Making use of social media is a good way to meet others or to hear about the latest news and developments. But it also has its downsides: disinformation, trolling, disrespectful comments and even the misuse of (personal) data.

Leiden University appreciates it if you explain your work to a wider audience every now and then. We encourage media contributions and have people and tools to help you with this.

Leiden University appreciates it if you as a researcher take the time every now and then to explain your work to a wider audience.

How can you ensure that your research hits the headlines? How can you bring your research output, such as PhD research or a publication, to the attention of the public?

Robert Chesal is a part-time lecturer in journalism and media studies at LUC. He is also an investigative reporter, author and translator. Chesal reported on international current affairs for Radio Netherlands Worldwide from 1991-2012. In 2010, he won three awards including the Dutch title Journalist…

If a researcher has appeared on the TV or radio or in a newspaper, for example, you can create an ‘In the media’ page referring to this. How do you write a good ‘In the media’ page? Below are some guidelines.

Emma Grootveld is a University Lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society.

Didactics

Pepita Hesselberth is Assistant Professor Film, Literary and Media Studies at Leiden University, and research fellow at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies at the University of Copenhagen.

Barbara Gravendeel is interested in the genomic and developmental basis of evolutionary changes (evo-devo) in plants.

Céline Zaepffel is a Lecturer in French literature and culture. Her research focuses on the transmission of ideologies through modern children's literature and culture, based on an intermedial and sociological analysis of children's media and the historical and cultural context of their publication.…

Soils house an overwhelming abundance and diversity of living (micro)organisms. In our research we examine how plants influence the soil they grow in, and how these changes influence other plants that grow later in the soil, and the insects on those plants. We study the mechanisms of these aboveground-belowground…

Communication, Outreach, Transferable skills

Sara Polak is a University Lecturer in American Studies and Modern English Literature at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. She is PI of the ERC Project Worlding America: How Play Shaped the United States from New Media to Politics, 1503-2028.

Ksenia Fedorova is a university lecturer at the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society. Within the Modern and Contemporary cluster of LUCAS, she is affiliated with the Environmental Humanities sub-cluster.

I am a PhD student at the Carrion lab, working on the MicroGRICE project, whose primary goal is to reduce methane emissions from rice paddies through bacteria. In addition, I study the role of microbiomes and bacteria in alleviating salt stress on rice plants. My overarching research goal is the development…

During my PhD at KU Leuven (Belgium, 2000–2005), I explored evolutionary and ecological patterns in the wood anatomy of flowering plants. As a postdoctoral researcher (2005–2010), I expanded my focus to functional anatomy, allowing me to link wood anatomical traits to drought tolerance. This integrative…

I am a PhD student in Carrion Lab and Microbial Ecology Department at NIOO-KNAW. In my project I aim to decipher endophytic microbial functions activated upon pathogen infection. I am also involved in developing bioinformatic tools and its use for the prediction of endophytic lifestyle and confirmation…

Siamak is a researcher at the Acadamy of Creative and Performing Arts.

Lecturer in sustainability with an expertise in how climate change affects ecosystems.

Michaël Opgenhaffen is an assistant professor at the Centre for Linguistics.

Plants are extraordinary biochemists and produce a plethora of valuable specialized metabolites (i.e. natural products), including some of our most important medicines. In my lab we want to understand specialized metabolite biosynthesis on a molecular level to improve cultivated plant systems and advance…

Why do some groups of organisms evolve into many species, while evolution is much slower in other groups, places, or time periods? Why do some species go extinct, and why are some more resilient to major impacts or ecosystem changes? I study the ecology and evolution of flowering plants to answer these…

Kelly Ziemer teaches several courses in the Bachelors and Masters program and is affiliated with the Developmental and Educational Psychology department.

Through various initiatives, Leiden University is trying to make people aware of the importance of biodiversity: the cultivation of a wide variety of micro-organisms, animals and plant species. This is important because in the Netherlands biodiversity has declined from about 40 percent in 1900 to about…

National Meat Free Week (Nationale Week Zonder Vlees, 7–13 March) is an initiative to reduce meat consumption. Assistant professor Paul Behrens is studying what impact a change in our food consumption would have on the world. What, according to him, are the main reasons to switch to a (mainly) plant-based…