Analysis of neuroimaging data requires multiple steps where statistics play a crucial role. The MRI methods research group develops new statistical methods that are accurate, transparent and easy to use.

By detecting the tiny forces between a micrometer sized magnet and the spins of hydrogen nuclei, we can do MRI with a volume resolution that is approximately 12 orders of magnitude better than a conventional MRI.  

Tot voor kort was de kartering van oppervlaktevondsten de geijkte manier om het in de bronstijd bewoonde gebied in West-Friesland in kaart te brengen. In dit rapport gebaseerd op archeologisch onderzoek in 2012-2015 wordt uiteengezet wat de relatie tussen de oppervlaktevondsten en de aan- en afwezigheid…

PhD defence

This thesis investigates the relations between metabolism and anatomy through the use of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

In dit onderzoek van de Universiteit Leiden kijken we hoe vaders en moeders de zwangerschap en de overgang naar het ouderschap ervaren.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), often referred to as drones, have become easy and inexpensive to buy, and it is generally expected that the use of drones by private individuals, businesses and public authorities will increase tremendously in the coming years. This raises questions as to what is technologically…

Special amplifying agents can make MRI scanners and NMR techniques hundreds of times more sensitive. Leiden physicists have now found a method to test their efficiency. More sensitive MRI scans could for example improve our understanding of cystic fibrosis or Parkinson’s disease. Publication in PCCP…

Professor of Radiology Andrew Webb and his collaborative partner Johnes Obungoloch from Uganda have won the 2023 Huibregtsen Prize.

The factors that dynamically sculpt the inter-regional correlation of brain patterns are poorly understood. Here, we test the hypothesis that they are shaped by the catecholaminergic neuromodulators norepinephrine and dopamine.

50 years ago Lauterbur published the basic principle of MRI. Sine then MRI has become more expensive. Professor Andrew Webb describes what is needed to make MRI available for everybody.

The Leids Astronomisch Dispuut F. Kaiser is an association dedicated to the students who study astronomy in Leiden. In addition, they are also very involved in the public activities in the Old Observatory and help with the development and implementation of other projects in the building.

Leidse milieuwetenschappers doen onderzoek naar microplastics, bestrijdingsmiddelen en bemesting. En binnenkort naar lichtvervuiling en nieuwe materialen uit de nanotechnologie.

Promotores: Bas Edixhoven, Guy Henniart

Mapping the neural mechanisms underlying social motivations of adolescents and adults

A new NMR microscope gives researchers an improved instrument to study fundamental physical processes. It also offers new possibilities for medical science, for example to better study proteins in Alzheimer patients’ brains. Publication in Physical Review Applied.

The philosopher and psychologist G.F. Stout was the teacher of Moore and Russell around 1894. This book shows that Stout's ideas have played a role in Moore and Russell's development from their early idealism towards analytic realism, where Stout's ideas often find their origin in early phenomenolog…

This dissertation presents the results of the importance of creativity for ICT-students of Dutch universities of applied sciences (in Dutch: hogescholen), and the functioning of training courses that aim to promote creative abilities is highlighted.

Together with researchers from over the world, the ENIGMA-Anxiety Working Group endeavors to unravel the neurobiology of anxiety disorders and related constructs.

Kan artificiële intelligentie (AI) helpen om subtiele veranderingen in de gewrichten op te merken op MRI-beelden van patiënten met reumatoïde artritis? Die vraag gaan Leidse wetenschappers beantwoorden dankzij een subsidie van de Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (NWO).

This dissertation examines what network in the human brain is involved in the perception of prosody and whether activity within this network is modulated by the personality trait alexithymia.

The updated MRI scanner at the Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC) will become operational on 29 September. The new version is faster and better than the current model.

Vocal learning is a trait shared by songbirds and humans. It is also a trait that is restricted by the brain rather than by a species' vocal apparatus. In this dissertation, functional MRI is employed in both species in order to explore potential common neural mechanisms underlying the ability to develop…

In October 2019, OSCL organised a Hackathon on the ins and outs of MRI datasharing

Zou je graag een hoofdstuk uit je proefschrift in informele setting willen bespreken? Heb je een onderzoeksidee dat je graag zou voorleggen aan vakgenoten? Neem dan contact op met ozsmed@hum.leidenuniv.nl. De Onderzoekschool organiseert sinds kort een seminarreeks waarin dergelijke onderwerpen in een…

Als vertegenwoordiger behartig je de belangen van promovendi en ReMa-studenten binnen de Onderzoekschool Mediëvistiek. Zo krijg je onder meer de kans om mee te denken over het verbeteren van de onderwijs- en onderzoeksactiviteiten van de onderzoekschool. Interesse? Nog vragen? Neem contact op…

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden University and Philips are jointly receiving over 2 million euros from NWO to set up an artificial intelligence (AI) lab. The aim of this lab is to accelerate and improve MRI scans with AI. This is great for patients, and it helps make MRI more accessi…

Professor Andrew Webb has been appointed Simon Stevin Master 2017 by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, an award that carries a prize of 500,000 euros. Webb, who is Professor of MRI Physics at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), will use this funding to focus on developing new…

Together, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden University and Philips are one of the 17 AI labs within the ROBUST consortium that will receive support from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The aim of this collaboration is to use artificial intelligence to speed up MRI scans.

Een samenwerking tussen het Leids Universitair Medische Centrum (LUMC), de Universiteit Leiden en Philips ontvangt financiering van wetenschapsfinancier NWO om MRI-scans te versnellen. Deze drie partijen vormen samen een van de 17 AI-labs die onder de naam ROBUST voor een periode van 10 jaar NWO-steun…

With his ice-cold nano force sensor, Tjerk Oosterkamp searches for the boundary between the quantum world and the everyday world. The Leiden physicist has received an NWO subsidy of 600,000 euros.

We explore the possibilities to combine magnetic resonance techniques with atomic force microscopy together in a single microscope: the MRI-AFM, also called Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM).

Serge Rombouts is a physicist whose PhD thesis was about functional MRI (fMRI). This visualises activity in regions of the brain. The appealing images of glowing brain regions that emerge from the computer are the result of calculations. According to Rombouts, this isn’t proper artificial intelligence.…

Source: Biochem Pharmacol, Volume 95, Issue 4, pp. 290-300 (2015)

For many years, scientists have observed a correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and a surplus of iron in the brain. However, a causal link between the two has not been proven yet. We lack knowledge concerning the specific form of iron that is involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.…

Do objectively correct solutions to ethical dilemmas exist? Or is ethics always a matter of your opinion against my opinion? How do you know what to do? What kind of thing is ethics anyway? Can you be an expert in ethics?

The starting point for this research project is the notion that the human brain is susceptible to all kinds of fallacies and biases that affect our perceptions and influence our reasoning outside of our conscious awareness. Indeed, most people think they are merely observing facts and that they process…

We received the sad news that Janet van der Meulen passed away on November 29. She was an expert on French and Dutch literature in the medieval Low Countries. An in memoriam (in Dutch) has been published on the website of Neerlandistiek.

PhD defence

Neuroimaging research has greatly advanced our insights on how the brain is organized. Now is the time for the next step: Imagine what would be possible when we cannot only map brain-functioning, but use neuroimaging to voluntarily regulate brain-activity!