteins that have an antibiotic effect. ‘This new…

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.

What are the main issues leading to polarisation and division? What is the role of social exclusion in these processes? How can we inform and design better policies to safeguard young people from falling prey to intolerance and polarisation? The DRIVE project, led by Leiden University in The Hague,…

Positive friendships are characterised by understanding mutual wishes and intentions, respect for each other’s boundaries and pro-social behaviour. Qualities that might be more challenging for autistic adolescents.

Frank van der Horst is per 1 februari 2026 benoemd tot bijzonder hoogleraar Pedagogische Wetenschappen.

Wat als je advies zou kunnen krijgen van je toekomstige zelf? Jean-Louis van Gelder en zijn collega’s ontvangen een ERC Proof of Concept-beurs voor het project YourFutureU, waarin deelnemers gecoacht worden door een virtuele AI-versie hun toekomstige ‘ik’.

The Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology’s ‘Vulnerable Groups and Inequality’ research project draws on a number of disciplines.

Streptomycetes are similar to moulds, but these bacteria live in the soil. They are very popular in biotechnology because they produce a great many antibiotics and enzymes. Gilles van Wezel will be using his Vici subsidy to study ways of increasing their production.

Some examples of AI-research done at Leiden.

We explore the possibilities to combine magnetic resonance techniques with atomic force microscopy together in a single microscope: the MRI-AFM, also called Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM).

The CMCB comprises research groups from the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).

The Immune Activation and Tolerance group is headed by Dr. Bram Slütter. Vaccination is an experimental, but promising, treatment strategy for atherosclerosis. Previous work has shown that immunization of mice with modified LDL particles can reduce atherosclerotic lesion development, however such vaccines…

Learning from nature and utilizing microbial biodiversity to identify and characterize enzymes for degradation and upcycling of plastics and other polymeric materials.

Organisation Institute of Biology Leiden

You have chosen to do a PhD track at Leiden University. What do you need to know when you start your project?

This page brings together the Assistant Professors appointed through the SSH Sector Plans at Leiden University. Each researcher plays a key role in strengthening our social sciences community — advancing new research lines, innovative teaching, and collaboration across faculties.

Bacteria use antibiotics as a weapon and even produce more antibiotics if there are competing strains nearby. This is a fundamental insight that can help find new antibiotics. Leiden scientists Daniel Rozen and Gilles van Wezel published their research results in the authoritative Proceedings of the…

Professors Jos Raaijmakers (NIOO) and Gilles Van Wezel (IBL) received an STW Perspectief- grant of €3 million from the Dutch Technology Foundation and several supporting companies.

A step-by-step approach to building confidence in anxiety-prone young children.

Bacteria carry countless hidden treasures in their DNA: fragments that could hold the key to new medicines. But how do you pick out the most promising ones from millions of options? ‘Look at the switches that turn genes on and off,’ says molecular biologist Gilles van Wezel.

How can we facilitate the early recognition of stress and anxiety in the classroom and collaborate with schools in providing low-threshold interventions?

Can positive peer feedback break the cycle of negative self-relevant cognitive processes and reduce self-reported anxiety in early adolescents?

An international mega-analysis on the neurobiological link between inhibited temperament and social anxiety disorder

Peer-mentored cognitive behavioral therapy for adolescents with mild intellectual disability and anxiety disorder

The master's specialisation Occupational Health Psychology consists of three main parts: the mandatory and elective courses, a thesis and an internship.

Who can you contact for support and advice?

Using artificial intelligence to find new antibiotics. With that, researchers from Leiden University are nominated by magazine KIJK for the Best Tech-idea of 2021. From September 14 onwards people can vote to crown one of the nominees as the winner.

During adolescence, mood disorder onset peaks. Mood variability is associated with negative mental health outcomes, so understanding biological factors that might be associated with mood variability, such as sleep and structural brain development, could elucidate the mechanisms underlying mood and anxiety…

Behavioral Sciences Mental Health Psychological Disorders - Adult Aggression in Adults Psychological Science Social Psychology Criminology & Delinquency Social Sciences Criminology and Criminal Justice Crime and Crime Prevention Criminal Behaviour and Forensic Psychology Violent Crime Law Criminology…

The Resilience Center Leiden investigates how stress impacts the mental health of young people. For that, the team studies a multitude of factors, such as childhood experiences, the social environment, psychological factors, and neurobiological factors. With this multidimensional approach, we aim to…

Research within COI@Leiden is clustered around two themes: sustainable justice and the courtroom as a social arena. Find out more about each of these projects by clicking on the links below.