On Wednesday 13 December, Melanie Fink will defend her doctoral thesis ‘Frontex and Human Rights: Responsibility in “Multi-Actor Situations” under the ECHR and EU Public Liability Law’. The defence will take place at 10.00 hrs at the Academy Building of Leiden University, Rapenburg 73. The supervisors…

Researchers from Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have discovered how malaria parasites escape the immune system of mosquitoes. The so-called QC enzyme changes proteins on the outside of the malaria parasite such that the immune cells are unable to recognise the parasite. As a result, the parasite…

PhD defence

The research described in this Thesis was aimed at designing and synthesizing nature-inspired compounds as part of TB vaccine discovery.

Microneedle-based vaccination has several advantages over vaccination by using conventional hypodermic needles.

Leiden has a long history in the treatment of blood cell cancer. Research to find better therapies never stands still. One of the potential treatments currently being worked on is a ‘living medicine’.

Treatment with special stem cells seems to be a good option for suppressing the immune system in organ transplants. Researchers are trying to learn from processes that take place in the human body during pregnancy.

How do plant defense genes get activated?

Because of their large surface area and immunological competence, mucosal tissues are attractive administration and target sites for vaccination.

Vaccination via the skin or the mucosae

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to develop a cheap and fast method to produce hollow microneedles and an applicator for injecting vaccines into the skin at a pre-defined depth and test the applicability of the system for dermal polio vaccination.

The function of TLRs in innate immunity has aroused worldwide attention soon after its discovery. Because of the broad functions of TLR2 in innate immunity, the drive for the development of TLR2-targeted vaccines or therapeutic treatments has accelerated in the last decades.

Cardiovascular disease is a major global burden and atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathological process.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting millions of people world-wide.

It is often said that the true character of a person is only revealed in a crisis. In these days, the coronavirus causes concern about the true state of the multilateral system. Political scientist Gisela Hirschmann (Leiden University) is worried about the future of multilateralism.

In online games conflicts between players may arise. Novin, Bos, Stevenson and Rieffe investigated factors that may explain why some adolescents react more angrily than others in this type of situation. In their realistically designed gaming environment, the (pre-programmed) fellow player suddenly started…

Promotor: E.F. Smets Co-promotor: J. Geml

In this article Wouter Jong and Andrea Bartolucci explore the integration of scenario-based learning (SBL) into a crisis communication course to enhance students' practical skills and reflection in real-world contexts.

Inactivating mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes predispose to several types of cancer.

Which genes are involved in woodiness and associated traits such as drought tolerance, flowering time, stem elongation, life span, and plant herbivory, and how do these gene regulatory pathways overlap?

In the face of threats from other groups, humans, chimpanzees, and a selection of other species get closer with their own. This research shows that even bonobos show a moderated version of this effect. This suggests that this behavior may emerged prior to the Pan-Homo split, several millions years ago.…

Promotor: Prof.dr. P. Hooykaas, Co-promotor: Dr. R. Offringa

Appropriate animal models for intradermal vaccine delivery are scarce. Given the high similarity of their skin anatomy to that of humans, minipigs may be a suitable model for dermal vaccine delivery.

MHC class I and MHC class II molecules present peptides to the immune system to drive proper T cell responses. Pharmacological modulation of T-cell responses can offer treatment options for a range of immune-related diseases.

Parasitic worms and stomach bacteria suppress immune reactions such as allergic responses. Parasitologist Hermelijn Smits and lung specialist Christian Taube from the LUMC are trying to learn from these micro-organisms.

Atherosclerosis (thickening of the artery wall) is the most common cause of heart attacks or strokes, and one of the most common causes of death in the western world. People with this condition have to take medicine all their lives, so a vaccine for atherosclerosis would be a breakthrough.

Key publications of the Aging and Immunity group

Throughout the world fundamental labour rights in supply chains are being violated. Since the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh shook the world, we can no longer turn our heads away.

In het Leids Universitair Medisch Centrum wordt gewerkt aan de ontwikkeling van een nieuw malariavaccin dat effectiever is dan de huidige vaccins.

Promotor: J. Kuiper

Atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathology of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis is caused by an immune response which is directed against (modified) lipoproteins which accumulate in the vessel wall.

Mouse models are commonly used to assess the immunogenicity of therapeutic proteins and to investigate the immunological processes leading to antidrug antibodies. The aim of this work was to develop a transgenic (TG) Balb/c mouse model for evaluating the immunogenicity of recombinant human insulin (insulin)…

The division of BioTherapeutics consists of the former divisions Biopharmaceutics and Drug Delivery Technology.

Immunotherapies for cancer are an emerging class of therapeutic strategies which aim to treat cancer via augmentation of the immune system.

The current hepatitis B vaccines need to be stored and transported under refrigerated conditions (2-8 degrees C). This dependence on a cold-chain is highly challenging in areas where hepatitis B virus infections are endemic.

On 14 May 2021, Melanie Fink spoke at the conference ‘EU Responsibility in the International System: Setting the agenda’, organised by the University of Thessaloniki

Below you will find an overview of all PRE-Classes provided by the various programmes of Leiden University. For each section, you can find a description of the content and more specific information about the requirements for participation in the Class.

For more information regarding ongoing research projects, please contact Prof. Johan Kuiper.

Bacteria in the teeth tell us a lot about nutrition and disease in our ancestors. It also tells us more about the immune system. This provides clues for treating modern diseases and allergies. For a long time archaeologists were irritated by tartar on the teeth of excavated skulls. They thought that…

The Municipality of Dronten is temporarily bailing out the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) in Ter Apel by accommodating 360 asylum seekers at the Biddinghuizen event site in the province of Flevoland. This helps the COA avoid a sky-high fine. Rowie Stolk, Assistant Professor…

Undesirable associations with sex can be unlearned, but return if the circumstances change. They must therefore be unlearned in different situations. The drug D-cycloserine may help here. These are the findings of psychologist Mirte Brom.

On Friday 15 January, the Dutch ‘Rutte III’ government resigned following the scathing report on the childcare benefits scandal. What are the political consequences?

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease, and vaccination may be an attractive method to induce long lasting protection against endogenous factors that contribute to the development of atherosclerosis. We have shown that for example vaccination against modified LDL or interleukin-12 limits…