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.

Hannah Spencer is a PhD candidate and lecturer at the Institute of Education and Child Studies, Leiden University.

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.

Why did fewer women suffer from osteoporosis in the past than today? And which aspects of a city make public spaces safe, accessible and comfortable for all residents? These two research questions will be explored in more detail thanks to an Impulse Grant from the Leiden University Fund.

Psychologist Ellen de Bruijn is investigating what hormonal fluctuations do to women's behaviour and well-being. The National science funding body NWO honoured her research with a Vici grant; earlier this year she received an ERC Consolidator Grant. Read the interview with De Bruijn about her resear…

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.

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.

Anne Nijboer is a PhD candidate at Clinical Psychology, under the supervision of Prof.dr. Ellen de Bruijn. Her research focuses on hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle and how these affect social, affective, and cognitive functioning in women.

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,…

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…

Psychologist Ellen de Bruijn studies the effects of hormonal fluctuations on behaviour and on the brain over a woman's life course. With an ERC Consolidator grant, she and 3 PhDs and a postdoc will further her EEG research on the different stages at which girls and women experience strong hormonal f…

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…

I study the role of AGC kinases and hormones (auxin, JA) on pollen germination and pollen tube growth.

During a well-attended Studium Generale lecture at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Professor Ellen de Bruijn demonstrated how hormonal fluctuations influence the female brain. 'We urgently need more attention for the mental health of girls and women during transitional periods.'

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…

In her PhD project, Federica Lucchi investigates the role of naturally fluctuating sex hormones on neurocognitive functions and mental health during the female reproductive years.

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,…

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…

It often takes longer for women with heart problems to get the right diagnosis. In her Annie Romein-Verschoor Lecture, Professor Hester den Ruijter will talk about how hormones influence the heart and the importance of medical research that focuses specifically on women.

From the effects of hormone fluctuations in women via the interior structure of giant planets to the prehistory of the languages: six Leiden researchers have been awarded a Consolidator Grant by the European Research Council.

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.