Striga hermonthica, commonly known as witchweed, infests major cereal crops in Sub-Saharan Africa causing severe yield losses and threatening the livelihood of millions of resource poor farmers.

The Executive Board is responsible for the management and administration of the entire University.

Throughout its existence, the Telders Competition has enjoyed the support of several prominent members of the ICJ and the international legal world.

The Advisory Board is an external Advisory Council, to advice the Board of Directors of CML about general strategies, research and education activities and evaluation procedures (Dutch: visitatie).

Become involved with LUGO! Vacancies for LUGO generally appear in December and/or June, so regularly check this page for updates.

The Editors of PAIR are always interested in suggestions for themed editions. Anyone wishing to propose a theme and/or to assist as a ‘guest editor’ should contact one of the editors of PAIR.

The Advisory Board of Leiden Observatory consists of five eminent scientists with prominent positions in science, industry and society.

The Advisory Board consists of five eminent scientists with specialist expertise in complementary disciplines. They all have prominent positions in the field of Computer Science in the Netherlands outside our own institute.

The Advisory Board of the IBL consists of eminent scientists with specialist expertise in complementary disciplines. They all have prominent positions for the field of Biology in the Netherlands outside our own institute.

The Board of Governors monitors the management and administration of the University as a whole, and assists and advises the Executive Board.

The deans (chairs of the faculty boards) form the Board of Deans, which is chaired by the Rector Magnificus.

The Examination Board of the Honours Academy determines whether the student meets the requirements of the relevant honours programme and handles requests for exceptions.

How has early development in R. ocellatus been modified as a result of its parasitic embryonic lifestyle?

The Common Market Law Review has an internationally composed Editorial Board and Advisory Board.

Diversity and inclusion are important priority areas at Leiden Law School. The D&I Sounding Board was set up to gain a better understanding of the role and extent of D&I across the length and breadth of the faculty. Ten members of staff from all sections of the faculty have joined this Sounding Board…

The Board of Examiners consists of scientific staff members of the IBL, Naturalis Biodiversity Center and CML, who teach in the biology programmes. They are appointed by the Board of the Faculty of Science and act independently from the research institutes. The responsibilities of the board include…

The Board of Examiners of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) consists of scientific staff members that are appointed by the Board of the Faculty of Science and acts independently from the research institute.

Meet the LUGO Board! To contact a specific member, send an email to greenoffice@leidenuniv.nl with their name in the heading.

The Institute Board is responsible for the overall management of the institute, as well as the administration and organization of the institute’s teaching and research activities. Research and education are managed collaboratively, with strategic input from various representatives and groups, including…

This is the Board of Advisors of CompaRe.

This week we can vote in the University elections. The University Council and faculty councils are incredibly important. During the fantastic seminar on 50 years of participation that the University Council recently held, our former Rector Carel Stolker aptly said: ‘Without participation, there would…

Schistosomiasis is an acute and chronic disease caused by blood dwelling parasitic trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, and it is classified as the second most socioeconomically devastating parasitic disease, second only to malaria.

Parasitic worms and stomach bacteria suppress immune reactions such as allergic responses. Parasitologist Hermelijn Smits and lung specialist Christian Taube from the LUMC are trying to learn from these micro-organisms.

Leiden University’s President of the Executive Board, Professor Annetje Ottow, has been reappointed for a second term by the Board of Governors.

Leiden University has a new Executive Board. Since 8 February 2021, Annetje Ottow has been the new President and Hester Bijl the new Rector Magnificus of the Board, while Martijn Ridderbos has continued in his role as Vice-Chairman.

The infectious diseases malaria and tuberculosis are responsible for 2.1 million deaths every year. Leiden researchers are currently testing a new tuberculosis vaccine.

ChatGPT, the text-generating chatbot, has recently become available for anyone to use. Is this artificial intelligence (AI) tool a threat to our teaching?

This is a difficult time. Above all, for all those directly involved in this horrible case – unacceptable behaviour by a professor and his removal from the University – the case we went public about on 18 October and that has been reported in the media. This is painful and tough for the complainants…

If we need funding for a project, equipment or research at the university, we automatically think of the Dutch Research Council or other grant providers. But more and more researchers are managing to connect with people who care about the university.

Several Dutch universities have said they do not want foreign student numbers to grow any more in some of their degree programmes. They are reaching maximum capacity. We are also alert to this in Leiden, but I see many positive aspects to the intake of international students.

We asked a lot of everyone last year. The Personnel Monitor showed that the workload was high in 2022 and Covid took its toll. I therefore think everyone deserves some downtime. Time away from the daily grind.

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

We developed the bitterling as a unique, well-studied model organism in the area of the evolutionary ecology of brood parasitism. The bitterling-mussel relationship, interspecific mussel host preference, and mussel gill structure are studied in detail, to help understand the developmental adaptation…

The Executive Board has appointed Mette Kamerich as the assessor and student member of the Faculty Board of the Faculty of Humanities. The appointment is for the period from 1 September 2025 to 1 September 2026, and she will therefore succeed Nova Verkerk in this role.

The rising energy prices cannot have escaped anyone’s notice. They have dominated the news in recent months. As a university, we too face a big challenge as the prices continue to rise. We will all have to do our bit in the coming months, also in view of the climate crisis that we want to help resol…

I was disgusted by the recent Ongehoord Nederland broadcast on 15 September. The racist and hateful comments made by alumna Raisa Blommesteijn were, as far as I am concerned, way over the line and in my opinion also violate Article 1 of the Constitution of the Netherlands.

The more than 370 sensors that have been hung up in Leiden University buildings to count the people present will not be switched on again. The equipment will eventually be removed from the buildings.

Now the introduction weeks can go ahead as usual, the new students’ enthusiasm is overwhelming. It’s back to normal for the student associations too, having had a hard time of it during the pandemic.

Leiden University is a fantastic example of a network university: we create an impact with the city, stakeholders and regional and international partners. The lines of communication are really short and there is a great sense of togetherness. Our good relations with the city have also informed how we…

I recently went to the anniversary celebration of The Meeting Point, and the stories the refugee students told made a huge impression on me. The Meeting Point helps students from different backgrounds feel part of our university community.

Ever since its foundation, Leiden University has turned its gaze outwards to other cultures, languages and forms of academic practice. It is only natural, therefore, that we as a university have four institutes abroad: the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV-KNAW)…

Our immune system protects us against disease, but every now and then, something goes wrong: an enemy invades our bodies or our immune system attacks our own cells and we become ill. Doctors and researchers at the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) want to be able to manipulate the immune system…

A lot is going on in the world right now, and our university regularly faces big issues and dilemmas too. Then it can be tricky to switch off. For me, exercise is a way to unwind. We want our staff to be able to relax too and are therefore offering various events and workshops that should help.

We know more together than alone. To increase our university’s impact on the region, we have to be open to the world outside. This is how we strengthen our ties and create new opportunities for teaching and research.

Nova Verkerk has represented the interests of students as assessor for the past two years. Now her term has come to an end, and on 1 September she will be succeeded on the Faculty Board by Mette Kamerich.

PhD defence