The Leiden Healthy Society Center is a joint initiative of Leiden University's Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and Leiden Municipality. The LHSC brings together wide-ranging knowledge, initiatives, and issues related to health and well-being in Leiden, and stimulates and facilitates cooperation…

A study of Dutch Fort at Galle, Sri Lanka

How do mycobacteria subvert the defenses of host immune cells?

How do humans, non-humans and their interactions and relations shape the home as ecological and social space?

This focus area adresses the mental well-being of people of all ages, from infants to the elderly. The emphasis lies on understanding, preventing, and treating mental health problems in a variety of contexts, such as the family, school, and work environment. We carry leading research and education programmes…

Changing the world (a little bit)

Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker will retire on 8 February. If there’s one theme running through his career, it’s the links between the University and society. In this series of pre-retirement discussions, Stolker will talk one last time to people from within and without the University. In this edition…

The new government needs to look further ahead, says environmental scientist Rutger Hoekstra. ‘We keep pushing forward big dossiers like demographic ageing, climate and migration. Even though we know they play a big role in our future.’ Hoekstra therefore hopes that the new coalition agreement will…

We carry a profound responsibility for our research animals and strive to provide them with the best possible quality of life. In our studies, we make every effort to avoid and minimise discomfort for the animals. Below, you can learn more about how this is put into practice.

Hit the brakes! That’s the advice of the Council for Public Health and Society in a recent report. Eight psychologists share their insights on how to slow down and reconnect.

At a celebratory event, 26 projects received a €10,000 Kiem grant for 2026-2027. One of these projects is titled ‘Our laboratories are going green’. A remarkable, interfaculty collaboration of (bio)chemical labs at Science, Archaeology, and the LUMC aims at making the labs more sustainable.

‘It was the biggest bunch of flowers I’d ever seen,’ says Emily Strange about the moment she won the Leiden Teaching Prize 2022. The judge praised the conservation biologist for her passion, engaging personality, and the way she motivates her students. On the Dutch Day of the Teacher, we get to know…

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.

The discovery of new medicines is a tedious and lengthy process. On average, over 10,000 molecules need to be studied for one to become a drug and reach the patient. Part of that process are the very costly clinical trials in humans, and candidate drugs often fail due to side effects or lack of efficacy.…

How can we deal with today’s global challenges in sustainable, peaceful, fair, democratic, and effective ways? How can global events such as geopolitical shifts, ecological changes, technological innovations, and pandemics be better governed? Addressing these complex questions requires innovative, multidisciplinary…

Who can you contact for support and advice?

From social inequalities in prehistory to placebo effects in medical treatments. Four researchers from Leiden University have been awarded a prestigious ERC Advanced Grant worth EUR 2.5 million to develop their research.

The Institute of Psychology is responsible for innovative and interdisciplinary research and education within psychology and related disciplines.

Recent welfare reforms in the Netherlands show a trend of reducing welfare accessibility and increasing obligations. Although the effects thereof on directly-targeted economic outcomes, such as welfare dependency and labor participation, are often assessed, potential spillovers to other economic and…

The research that is united in the Liveable Planet programme, touches upon a wide range of aspects of human life. The goal is to deepen and expand the scope and to connect more researchers. The following case studies are examples of current research projects.

YAL stimulates interdisciplinary collaboration.

Our mission is to bring together research and practice focused on the improvement of mental health and the enhancement of treatment / psychotherapy success. To reach this goal we focus on the following paths:

How can people and lions sustainably coexist?

We aim to understand ion homeostasis in the model eukaryote S. cerevisiae.

In the Leadership Lab (5 EC) you tackle a topical problem presented by one of our partner organisations and develop important leadership skills in practice.

Our mission is to advance the understanding of mental health of individuals with a history of stress and/or trauma through rigorous interdisciplinary research, integrating insights from clinical psychology, neurobiology, and social sciences. We are committed to translating our findings into innovative…

Uncover novel antimicrobials with prospective health benefits for sea turtles.

Leiden University regularly welcomes members of the Royal Family to attend opening ceremonies, lectures, presentations and unveilings of works of art.

On Friday 28 November, Leiden University celebrated its broad pallet of research and education at a unique anniversary event. We took collaboration between fields of science, and between researchers and society, one step further.

The Faculty of Humanities

Inspiring and relaxed – these are qualities that describe the Netherlands perfectly. At the same time, there is much more to say about the country. For instance, according to the 2018 UN Human Development Index, the Netherlands is ranked tenth among the best countries to live in.

How is inflammation in tuberculosis controlled by interplay between autophagy and inflammasome signalling?