Jin Yan is a PhD student supervised by Dr. Henk van Steenbergen. She obtained a master’s degree in Basic Psychology from East China Normal University.

Anne Versluis is a PhD candidate within the Health, Medical and Neuropsychology unit at Leiden University. In her research, she’s interested in how psychological healthcare for vulnerable groups can be improved.

Laura Nawijn is an assistant professor at the unit of Clinical Psychology, where she teaches various courses related to psychopathology and experimental psychology. Her research focusses on psychosocial and neurobiological correlates of depression and PTSD, with a particular interest in stress and trauma,…

Recent studies have shown that Dutch secondary school pupils experience a great deal of stress from school work, and between 2001 and 2007 the number of adolescents experiencing school stress even doubled. The study carried out by Simone Vogelaar focuses on stress factors and the effectiveness of the…

Rüya Akdağ is a PhD candidate within the CoPAN Lab of the Cognitive Psychology unit. Her project Mind the Body investigates whether cognitive and affective disturbances influence social anxiety and whether regulating both disturbances via accessible digital interventions can help adolescents learn to…

Our research is aimed at understanding the factors involved in creating cell wall-deficient cells. We investigate the bacterial stress responses to identify the mechanism and genomic alterations behind switching between the walled to wall-less state. With this project, we contribute towards novel treatment…

Stress and overwork are massive problems today, but relatively little is known about stress factors in the past. With a look at the deep history of stress, Sarah Schrader hopes to get a better understanding of the human stress experience. Her project application received an NWO XS grant.

Acute stress seems to have a surprisingly positive effect on our health. Researcher Erin Faught received an NWO veni grant to find out why that is and how we can use that knowledge to our advantage. For her lab research, she uses a remarkable small animal to learn more about our own stress levels.

Rianne de Kleine is an Assistant Professor in the Clinical Psychology department and a psychologist in training at LUBEC. As a scientist-practitioner, she combines scientific research, teaching, and clinical care.

Aukje Nauta's professorship at Leiden University has been extended for another five years. She will further research how connectedness in the workplace helps people to be their full self and perform better. Her conviction: for a healthy work culture, we need to be willing to feel a bit more ashamed…

People who are often stressed can feel calmer by making certain adjustments to their breathing. Possibly this also positively affects concentration and attention. Psychologist Roderik Gerritsen studied the effects of breathing differently for the first time, and explains them. Gerritsen receives his…

Thomas Willems is a PhD candidate at the Department of Clinical Psychology and his research focuses on the mechanisms and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specifically, the aim of his PhD-project is to reduce the gap between experimental research that is done in the laboratory, and…

Soil that is too wet, or too dry. Or with a lot or few nutrients. Due to climate change, the differences are becoming bigger, and plants must increasingly be able to adapt to survive. How do you make plants more stress-resistant? For this purpose, researchers from Leiden, along with other universities,…

In medical and psychological sciences, little research has been specifically conducted on women. Hormonal fluctuations were considered too intricate. Yes, research into sex and gender differences is complex, acknowledge neuroscientists Ellen de Bruijn and Lara Wierenga, but that’s precisely why it's…

Rayyan Toutounji (also written as Tutunji), is psychologist and cognitive neuroscientist specializing in stress-related disorders such as depression and burnout. He has previously worked at the Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour where he investigated how neural responses to stress…

I am interested in coping with stress, on both the behavioral and the physiological level of biological function. I am predominantly working with zebrafish, but also other species in the field. My approach is multi-disciplinary and integrative, including molecular biology, morphology, biomechanics and…

Our world may seem unpredictable and uncertain, especially when others are involved. When interacting with others, we cannot know for sure what they may be thinking or planning to do, but we do a good job guessing. This may not be so easy for everyone…

In mid-March 2020, the global coronavirus outbreak changed everything in the Netherlands. Staying at home as much as possible and the 1.5 metre rule became the standard. One year on, we reflect on the past year with four Leiden Law School ‘insiders’. What kind of year did they have? And what are their…

Consumer grade smartwatches may not be as accurate as promised when measuring tiredness or stress. That is the conclusion of researchers Björn Siepe and Eiko Fried based on a comparison between smartwatch measurements and self-reports by users.

Micro- and nanoplastics cause stress to crops such as lettuce and carrots, PhD candidate Laura Julia Zantis found. This can lead to reduced growth and a lower nutritional value. Biodegradable plastics have this effect too, likely because of chemicals they release during degradation.

My group focuses on understanding the regulatory mechanisms by which plants integrate abiotic stress-derived signals into growth and developmental programs, and the molecular machinery that underlies stress memory in plants.

Dr Sarah Schrader, an expert in the study of human remains, received a VIDI grant for a research project on health and inequality. In present day people with a high socio-economic status encounter fewer health risks than those in lower socio-economic strati. ‘Now we will look at this process in the…

I received my PhD-degree at Leiden University in 1998, after which I went to San Francisco, California, USA for a four-year post-doc with fieldwork in Cameroon and Colorado. Subsequently, I returned to Leiden for another post-doc and to become assistant professor in 2004 and associate professor in 2…

The Ding Lab focuses on understanding the mechanisms by which plants activate immunity upon recognition of different pathogens, especially via transcriptional regulation. To tackle this, we apply cutting-edge technologies and multi-disciplinary approaches. We welcome both academic and industrial partnerships…

I am associate professor Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology at the Institute of Biology (IBL). I am interested in the several aspects related to the growth and development of the filamentous fungi. These include elucidation of molecular mechanisms related to the transcriptional regulation of…

Fear of repayment demands is causing people to forgo benefits and financial support, even when they are eligible. This was one of the finding of Olaf Simonse in his PhD research on financial stress and the non-use of social services. His proposal: 'Let the government take the initiative.'