In this article, Dimiter Toshkov aims to explains the gender gap in COVID-19 vaccination attitudes.

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) are taking part in the phase 2 clinical trial of Janssen Vaccines’ candidate coronavirus vaccine. The vaccine will be tested on 45 test participants in Leiden from 14 September onwards.

In this article, Dimiter Toshkov investigates the determinants of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and refusal, focusing on Eastern, Southern and Western Europe.

With the ongoing development of a corona vaccine, intelligence services worldwide are being deployed for international espionage. Willemijn Aerdts, Lecturer Intelligence Services at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs, was interviewed by the Dutch BNR News Radio. Aerdts is an expert in the…

Emerging from the first wave relatively unscarred to an increase in infections. This research analyses the response from the Bulgarian government to Covid-19.

Leiden researchers are helping develop safe COVID-19 vaccines.

Vaccination is the most effective method to prevent influenza infection. However, current influenza vaccines have several limitations. Relatively long production times, limited vaccine capacity, moderate efficacy in certain populations and lack of cross-reactivity are important issues that need to be…

A coronavirus booster shot provides a better immune response against COVID-19 than a single vaccine dose. mRNA boosters are the most effective upon receiving Janssen. These are the results of a collaborative study between several organisations, including the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC).…

Vaccination via the skin or the mucosae

Promotor: Prof.dr. W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: A. Kros

The research described in this Thesis was aimed at designing and synthesizing nature-inspired compounds as part of TB vaccine discovery.

Transcutaneous vaccination is attractive because it is non- or minimally invasive, pain free and the site of administration (skin) is easily accessible. What’s more, transcutaneous immunization can lead to a strong immune response owing to the presence of immune-competent cells in the skin.

The aim of current study was to develop a dried inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) formulation with minimal loss during the drying process and improved stability when compared with the conventional liquid IPV.

Main challenges in skin vaccination are overcoming the stratum corneum (SC) barrier and targeting the antigen presenting cells (APC) in the epidermis and the dermis.

The Skin Barrier and Vaccination group is led by Prof. Joke Bouwstra. One of the key functions of the skin is its barrier function, which is located in the uppermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum consists of enucleated dead cells (corneocytes) embedded in a lipid matrix.…

It’s all hands on deck at the moment to resolve the COVID-19 crisis. Researchers from various disciplines are helping where they can, also from the field of artificial intelligence (AI). AI offers great opportunities both at the frontline of the crisis and in its expected aftermath. Leiden professor…

The objective is to develop in vitro antigen degradation assays in order to mimic the fate of the antigen in vivo.

Because of their large surface area and immunological competence, mucosal tissues are attractive administration and target sites for vaccination.

Vaccines are an extraordinary category of biopharmaceuticals. They are usually prophylactic and come in many types, from whole bacteria to peptides and nucleic acids. They are very cost effective and almost every human on the planet is vaccinated. The latter mandates that vaccines have to be extremely…

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. A. Bouwstra, Prof.dr. W. Jiskoot

Myrra Carstens

Is willingness to receive Covid-19 vaccine affected by social relationships? To what degree do relationships convey information, social pressure and role-models that alter individual’s willingness to be vaccinated?

In the near future oral polio vaccine (OPV) will be replaced by inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) as part of the eradication program of polio. For that reason, there is a need for substantial amount of safe and more affordable IPV for low-income countries. Bioneedles, which are biodegradable mini-implants,…

In summary, the collective results described in this thesis show that nanoparticulate vaccines can be delivered intradermally by coated and hollow microneedles and evoke antigen-specific immune responses.

The infectious diseases malaria and tuberculosis are responsible for 2.1 million deaths every year. Leiden researchers are currently testing a new tuberculosis vaccine.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting millions of people world-wide.

Atherosclerosis (thickening of the artery wall) is the most common cause of heart attacks or strokes, and one of the most common causes of death in the western world. People with this condition have to take medicine all their lives, so a vaccine for atherosclerosis would be a breakthrough.

Seasonal influenza vaccines provide protection against matching influenza A virus (IAV) strains mainly through the induction of neutralizing serum IgG antibodies. However, these antibodies fail to confer a protective effect against mismatched IAV. This lack of efficacy against heterologous influenza…

Young Academy Leiden holds up the interests of young academics and this is especially important during the corona crisis.

Promotores: Wim Jiskoot; Ferry Ossendorp

Young Academy Leiden has conducted a survey among young academics of Leiden University.

Young Academy Leiden has conducted a survey among young academics of Leiden University.

The intradermal administration route is attractive for vaccine delivery, because of the highly populated antigen-presenting cells in the skin. However, the skin’s main physical barrier, the stratum corneum, prevents vaccines from entering the skin.

Aluminium-based adjuvants, such as aluminium hydroxide and aluminium phosphate, are well-known for their immune-stimulating properties.

This thesis describes the development of improved formulations and alternative delivery strategies for polio vaccination.

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,…

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.

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

Glycoconjugate vaccines are composed of microbial poly- or oligosaccharides covalently linked to a carrier protein.

Young Academy Leiden holds up the interests of young academics and this is especially important during the corona crisis.

The impact of the coronavirus crisis on the judicial system.

Promotores: W. Jiskoot, F. Ossendorp

This thesis focuses on using liposomes in two different treatment strategies; vaccination (or immunotherapy) and delivery of a small molecule, and in two different disease models; cancer and atherosclerosis.

Appropriate animal models for intradermal vaccine delivery are scarce. Given the high similarity of their skin anatomy to that of humans, minipigs may be a suitable model for dermal vaccine delivery.

The Department of Medical Microbiology of Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) will investigate the efficacy of a new experimental vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Jansen against the coronavirus. The research is being conducted in collaboration with the The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies…

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.F.A Kersten, Prof dr. J.A. Bouwstra

New and reemerging infectious diseases call for innovative and efficient control strategies of which fast vaccine design and development represent an important element.

The potential of bioneedles to deliver influenza vaccines was investigated.

Dissolving microneedles are a subgroup of microneedle types that completely dissolve within the skin. During this dissolving process the vaccine, stored in the needle matrix, is released into the skin.

Microneedle-based vaccination has several advantages over vaccination by using conventional hypodermic needles.