Unraveling the immune-suppressive actions of drugs like prednisone.

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely prescribed as anti-inflammatory drugs due to their well-established immunosuppressive effects.

A new therapy for the serious Graft-versus-Host disease

Cardiovascular syndromes are the major cause of death in Western societies.

Traditionally, vaccines are administered intramuscularly using conventional hypodermic needles, which cause pain and distress. Microneedles are very short needles (smaller than 1 mm) that are practically invisible to the naked eye.

Our immune system protects us against disease, but every now and then, something goes wrong: an enemy invades our bodies or our immune system attacks our own cells and we become ill. Doctors and researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) want to be able to manipulate the immune system…

The LUMC has a longstanding tradition researching the role of the immune system in infectious diseases, transplantation and auto-immune diseases.

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper, Prof.dr. P.H.A. Quax

Worldwide resurgence of pertussis necessitates the need for improvement of pertussis vaccines and vaccination strategies.

The Aging and Immunity group is led by Dr. Amanda Foks. In this group we aim to investigate how aged immune cells contribute to atherosclerosis and identify novel therapeutic targets and strategies to extend health span and inhibit cardiovascular disease.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink, Co-promotor: Prof.dr. A.H. Meijer

The Immune Activation and Tolerance group is headed by Dr. Bram Slütter. Vaccination is an experimental, but promising, treatment strategy for atherosclerosis. Previous work has shown that immunization of mice with modified LDL particles can reduce atherosclerotic lesion development, however such vaccines…

Promotores: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink & Prof.dr. P.C.W. Hogendoorn, Co-promotor: Dr. M.J.M. Schaaf

Cationic peptide amphiphile nanoparticles are employed for co-delivery of immune modulator CpG and antigen. This results in better targeting to the antigen presenting cells and eliciting strong Th1 response, which is effective against the intracellular pathogens.

The potential of bioneedles to deliver influenza vaccines was investigated.

Does the mineralocorticoid receptor play a role in the effects of cortisol and synthetic glucocorticoids on the immune response?

What are the host immune defence mechanisms that control intracellular infections and how are these subverted by pathogens?

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) particles have been extensively studied as biodegradable delivery system to improve the potency and safety of protein-based vaccines. In this study we analyzed how the size of PLGA particles, and hence their ability to be engulfed by dendritic cells (DC), affects…

Can small molecule drugs restore the immune system’s ability to fight tuberculosis by boosting autophagy?

One of the main challenges in the development of an effective anti-cancer vaccine is the generation of an adequate and directed cellular immune response.

This work describes the use of click-to-release chemistry to get spatiotemporal control over immunocytokine activity. Until now, immunocytokines (cytokines coupled to a tumor-targeting-moiety) remained active throughout the body, being able to bind their respective receptors, causing mild to severe…

Tuberculosis bacteria and other intracellular pathogens use cells of our immune system as Trojan horses to spread into tissues. Annemarie Meijer, professor of immunobiology, explains how research into innate defence mechanisms using zebrafish inspires novel strategies for infectious disease treatmen…

In this research project, we aimed to obtain more insight in the role of mast cells in the immune driven disorders rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis.

How are carbohydrates processed by the immune system? Can carbohydrates be used to trigger T-cells against other conjugated antigens? Can they be used as adjuvants?

This thesis focuses on important life history traits and their trade-offs using two hexapod models. Particularly, the trade-off between immune defense and embryonic developmental speed is a central theme of this study.

Nanoparticles can be used as delivery systems for both small molecules and macromolecules such as proteins, peptides or oligonucleotides. This thesis focuses on the use of liposomes, nanometric vesicles formed by a lipid bilayer enclosing an aqueous core. Liposomes are highly versatile delivery syst…

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper

Promotores: J. Jonkers, K.E. de Visser

To what extent and in what manner can experimental video be used to reclaim the capacity for telling one’s own story, on one's own terms, speaking in tongues outside the linguistic framework of immune system discourse?

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper, Co-Promotor: S.C.A. de Jager

Promotor: G.F.A. Kersten, W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: B. Metz

In the hunt for a vaccine against cervical cancer, fundamental knowledge about the immune system and organic chemistry have been brought together and have already resulted in a vaccine that is now being tested in clinical trials. Scientists are now working hard on an improved variant.

In autoimmune diseases such as rheumatism and diabetes the immune system attacks autologous proteins. Leiden researchers are trying to discover how this comes about.

Cardiovascular diseases are among the most frequent causes of death in the world. The main underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases is the development of atherosclerosis in the medium and large-sized arteries.

Promotores: T. Hankemeier; R. Berger, Co-promotor: R.J. Vreeken

Cardiovascular diseases are the primary cause of death in the world with atherosclerosis as primary underlying cause.

Healthy aging is one of the prime goals in today's society and atherosclerosis is among the greatest causes of morbidity in elderly. Cardiovascular disease patients receiving treatment are often of advanced aged and have an aged immune system, which limits translating experimental findings to the pa…

This thesis focuses on two processes involved in fighting infections: metabolism and immune cell motility and navigation.

Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease resulting in the formation of an arterial plaque. Despite lipid lowering, recurrent cardiovascular events remain a risk. While atherosclerosis is primarily lipid-driven, the immune system plays a critical role in the pathophysiology.

This thesis describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of TLR2/6, TLR4, TLR7/8 and TLR9 ligands, of which the activity can be conditionally controlled.

New drugs for use as tuberculosis (TB) treatment are needed due to the constrains of classical antibiotics against TB and the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains, making TB a harder and harder disease to treat.

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

The major aim is to determine the psychophysiological responses to stress and stress-management interventions and to examine the role of stress and stress-related psychophysiological mechanisms (e.g., cognitions, behaviors, and physiological stress responses) in both healthy and medical populations.

Chiodo

Update : August 2017 Dr Willem van Haarlem

Promotor: H.P. Spaink, A.H. Meijer Co-promotor: R. Marin-Juez

What are the biological and biophysical mechanisms that control chemokine gradient sensing and migration of immune, endothelial, and tumour cells in tumour development?

The Oral History project, as part of the Tell Balata Archaeological Park project, published an arabic-english booklet of local stories about the site of Tell Balata. An archaeological site near Nablus (West Bank).

Acute cardiovascular syndromes, including myocardial infarction or stroke, are the principal cause of death in the Western society. The main underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases is atherosclerosis, which is caused by the accumulation of lipids and inflammatory cells in the vessel wall, in…

We showed that constitutive and inducible chemical and morphological defenses against Western flower thrips differ between tomato and chrysanthemum plants.