She left Leiden after her PhD and now, 14 years later, she returns as Professor of Extragalactic Astronomy. Mariska Kriek investigates how galaxies originate and evolve. And she is eagerly awaiting the launch for the new James Webb telescope: ‘The coolest things we are going to find are those we’re…

Exploring the mechanism of targeted nanoparticle-mediated drug delivery using the zebrafish model

An international team of astronomers led by Ardjan Sturm of the Observatory has made the first two-dimensional inventory of ice in a planet-forming disk of dust and gas surrounding a young star. The researches, including Melissa McClure, used the James Webb Space Telescope and publish their findings…

The Dutch-Japanese made DESHIMA instrument has passed its first practical tests when measuring the distances and ages of distant galaxies. The core of the instrument is a chip the size of two euro coins that measures 49 shades of far infrared light. The developers of the spectrometer publish the results…

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Development & Disease research theme is to unravel the processes that allow plants to adapt to changing abiotic and biotic environmental conditions or stresses, with the aim to contribute to the sustainable production of food, flowers and bio-based products using…

How can party bans be justified? Which parties were banned in post-war Europe – and why? Do militant democracy instruments work? Is an international militant democracy concept in the making?

What does our faculty stand for and what will we do in the next five years? We are proud to present our new strategic plan that we made together. On this website you will find more information about what our Faculty stands for and what our course is for the coming years

As many as seven first-year students from the Faculty of Science were honoured as young talents. In addition, the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) also lauded three master's students and an astronomy project during a vibrant ceremony on 28 November. Professor of Science Communication…

The master's specialisation Astronomy and Instrumentation at Leiden University focuses on fully understanding the physical principles and performance of astronomical instruments and to contribute to the development of new instrumentation technologies.

A night sky of more than 40 petabytes in size, simulating young star clusters and understanding how the body inhibits viruses: three Leiden projects have received computing time on one of the national computer systems.

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Host-Microbe Interactions research theme is to dissect how microorganisms and microbiomes interact with the plant host and the insects on those plants, and how these insights may be harnessed to improve plant growth and health, by steering microbiome composition and…

Winning gold in speed skating at the Olympic Games is not just a matter of training hard; data science can also lend a hand. Jeroen van der Eb of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) developed the measuring skate for this purpose, with which he recently won the Nationale Sportinnovator…

Four different astronomical societies are active in the Old Observatory. We are very proud of the commitment these associations show to organize activities.

I have studied the hot, diffuse gas around and between galaxies. Specifically, I have used the EAGLE numerical simulations of galaxy formation to predict the properties of this gas, and I have used those properties to predict specific observables: soft X-ray absorption and emission lines.

The formation and evolution of galaxies is fundamentally driven by the formation of new stars out of cold gas.

‘Space Antenna LISA will open an unprecedented window on the Universe,’ says astronomer Elena Maria Rossi. The mission will be the first one to detect Gravitational Waves from space. These can tell us more about the beginning of our Universe and the formation of black holes. With an NWO grant of twelve…

Microbial Sciences' contribution to the Host-Microbe Interactions research theme is to investigate how beneficial or disease-causing microbes associate and interact with their host.

Het proefschrift omschrijft de chemische synthese van fenolische glycolipiden van verschillende mycobacteriën met het doel om deze te kunnen gebruiken voor immunologisch onderzoek.

Design and synthesis of two 3-substituted swainsonine derivatives with the aim to improve the potency and selectivity towards Golgi alpha-mannosidase II.

Synthetic methodlogy is described, aiding in the synthetic preparation of putative inhibitors of retaining and inverting glycosidases and glycosyl transferases. All constructs are cyclophellitol-based cyclitols.

The chemical synthesis of inhibitors and probes targeting endo-glycosidases.

Leiden Professor of Molecular astrophysics Ewine van Dishoeck has been awarded an Advanced Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). She has been awarded 2.3 million euros in research funding for the MOLDISK programme. Within this programme, Van Dishoeck wants to connect chemistry and physics in…

Planets existing in other solar systems contain invaluable information about the origin of planets and life. PhD candidate Yapeng Zhang has studied their atmospheres by looking at their smallest parts: isotopes. With her research she hopes to discover what makes our own solar system unique.

Lecture

This dissertation reports on the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of science teachers during a professional development program. This research intended to help us understand why and how teachers make their classroom decisions as they teach science.

SAILS aims to forge links between the different disciplines at the University and to initiate new academic partnerships.

Bernhard Brandl, the new Leiden Professor of Infrared Astronomy, is developing instruments for the world’s largest telescopes. These telescopes can be used to observe objects in space that are more than 13 billion years old. Brandl will deliver his inaugural lecture on 26 September.

Overall dispersion in LCA as result of inherent uncertainties, spread and unrepresentativeness.

The IBL Education Office consists of:

For thousands of years bloodlines have been held as virtually unassailable credentials for leadership, with supreme political power perceived as a family affair across the globe and throughout history.

First held in 2013, the Europa Lecture is an annual lecture organised by the Europa Institute of Leiden Law School. It provides leading thinkers, scholars and politicians with a platform to share their views on questions of European integration with the academic community and wider public.

The Cryogenics Department has a liquid helium production unit and an automatic liquid nitrogen filling plant.

Read more about the International Network Open Science & Scholarship Communities in our Vision and Mission statements.

Lecture

Former PhD student Cameron Mackie will been awarded not one, but two dissertation prizes for his thesis on the aromatic universe. His work could provide us with a virtual sniff of space. ‘These molecules in space likely smell like a big charcoal grill!’

Corporate R&D organizations and their relation to academic laboratories.

This Thesis describes the synthesis of D-alanylated ribitol-based wall teichoic acids from S. aureus to probe their interaction with immune-binding partners.

This thesis describes the development of a variety of mannosylated conjugates. Antigen presenting cells bear mannoside recognizing receptors that actively transport antigen into the cell. This thesis exploits this feature for the development of improved vaccines.

Working for a top faculty? Discover the vacancies at the Faculty of Science and apply immediately.

The master’s specialisation Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences and Industrial Pharmacy at Leiden University examines safety and quality control in the production of medicinal products, and prepares students for a career in Quality Assurance and Quality Control in the biotechnological and pharmaceutical ind…

The master’s specialisation Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences and Business Studies at Leiden University combines fundamental and applied research with different aspects of business studies.

An international team of astronomers, led by Will Rocha of Leiden Observatory, using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have discovered that the key ingredients for making potentially habitable worlds are present in early-stage protostars, where planets have not yet formed.

An international team of astronomers including Leiden professor Ewine van Dishoeck has observed the benzene molecule (C6H6) in a planet-forming disk around a young star for the first time. The observations tell us more about the forming of planets in this disc, like our own Earth. The scientists publish…

Patterned detectors are an existing technology that can be found in almost all color cameras.

This UNESCO Chair at CWTS aims to contribute to UNESCO’s agenda to foster diversity and inclusion in science. The chair has two main lines of work:

Big Science, commonly defined as conventional science made big in three dimensions, namely organizations, machines, and politics, brings a plethora of different stakeholders together, often for a long period of time. This includes policymakers, scientists, (scientific) managers as well as local “host”…

UnMiSSeD studies the interaction between misinformation and science in societal debates using a mixed qualitative-quantitative approach.