Projects within the theme ‘Computational Biology’ aim to employ mathematical or computational dynamical modelling approaches to discover novel concepts that are important for drug development.

In this research group, led by Dr. Joost Beltman, the aim is to employ mathematical and computational dynamical modelling approaches in order to quantitatively and mechanistically understand the dynamical behaviour and regulation of intracellular networks of genes, proteins and metabolites as well as…

LUMC Technology Focus Area (TFA) Data Analytics is een samenwerkingsverband van verschillende onderzoeksgroepen in het LUMC die nieuwe kwantitatieve en computationele methodologie ontwikkelen voor biomedisch en klinisch onderzoek.

In this thesis we will explore the use of fuzzy systems theory for applications in bioinformatics.

The deeper understanding of an organism's pathology is important for developing treatments. Over centuries of systematic research, clinical researchers have demonstrated that the more information they acquire about the cellular properties and their organisation in the tissue, the better they can understand…

Vera van Noort has been appointed Professor in the field of Computational Biology within the Faculty of Science at the Institute of Biology from the 1st of February 2017. Van Noort’s expertise is in bioinformatics and her research focuses on the computational analysis of large-scale biological data…

Despite being the object of intense study, embryonic development has been difficult to model due to a number of reasons. First, complex tissues can be comprised of many cell types, of which we probably only know a subset.

Quantitative biology means exploiting mathematical modelling and computer simulation as a tool to gain additional insights into the meaning of experimental data. Discover in this minor when and how to apply these tools, in a multidisciplinary setting.

This research programme aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services to facilitate strategic management of natural resources. To this end, we address urgent challenges in relation to the mechanisms involved…

This thesis introduces the concept of

Are you thinking about studying Biology? Learn more and watch the videos.

PhD candidates carry out a programme of independent research and additional (limited) course work, culminating in production of a PhD thesis in typically 4 years.

This programme video is presented in Dutch

Making systems biology modelling a central pillar of research in biology

The master’s programme Biology at Leiden University offers seven specialisations ranging from Cell Biology to Molecular Genetics. The programme prepares you for a career in research within or outside academia.

Biology is the study of life. Are you interested in understanding life, from the molecular level to entire ecosystems? Do you want to use your understanding and knowledge of biology to benefit the health of both humans and the environment? If so, Biology is the right study programme for you.

Chemical biology research at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry is aimed at understanding biological processes at the molecular level to strengthen the knowledge base of human health and disease. The approach to achieve this goal is a fundamental chemical one; with the aid of chemical probes biological…

The Computer Systems, Imagery & media (CSI) research programme performs research on methods and techniques for the design, implementation and application of advanced computer systems, in particular parallel, distributed and embedded computer systems.

We investigate reaction systems, a novel computational model gleaned from the biochemical reactions taking place in living cells and information processing in nature.

Is system thinking through perspectives the solution for biology education to help students see the connections between different topics?

The master’s specialisation Biology and Education at Leiden University prepares students to teach the subject of biology to secondary school students. The programme comprises a one-year Biology component, followed by an education component in the second year.

The master’s specialisation Evolutionary Biology at Leiden University investigates biology at all levels. The specialisation includes genomics, functional developmental genetics, paleobiology, behavioral biology and evolutionary ecology.

The Programme Committee Biology (Opleidingscommissie Biologie, OCB) consists of four teaching staff members and four students, and is assisted by the study adviser. The OCB has an independent position within the Biology education program. Because of its composition, the OCB is the most important organ…

The Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) is an internationally oriented institute for research and education in biology. Some of their staff members are part of the Leiden Human Evolution Collective.

Research on heredity and diseases is simply not possible without programmers. Curious about how you can use your IT and biology skills to deal with real-life sickness and health problems? If so, Bio-Informatics in Leiden could be something for you.

Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) is an internationally oriented institute for research and education in biology. We are part of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University.

The master’s specialisation Biology and Business Studies at Leiden University bridges science and business development by focusing on areas such as technology management, innovation, entrepeneurship, operations, and decision making.

Chemical biology research at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry is aimed at understanding biological processes at the molecular level to strengthen the knowledge base of human health and disease. The approach to achieve this goal is a fundamental chemical one; with the aid of chemical probes biological…

We see computer programming as an essential skill. It enables you to be self-sufficient in building tools, processing data, visualizing research output, communicating research results, etc. Moreover, it empowers you to make beautiful things.

Research in the natural computing group covers theoretical foundations, the development of new algorithms, and interdisciplinary applications of natural computing methods.

Computational linguistics uses computational methods to help answer linguistics questions across a variety of topics.

In this theme you will be supplied with a firm background in the core of current computational linguistics and a solid comprehension of its neighboring fields.

Computational thinking, programming, and algorithms form the basic of many of the things that are shaping our world, the way we work, interact, organize ourselves, and even spend our free time with social networks, streaming media, and games. And this transformation is far from being complete, it is…

This dissertation focused on computational methods based on first principles calculations using the Density Functional Theory (DFT) framework. Emphasis was laid on affordable methods that can provide a tradeoff between computational expense and accuracy.

Are you thinking about studying Computer Science? Learn more and watch the videos. Note: As of September 2025 you can also combine this master programme with the Business Studies specialisation.

Promotor: Prof.dr. S. Haring

The CMCB brings together microbial cell biology expertise in Leiden. It aims at optimal resonance between the groups and maximal exploitation of the available infrastructure and to develop innovative cross-boundary technology platforms.

In this work we describe three methods to improve the performance of Quantum Field Theory calculations.

This thesis covers several aspects of quantum algorithms for near-term quantum computers and its applications to quantum chemistry and material science.

Lecture

PhD candidates carry out a programme of independent research and additional (limited) course work, culminating in production of a PhD thesis in typically 4 years.

This thesis probes under what conditions quantum computing presents an advantage over classical computing.

Beowulf clusters looking for new frontiers.

The two-year master’s programme in Computer Science at Leiden University offers seven specialisations ranging from AI to Bioinformatics and Data Science. The programme combines excellent theoretical teaching with possibilities for applied work with industrial relevance.

The master's specialisation Bioinformatics at Leiden University focuses on research, development and application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral and health data.

The master’s specialisation Biology and Science Communication and Society at Leiden University bridges the gap between experts and the public by combining high quality research in biology with extensive training in science communication.

The master's specialisation Molecular, Cellular and Organismal Biology at Leiden University examines the molecular mechanisms underlying health and disease and how cells and organisms adapt to environmental factors.

A high performance computer or supercomputer owes its massive processing capacity to the fact that it chops a single overarching task into a whole series of smaller tasks. It simultaneously tackles each of those smaller problems.