Communication, Leadership

Inaugural lecture

Finally we know for sure that there is a black hole at the centre of our own galaxy. Today, astronomers unveiled the first ever photo of Sagittarius A*, a super-massive object at the centre of the Milky Way. This picture could only be taken thanks to the cooperation of telescopes worldwide.

Audio podcasts or audio recordings have a broad range of opportunities in education. Podcasts can be used to transfer knowledge (audio lectures), record interviews, record instructions for a field trip or to make a short radio documentary on location. Podcasts are a flexible medium, the small file size…

The digital accessibility expert group focuses on improving the accessibility of the university website, digital learning tools and digital examinations. As a result of the corona crisis many educational activities are now online. The group is therefore working closely with the Centre for Innovation…

You can contact the privacy or security officers with questions about privacy or data security.

Leiden University aims to create a safe environment where everyone feels comfortable and no one experiences unacceptable behaviour. Should students experience this nevertheless, there are various resources that you can refer them to.

Diversity

Researchers at LUMC, the Universities of Granada and Almería have found a gut bacterium that is associated with stronger muscles in people and mice. Their findings, now published in the scientific journal Gut, hint at the potential for new probiotics to support muscle strength and healthy aging.

The first FSW policy and SOPs for research subject to the WMO (Wet medisch-wetenschappelijk onderzoek met mensen) are currently in development.

Leiden University is committed to making your work safe, healthy and enjoyable.

If you wish, you can take part in the collective health insurance scheme offered by Leiden University and Zorg en Zekerheid. This scheme offers a collective discount, for you and your family.

Research, Working effectively, Transferable skills

In the MS Cognitietour, psychologists and neuroscientists from Leiden University discuss the latest scientific knowledge with MS patients and their loved ones. This leads to insights: 'One lady told how much stress she felt from all those caregivers around her bed.'

From social inequalities in prehistory to placebo effects in medical treatments. Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million to develop their research.

Despite the promising effects of technology in assessment and treatment, the actual use of novel technologies in juvenile justice context remains limited. We want to inspire researchers to develop and investigate technological applications for assessment and treatment for justice involved youth.

Psychologist Bernou Melisse was shocked at the long waiting lists in the Netherlands for people with binge-eating disorders. The problem was not yet on the map in Saudi Arabia. She therefore decided to study how people suffering from binge eating can be helped better in their own region of the world.…

Psychologen laten zich horen over de plannen om de internationale bacheloropleidingen op te heffen in de Randstad en Tilburg. Het inititatief #Ikbeneenpsycholoog van Judith Schomaker op LinkedIn vindt navolging. Lees een selectie van de posts en ook het blog van Eiko Fried over de consequenties.

If you’re unsure where to refer students to for well-being support, this page should help. It provides an overview of the support available at Leiden University.

All staff are entitled to a workplace free from unacceptable behaviour such as bullying, sexual harassment, intimidation, discrimination and violence at work. The same applies to integrity issues such as theft or a conflict of interest. If you experience or witness such behaviour or suspect a breach…

If you’re working on a PhD track and are experiencing psychological issues, you can contact one of the psychologists for PhD candidates for help with problems that have arisen during the PhD process or are directly affecting this.

In 2022-2023 eight (teams of) teachers received a Grassroots or Grass shoots grant. Here you can read about their projects.

February 8 saw the launch of the Medical Delta ‘Sustainable Hospitals’ Interdisciplinary Thesis Lab. The research projects will touch on different aspects of healthcare. The students hope they will be able to offer practical solutions to make hospitals greener.

Dialysis patients experience a range of physical and mental symptoms that interact and influence each otherIn her doctoral research, psychologist Judith Tommel wanted to find the optimum approach to help these dialysis patients improve their quality of life. ‘We need to make sure we avoid excluding…

‘Raising awareness of the disorder is crucial since borderline personality disorder (BPD) still faces considerable stigma ’, says Anne Krause-Utz (Clinical Psychology) . Together with an international team of excellent scientists, Krause-Utz provides an update of current knowledge about this disorder,…

Piercing through the skull with an ice pick, administering electric shocks without an anaesthetic, or applying leeches to the uterus: these may seem like medieval methods of torture, but they are in fact therapies used in medicine. Willem van der Does writes about all of them in his new book. ‘Physicians…

Leiden PhD candidate Mona Shahab climbed Mount Everest two years ago to raise money for the education of disadvantaged children in Egypt. She made it to the top and posed there with the University flag. She recently presented the flag to Rector Carel Stolker.

Professor of Health Psychology Andrea Evers has been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This additional grant is awarded to previous recipients of an ERC grant. They can use this to further explore the potential of their work for new innovations and thus bring relevant…

From painful joints to intense fatigue: a third of rheumatism patients suffer serious effects from this chronic condition and rely long-term on medication. Leiden psychologists are to receive a subsidy from the Netherlands Arthritis Foundation to investigate whether placebo techniques can help patients…

The doctor suggests opting for a treatment that is better for the environment. How do patients react to this? Doctors and psychologists together discovered that this has little impact on patient confidence in the doctor.

In early 2026, the Ethics Committee aims to launch a new registration procedure that will allow researchers with a low ethical risk to be assessed more quickly. To assess this risk, the committee will be testing a list of nine screening questions in the coming months. Feedback is welcome.

Researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have successfully used stem cell gene therapy to treat a baby with the severe congenital immune disorder SCID. An important milestone: it is the first time stem cell gene therapy of Dutch origin has been administered to a patient, and also…

As technology transforms healthcare and services come under mounting pressure, one question remains the same: Will the advice or treatment offered help patients lead the lives they want to live? In her inaugural lecture, Professor Maxime Kummeling stresses the importance of quality.

Next generation immunodermatology (NGID) is a nationwide, large-scale project, funded by a large grant of the Dutch NWO to unravel novel biomarkers for six different skin diseases. These biomarkers will drive a high-tech, patient-centric approach in clinical practice. Health psychologist Sylvia van…

Maaike Kempes believes more attention should be paid to non-congenital brain injuries in suspects. This may partly explain their criminal behaviour.

One in two people will be diagnosed with cancer. World Cancer Day on 4 February raises awareness of the impact of this devastating disease. Leiden University is conducting various studies aimed at preventing and controlling cancer. Below are just a few examples.

De Advanced Grant wordt jaarlijks door de European Research Council (ERC) toegekend. Dit jaar krijgen 2 onderzoekers van FSW deze beurs.

Never before has so much research been carried out on the therapeutic effect of psychedelic drugs. Researchers at the LIBC Public Day are happy about the effect the drugs can have on depression, anxiety and PTSS, but at the same time they have some doubts. ‘The hype is bound to crash before long.’

Four researchers from Leiden University will receive funding from arthritis foundation ReumaNederland over the next five years. This should facilitate long-term research into arthritis.

To inhibit proteins that contribute to the growth of aggressive cancer cells, that’s the plan of Professor Bob van de Water and his team. They will receive over 700,000 euros from the KWF Dutch Cancer Society for their research. Researcher Maaike Vreeswijk and pathologist Danielle Cohen are affiliated…

An e-coaching programme helps people with chronic kidney disease, particularly in areas that patients themselves want to work on. ‘A healthy lifestyle is important for patients with kidney disease: it can slow down the loss of kidney function and there will be fewer complications,’ Katja Cardol explains…