Humanity stands at a pivotal juncture, facing the dual challenge of environmental sustainability and rapid population growth, projected to exceed 11 billion by century’s end.

The first steps are made in personalised cancer vaccination strategies, which aim to induce a more specific immune response with fewer side effects. The activation of cytotoxic T cells is crucial for an effective immune response.

Biopolymer sequencing with graphene edge-based tunnel junctions has the potential to overcome current limitations with the third generation of sequencing based on biological nanopores.

Marine sponges are important members of reef ecosystems, as they play ecological roles that are essential for the health of the reef.

Promotor: H.V.J. Linnartz

We simulate interstellar clouds with special plasma expansions and chemical reactions on icy dust grains to be measured in ultra-high vacuum setups. This provides the data necessary to guide and interpret astronomical observations and to model reaction networks in space. [Harold Linnartz]

This thesis provides an overview of the development of the Pair Configuration to Molecular Activity Coefficient (PAC-MAC) model.

This thesis focuses on the design and synthesis of activity-based probes and inhibitors targeting enzymes involved in the degradation of specific plant glycans.

Lecture

Synthetic hydrogels that mimic the natural extracellular matrix in the biophysical and biochemical cues it provides to cells are in high demand, however the cell phenotypes as they are observed in vivo in numerous cases have yet to be attained.

The cellular metabolism of immune cells constitutes an important part of their proper function and activation. Using T cells as an example, this phenomenon is highlighted by the metabolic reprogramming that occurs in these cells upon activation.

Our facilities cover:

Lecture

This thesis focuses on protoplanetary disks: flattened structures of gas and dust around young stars in which planets are expected to form and grow.

Streptomyces bacteria are a valuable source of natural products, many of which are used in the clinic or in biotechnology.

Multiple stars, that is two or more stars composing a gravitationally bound system, are common in the universe.

Vitamin A or retinol is essential in embryonic development, the visual cycle and the immune system.

To address the fundamental questions of how life on Earth emerged and how common life may be in the Universe, it is crucial to know the chemical composition of the planet-forming material.

The main goal of the THEOR CHEM group, headed by Prof. Geert-Jan Kroes, is to characterize, and to accurately predict the outcome of chemical reactions at gas-solid and liquid-solid interfaces. Here the solid surface is typically a metal or an ice surface. These goals are important to many areas in…

Organic molecules in interstellar space are important as they influence the structure of galaxies and star formations. Studying catalytic processes in space allows us to understand how molecular species are formed and chemically evolved in the interstellar medium and solar system objects.

Promotor: A. Kros

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

This Thesis shows discoveries in non-linear astrochemical kinetics as well as a deeper analysis of dark clouds chemistry.

Thanks to its early civilisation and continuous mix of influences, the Muslim world has a rich and varied culture. The study of material culture, books, stories, films and increasingly television series teaches us about the structure of modern-day Muslim societies.

By carrying out fundamental research and providing excellent education, universities become a breeding ground for innovation and entrepreneurship.

To construct catalysts that can produce fuels from CO2 innumerable times, we need to learn much more about how catalysis works. Irene Groot is conducting groundbreaking research into catalysis at the atomic level.

How can the combination of sound composition, astrochemistry, and epistemological analysis provide new and unexpected insights into interstellar chemical reactivity?

Artificial photosynthesis aims to produce fuels from solar energy using chemical processes. In semi-artificial photosynthesis, a hybrid approach is taken using both chemical and biotechnology components. We are developing hybrid systems, coupling light-harvesting nanoparticles to redox-enzymes (oxidoreductases)…

This article describes the phenomenon of firearms violence and the importance of including non-lethal firearms violence in understanding this phenomenon.

Drawing on the analogical lessons of the Great War, this article uses applied history to analyze how the four parallels discerned can help us make sense of contemporary Sino-American rivalry

Cultural biographies of persons, objects and 'natural' places in the Bronze Age of the Southern Netherlands, c. 2300-600 BC.

This omnibus brings together some old and some recent works by Jos Gommans on the warhorse and its impact on medieval and early modern state-formation in South Asia.

A number of scholars joint forces to analyse and re-analyse a number of Merovingian cemeteries and publish the results in the series Merovingian Archaeology in the Low Countries published by Habelt Verlag in Bonn (Germany). We call it the ANASTASIS project. This is the third volume in which the data…

Why is there no Northeast Asian security architecture? Assessing the strategic impediments to a stable East Asia. In this article, published in 'The Pacific Review', the authors Wang (Peking University) en Stevens (Leiden University) discuss the reasons why.

On the 23rd of June Arianna Sacco successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

This book contextualizes the use of terror as part of wider movements of political contention, demonstrating that terroristic innovation occurs as part of wider historical processes rather than in a vacuum.

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On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the magna carta of civil aviation, the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention 1944), Professor Steven Truxal has written a leading piece for the European Civil Aviation Conference: The Chicago system: a steadfast legal blueprint for…

This project traces how, why, and under what circumstances scholars invoked the trope of “dogmatism,” especially in controversies. Relevant controversies from various fields, periods, and countries will be subjected to in-depth rhetorical analysis.

In this project, we use social network analysis to analyze the behavior of users in online forums and associated marketplaces over time.

Firearms and violence in Europe–A systematic review by Katharina Krüsselmann, Pauline Aarten, Marieke Liem

Dutch and Colonial History

This research cluster is a part of the Institute of Political Science’s research programme ‘Institutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviour’. Its members examine the sources, design, effects and contestation of norms, rules, institutionalised practices and formal organisations that operate across national…

Researchers at Leiden University have made a breakthrough in the study of the hereditary Pompe disease. Together with colleagues in York, they have developed a molecule that binds to the enzyme that is key to the progress of the disease. The findings have been published in ACS Central Science.

The surface and the edges of graphene are expected to provide higher sensitivity and specificity in detecting and characterizing single molecules. However fundamental physical limits exist in reaching an ultimate precision in detecting the dynamics of chemical and biological systems. The research in…

Many metalloenzymes that are key to bioenergetics are membrane enzymes, with canonical examples the complexes I, II, III and IV in the mitochondrial inner membrane. To study these enzymes in a native-like lipid membrane environment, we aim to develop novel bioelectrochemical techniques.

How can efficient chemical synthesis and clinical microbiology be combined to identify new antibiotics against Clostridioides difficile infections?

This thesis describes the use of an activity-based proteomics method to study the endocannabinoid system.

Cytotoxic T-cells (CTLs) are involved in the clearance of viruses and killing of tumor cells.