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

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.

Promotors: Prof.dr. P.G.L. Klinkhamer, Prof.dr. P.M. Brakefield

Prematurely born neonates require, amongst others, pharmaceutical therapy. Dosing guidelines for these therapies are often based on data from term born neonates or older infants, while these are not necessarily similar to prematurely born neonates.

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

Can the venom of snakes, scorpions and other animals be sources of new antibiotics?

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: J.D.C. Codée

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. A. Bouwstra, Prof.dr. W. Jiskoot

Vancomycin is a last-resort antibiotic for the treatment of many Gram-positive bacterial infections, while remaining inactive against Gram-negative strains.

Promotores: H.A. Udo De Haes, P.M. Brakefield

Glycoconjugate vaccines are composed of microbial poly- or oligosaccharides covalently linked to a carrier protein.

We aim to develop a drug-delivery method based on the production of biomolecules directly at the target site.

Dissolving microneedles are a subgroup of microneedle types that completely dissolve within the skin. During this dissolving process the vaccine, stored in the needle matrix, is released into the skin.

New and reemerging infectious diseases call for innovative and efficient control strategies of which fast vaccine design and development represent an important element.

Polymyxins are clinically used antibiotics, discovered in mid-20th century. Once abandoned due to excessive nephrotoxicity, they are now used increasingly to address infections caused by multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria.In this thesis, we describe the development and synthesis of analogues…

How presence, abundance and enzymatic activities of AM and EM fungi differently affect soil carbon sequestration processes?

Within this project, PeptoMiktoStars were realized through an orthogonal protecting group strategy and should be investigated further regarding their potential as drug delivery systems in the field of drug delivery to inflamed areas in cancer, bacterial infections or autoimmune diseases.

Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are the most abundant biological entity in nature. They shape bacterial communities and are a major driving force in bacterial evolution.

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

Overkleeft

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, J. Neefjes, Co-promotor: M. van der Stelt

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.

The Department of Medical Microbiology at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) is researching antiviral drugs that could treat and prevent SARS-CoV-2 in various projects. One part of the PanCoroNed project is being led by Martijn van Hemert and involves lab tests into the antiviral effect of molecules…

PhD defence

IBL-researcher Phil Elks in the group of Annemarie Meijer won the Cell Observatory Publication of the Year 2013. He received the award for his paper in PLoS Pathogens, showing that activation of hypoxia signaling protects against mycobacterial infection.

What are the main factors associated with the stranding of the two seal species? What are the factors influencing the prevalence of disease in the two species? Which human-related factors influence the populations of the two seal species?

Effective host defence against tuberculosis bacteria depends on a properly balanced level of inflammation. The Inflammafish project uses zebrafish larvae to study how autophagy controls this inflammation and vice versa.

Seasonal influenza vaccines provide protection against matching influenza A virus (IAV) strains mainly through the induction of neutralizing serum IgG antibodies. However, these antibodies fail to confer a protective effect against mismatched IAV. This lack of efficacy against heterologous influenza…

Mechanobiology is a major area in biology, however, mechanics is currently a missing element in drug development pipelines. This has led to a high cost for the society. Mechanotoxicity of drugs often appears as a long-term side effect of drugs, and has led to removal of drugs from the market. Furthermore,…

Promotor: C.A.J. Knibbe, Co-promotores: H.P.A. van Dongen, B. van Ramshorst

Plant exudates appeared long time ago in the history line of life in the early Devonian. They are typical saps produced by specialized cells.

Promotor: G.P. van Wezel, Co-promotor: Y.H. Choi

A portrait of the complex historical process of over 500 years of European colonialism in the New World.

We are very happy to welcome you to spend a semester or year studying or doing an internship with us at the Leiden University Medical Center. Here you will find information on your course timetables and registration.

β-Lactamases are enzymes that can break down β-lactam substrates, such as antibiotics, preventing the use of these antibiotics for the treatment of various infectious diseases. However, some compounds, β-lactamase inhibitors, can block these enzymes allowing for possible treatments using a combination…

How and why latex bearing plants select specific chemical compounds for eco-chemical interactions with its biotic factors?

The CMCB brings together microbial cell biology expertise in Leiden. It aims at optimal resonance between the groups and maximal exploitation of the available infrastructure and to develop innovative cross-boundary technology platforms.

How does invasive hybridization affect threatened native species?

In this article, Dimiter Toshkov aims to explains the gender gap in COVID-19 vaccination attitudes.

The company Azafaros was established in 2018 to translate innovative science from Leiden University and Amsterdam University Medical Center into novel disease-modifying treatment modalities for rare genetic metabolic disorders such as lysosomal storage diseases.

Dr. Foks obtained this fellowship 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 for the next three years.

The current COVID-19 vaccination campaign involves injecting the vaccine into muscle tissue, but injecting a smaller amount of vaccine in the skin might also provide good protection. The #wakeuptocorona crowdfunding campaign has enabled Anna Roukens (LUMC) to examine the safety and efficacy of vaccination…

What Accounts for the Variety of National Policy Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe?

The central question of this Vici proposal is to investigate if, and how actinobacteria exploit life without a cell wall.

What are the principles of genome folding and dynamics in bacteria?

During the Leiden Science Family Day, you can take part in various workshops. You can also watch various demonstrations. Where will you go?

Supervisor: Anna Vlachodimou

Through his project we will unravel the global regulatory networks that control gene expression in Streptomyces bacteria and allow them to properly respond to major changes in the environment; we will then harness this knowledge to activate and identify novel antibiotics

In the research programme Microbial Sciences we perform state-of-the-art research in the field of biotechnology and microbial sciences.