Leiden University supports the new Zuid-Holland Acceleration Programme, which builds on the Growth Agenda for Zuid-Holland and focuses on accelerating innovation, sustainability and economic growth in the region.

Four university medical centres, including the LUMC, are joining forces to increase pandemic preparedness in the Netherlands.

Three of the four Heineken Young Scientists Awards for 2022 have gone to researchers from Leiden: chronobiologist Laura Kervezee, physicist Jordi Tura i Brugués and health psychologist Liesbeth van Vliet.

On 14 April, the National Growth Fund awarded million euros in grants to two consortia in which Leiden's science faculty is involved. Pharma-NL will receive 80 million euros and Oncode-PACT 325 million euros. Pharma-NL wants to make medicines available to the patient faster and more sustainably. Oncode-PACT…

The winner of the 2022 Spring edition of the NWO Venture Challenge was announced during the Dutch Biotech Event. The innovative startup Iprotics has developed specific proteasome inhibitors that potentially treat multiple myeloma (MM) without the side-effects known from traditional proteasome inhibi…

Human resources

Medici kunnen veel repareren, maar ziekte voorkomen of uitstellen is beter. Daarvoor is vaak leefstijlverandering nodig en dat blijkt lastig. Gezondheidswetenschappers Sandra van Dijk (Universiteit Leiden) en Valentijn Visch (TU Delft) doen onderzoek naar de vraag hoe je mensen kunt helpen met gedragsverandering…

Eighteen researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a Veni grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant gives promising young researchers the opportunity to develop their ideas for a period of three years.

High-quality education, research involving multiple faculties, collaboration between universities and central government funding to make all this possible: these were the topics covered in a working visit of the Standing Committee for Education, Culture and Science (OCW) to the Association of Universities…

Student dean Romke Biagioni is committed to help students have an easygoing and pleasant time during their studies. She assists students with disabilities, looks for solutions to problems such as housing issues and counsels students with social or financial problems. For MSc student Computer Science…

The brightness peak of the ring around M87's supermassive black hole has shifted 30 degrees counterclockwise in a year. This is shown by new images released by the Event Horizon Telescope consortium.

In het Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum wordt gewerkt aan de ontwikkeling van een nieuw malariavaccin dat effectiever is dan de huidige vaccins.

For her research into complex family problems, an assistant professor in Forensic Family and Youth Care Studies Sabine van der Asdonk has won the Gratama Science Prize 2021, a prize for talented young researchers from the universities of Leiden and Groningen. The jury praised Van der Asdonk’s excellent…

Packages of DNA strands containing silver, measuring just two or three nanometres in size. Leiden physicists Donny de Bruin and Dirk Bouwmeester create these packages, which can enter living cells on their own. They then activate the silver with light, causing the cells to break down. This could, in…

Veel mensen denken dat zware metalen giftig zijn en mens en natuur altijd schade aanbrengen. Dat beeld moet genuanceerd worden, vindt hoogleraar Sylvestre Bonnet.

In the Netherlands, 1.55 million people suffer from cardiovascular diseases. Yet, acute cardiovascular events, such as a heart attack or stroke, often occur unexpectedly. That is because many people do not know they are at risk for such an event. Immunological researcher Amanda Foks and her colleagues…

John van den Dobbelsteen’s work is all about using medical technology to reduce the workload and increase the job satisfaction of healthcare staff.

Have you considered including the Leiden University Fund in your will?

Researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have developed an AI model that accurately predicts the risk of endometrial cancer recurrence.

Six professors and one lecturer from Leiden University have officially been appointed Medical Delta professors or lecturers.

The promising early results of an international study have shown that insulin-producing cells grown from stem cells can cure the disease. The new Cure One LUMC research centre aims to accelerate this breakthrough.

Here we highlight the achievements of our latest PhD graduates, each of whom has made significant contributions to the advancement of the field of (bio)pharmaceutical sciences.

On 16 May 2022, Professor Michel Wouters from the Department of Biomedical Data Sciences at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC), will deliver his inaugural lecture titled ‘Quality of Cancer Care: why the real world matters’. Wouters will use the opportunity to describe how quality registries…

During the official Faculty Opening of the Academic Year on Thursday 25 September, FSW staff and students heralded a new and inspiring academic year.

Smart drug carriers, uneven cosmic expansion, and solar energy storage in molecules. These are the topics of three newly awarded NWO-XS grants to researchers at the Faculty of Science.

As a bachelor student of Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences, Femke Vlaswinkel wrote a research proposal she was allowed to carry out in her master’s BPS. Femke subsequently graduated with honors. Her research was published in the journal Scientific Reports, she won an award from the Dutch Pharmacy Society…

Do you often feel drained after a day at the office? The new SPS Monitor measures how sensitive you are to various stimuli. Psychologist Véronique de Gucht developed the questionnaire. 'I want to demystify high sensitivity.'

Cryogenic memories, antibiotic treatment for urinary tract infections and recycling plastic sustainably. These are the subjects of the three NWO-XS grants awarded to Leiden Science researchers.

Leiden University has awarded its prestigious University Medal to Emeritus Professor Lex van der Eb. As a pioneer in genetics and molecular biology, he received this honour for his services to science and his key role in the development of the Leiden Bio Science Park (LBSP).

Six researchers from Leiden University have received an ERC starting grant. This grant of on average 1.5m euros will enable the researchers to launch their own project, form their own research team and develop their best ideas.

Brothers and sisters within a family, with the same parents, experience their upbringing differently. As well as the impact of their own negative experiences, the way siblings experience their upbringing also plays an important role in anxiety and depression. This is the conclusion reached by Marie-Louise…

Scientific Director of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) Hubertus Irth: ‘We test substances and look for new concepts for treating disease.’

Two consortia led by Leiden researchers have been awarded over one million euros by the Dutch Research Council and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport to find solutions to antimicrobial resistance.

Speculation about alien life, a new nitrogen map, AI as a thesis supervisor, groundbreaking telescopes and multi-million-euro investments to combat antimicrobial resistance – the diversity of these topics shows that our readers are just as broadly interested as our researchers. Discover the most-read…

Giving an incorrect answer as a student in a packed lecture hall can be nerve-wracking. But with Pharmacology teacher Rob van Wijk, you don’t need to worry about that. ‘He creates a comfortable and safe atmosphere,’ his students say. They have nominated him for the Leiden Science Teacher Award.

Many children experience trauma and if they are unable to deal with it properly, it can have a huge personal and societal effect. Building resilience in vulnerable children and young people should therefore have the highest priority. This is the message of Anne-Laura van Harmelen, Professor of Brain,…

Stimulating the vagus nerve, which provides a direct link between the gut and brain, makes people pay less attention to sad facial expressions. This research study by psychologists Katerina Johnson and Laura Steenbergen is published in the journal Neuroscience.

Life returned to something resembling normal after Covid but other crises soon took its place. These great challenges are also being felt at the University and our researchers are working on solutions. The nitrogen crisis, problems with young people’s services and an increasingly urgent climate crisis:…

A 1K Z1E j3 bench has been in the Huygens building since Thursday. The bench symbolises making suicide, depression and despair negotiable. 'We hope this bench invites people to start the conversation about how they are really doing,' says student wellbeing officer Elly van Laar. 'But it all starts with…

It may seem as though adolescents do as they please, but they are more sensitive to their parents’ opinions than they would appear. The adolescent brain reacts strongly to parental criticism or praise. These are the results of a study by an interdisciplinary research group of psychologists and neuroscientists…

Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded NWO Open Competition grants in the Science domain. This is for research into subjects such as immune cells in tumours, antibiotic resistance and magnetic semiconductors.

Have you ever experienced the feeling of awkwardness when attending a party where you didn’t know anybody? Ever felt shy at a party within the first few minutes? While this feeling is labelled loosely as feeling socially anxious, social anxiety disorder goes to a much further extent.

Seksueel misbruik tussen broers en zussen kan diepe, mentale wonden veroorzaken. Orthopedagoog Sheila van Berkel geeft behandelaars tips voor hoe zij deze wonden kunnen helpen helen.

Researchers at the Faculty of Science work at the frontiers of knowledge every day, tackling today’s major societal challenges. Their work is recognised through grants, prizes and other awards. We highlight some of these achievements.

Personal development, Working effectively

From medicines from snake venom to supercrops and the origin of words. Thirteen researchers from Leiden University will receive Open Competition XS grants from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).

PhD defence

Leiden University and the Leiden Bio Science Park can make a significant contribution to the earning capacity of the Netherlands. This is the finding of the National Investment Agenda presented today.

Engineering, law, and business students came together in the LDE Space & Society Honours Programme to explore how space and society can mutually benefit each other. At the final event, they looked back upon a steep learning curve. ‘We tossed them into the water and they had to swim.’

The risk of a brain tumour recurring can be predicted more accurately by counting the number of immune cells in the tumour under a microscope. These are the findings from research conducted by LUMC, Erasmus MC and Heidelberg University.