What is the current state of democracy and how do we understand the effects of public support on democracy? The two-day symposium Support for Democracy: Measurement, Explanation, and Effect

How do local, non-institutional ideas about end-of-life care influence professional palliative care and vice versa? These questions will be answered by medical anthropologists Annemarie Samuels and Natashe Lemos Dekker in the coming years.

On 22 June 2018, Prime Minister Rutte announced that Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Professor of International Relations and Diplomatic Practices at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA), together with former ministers Sybilla Dekker and Winnie Sorgdrager, will become Minister of State.

How can the importance of the image in late medieval spirituality be understood in the context of the love mysticism inspired by the imagery of the Song of Songs?

On 11 December 2025, students and staff members from many fields of study had the opportunity to take part in a day-long workshop on the role of the senses in ancient religions.

The demand for neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets is rapidly growing, while the neodymium supply chain is under pressure. Recycling can alleviate these issues. This thesis investigates the potential for deploying novel magnet recycling technologies and their environmental consequences.

The emergence of metalwork deposition during the Bronze Age in Northwest Europe, c. 2300-1500 BC

Dr. Amanda Foks obtained a fellowship from the dr. E. Dekker-program for the project ' Can promotion of efferocytosis induce regression of atherosclerosis?', in which she aims to identify novel targets to promote regression of atherosclerosis. This research grant allows her to initiate independent research…

Strengthening the cooperation between Moroccan, other African, and Dutch institutions for higher education. This was the focus of a two-day seminar at NIMAR (Netherlands Institute Morocco) in Rabat in July, during which scholars of the African Studies Centre Leiden interacted with colleagues from NIMAR…

The 10th Experimental Archaeology Conference of EXARC took place in Leiden, Netherlands, over three days; 20th to the 22nd April 2017, in Leiden University’s Faculty of Archaeology. A conference report was published on the website of EXARC.

In Dutch society’s discussions about remembering the colonial past, voice is often used as a metaphor for empowerment ('we must raise our voices'), whereas silence is often used as voice’s negative counterpart, signifying a loss or lack of power ('we will no longer be silenced'). Yet, silence is expressive:…

People with relatively high levels of lipids in their blood are less likely to develop allergic conditions such as eczema and asthma. These lipids cause genes that play a key role in allergic reactions to be less active. Researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have published an…

On Friday 10 November 2017 the annual Janneke Fruin-Helb Scholarship was awarded to alumna Matilda Sebire. She graduated in the master's specialisation in Material Culture Studies.

In a study led by Leiden alumnus Jan Dekker, based on his research master’s thesis, he applied Mass Spectrometry Imaging to archaeological human teeth. The research shows that there are large differences in the intensity of proteins across the teeth, opening new avenues of investigation.

Within the scope of innovating and connecting – the theme of our new Strategic Plan – I paid a visit to Brussels last week. It is important to give Leiden University a face in Brussels and to show our expertise, on Africa for instance.

The Dutch Council of Ministers has approved the appointment of a Vice President and of three justices, including Professor Sierd Schaafsma, in the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

Commonplace - Photographs from the Drummond-Fyvie Collection and the Ngilima Collection. By Tamsyn Adams and Sophie Feyder.

Anyone can tell a story. That is the guiding principle Hans Dekker, Senior programme leader at the Centre for Professional Learning (CPL), and his colleague Suzanne Verhees use to kick off their multi-day Storytellling course. Arjan van Unen participated in the course over the summer and learned how…

The Schengen Agreement has resulted in systematic border controls between EU Member States largely ceasing to apply. Solutions for the associated security risks are often sought in information technology. Tim Dekkers investigated how such technology is applied in this context and will defend his PhD…

The CADS Research Cluster People, Power and Diversity aims to further theoretical and methodological debates on the classifications of human difference, such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexuality, class, age, ability, religion, level of development, time, etc., and the way these classifications organize…

The genomic DNA of every organism is organized and compacted in order to fit inside the cell. This is achieved by the joint action of numerous architectural proteins that aid in folding the genome. Genome folding is tightly interconnected with transcription, with genes in certain regions being silenced,…

The research in the Biosyn group is focused on the design, synthesis and function of the four major types of biomolecules: nucleic acids, carbohydrates, peptides and lipids and hybrid structures thereof. These biomolecules and their derivatives are used in drug discovery and chemical biology, to develop…

Through metabolism, biochemical processes give rise to the complexity of life. Acquired and inborn errors in metabolism underlie many diseases occurring in man. The challenge for present day medical biochemistry is to find, and integrate, pieces of information at molecular, cell and organismal level…

This special issue of the peer-reviewed journal Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik (Brill, 2021) brings together articles that explore new digital ways of analyzing and annotating Old English vocabulary.

Since 2023 Leiden University has been intensifying its engagement with partners in Africa.

From the energy transition in Namibia to sustainable jobs for young Nigerians, from African cookbooks to vodcasts on vintage Swahili booklets: during a recent visit by the Executive Board, staff from the African Studies Centre Leiden and the African Library presented their research, teaching and acquisition…

Scientific methods and techniques have been employed in archaeological research since the very birth of the discipline. It is impossible to imagine modern archaeology without this expertise in archaeological sciences. These archaeological sciences take centre stage in the new temporal exhibition at…

Leiden Law Cast is a podcast made by Leiden Law School, Leiden University, for everyone who wants to learn more about current legal issues.

From one year to the next, face masks have started to appear in the environment. As the masks are discarded, they end up in the top soil, in sediment layers, and in refuse heaps. In a couple of generations archaeologists will study the layer that has already been labeled the Face Mask Horizon. Current…

In the course 'From Ceramics to Plastics: The Mediterranean in 12 objects' students were taught to work with 3D scanning technologies. One of the underlying reasons to introduce students to this technology was to teach them to reproduce objects. ‘More and more archaeological information is stored in…

On Thursday 28 September at 19:45, tv channel NPO Cultura will broadcast an interview with Michel Orrit about his Spinoza Prize winning research, as part of the series ‘Dankzij Spinoza’.

Eighteen of the 150 newly elected Dutch MPs studied at Leiden University or did their PhD research there. Who are they and what did they study?

Two researchers from the Faculty of Archaeology have received a grant from the Museums, Collections and Society (MSC) interdisciplinary programme. This grant is for collection-based research. Jason Laffoon is using his grant for research into the origins of Central American turquoise, while Dr Marike…

In the beginning of December 2016 PhD candidate Catarina Guzzo Falci was awarded a scholarship for a collections study by Musée du quai Branly. The Musée du quai Branly has implemented this scholarship programme to document its collections.

The Faculty of Archaeology's own home-grown journal Inter-Section has released a new volume. Inter-Section offers students and PhD candidates the unique chance to publish in a peer-reviewed journal. The new volume focuses on the materials that shape our world.