Despite being the object of intense study, embryonic development has been difficult to model due to a number of reasons. First, complex tissues can be comprised of many cell types, of which we probably only know a subset.

We perform multidisciplinary research at molecular, cellular, and organismal levels of animal biology to increase fundamental understanding of health and disease.

Ariane Briegel has been appointed Professor in the fìeld of Ultrastructural Biology within the Faculty of Science at the Institute of Biology from the 1st of December 2015. Her expertise is in using electron cryotomography to study how microbes sense and respond to their environment.

Nature uses a special class of histone proteins, histone variants, to modulate the properties of chromatin at defined genomic locations.

Developing a new way to measure marine biodiversity at high resolution, by listening to it.

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, Co-Promotor: B.I. Florea

We use DNA strands to stabilize few-atom silver clusters, which show unique optical and chemical properties. This thesis involves the study of these constructs for various applications.

The deeper understanding of an organism's pathology is important for developing treatments. Over centuries of systematic research, clinical researchers have demonstrated that the more information they acquire about the cellular properties and their organisation in the tissue, the better they can understand…

A Vici grant and a Science-GROOT: scientists from the Institute of Biology Leiden have been awarded prestigious grants from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). From investigating bacteria without cell walls to harnessing plants with the help of microorganisms.

Biology is one of the four top educational programs at Leiden University according to the national “Guide to Universities” (Keuzegids Universiteiten).

On Monday the 8th of December, the annual symposium of the IBL will be organized at the main building of the LUMC Leiden. This year’s theme is “Integrative Biology towards Healthy Communities”.

Can bacteria be engineered to convert methanol into valuable chemicals with high efficiency?

Develop a prototype combined chemical-microbial enzymatical process for the sustainable, green recycling and revalorization of polyamides and polystyrene

Can furan-based resisn be degraded by microbial enzymes in combination with mild pre-treatment?

Vera van Noort has been appointed Professor in the field of Computational Biology within the Faculty of Science at the Institute of Biology from the 1st of February 2017. Van Noort’s expertise is in bioinformatics and her research focuses on the computational analysis of large-scale biological data…

150 new Biology students have arrived in Leiden. This is more than ever and we seem to settle among the big three Universities for Biology in the Netherlands.

On Thursday the 24th of November, Tseard Hoekstra and Jeroen Ververs (members of the delegation Holland Rijnland), Geert de Snoo (Dean Faculty of Science), Martina Vijver (CML), Herman Spaink (Scientific Director IBL) and Klaas Vrieling (IBL) explored possibilities for collaborations between companies…

The European Union has invested ten million euros in the so-called iNEXT-Discovery consortium. The goal of this new consortium is to enable European researchers to extend innovative structural biology research. The Netherlands Centre for Electron Nanoscopy (NeCEN) is also part of iNEXT-Disovery, which…

Thomas Bakkum en Tom van der Wel, two PhD candidates from the Leiden Institute of Chemistry, have both won poster prizes at the EMBL Chemical Biology Conference 2018 in Heidelberg.

Bacteria are everywhere. They are the most abundant organisms on earth and impact all aspects of our lives. They determine our health and shape our environment. Ariane Briegel, professor of Ultrastructural Biology, freezes bacteria super fast to gain a true-to-nature image of the internal and external…

A structural investigation of coiled coil peptides used as membrane fusogens, mimicing naturally occuring coiled-coil fusion proteins. Synthetic modifications have been made to alter lipid attachment, secondary structure and to insert photoactive azobenzene moieties for active control over coiled coil…

Can Cyanobacteria be engineered to convert the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the valuable chemical isoprene?

Freshwater and brackish water ecosystems are arguably the most vulnerable ecosystems on earth, due to concentrated human developments in and around them. The Pontocaspian (PC) region located at the border of Europe and Asia contains a variety of brackish water ecosystems and unique inhabitants, known…

The studies reported in this thesis were situated in the context of an innovation of Dutch secondary school biology curricula. As in any innovation, the practical knowledge of teachers determine the outcomes through the decisions they make while planning and teaching their lessons. The aim of the studies…

As a non-invasive genetic method, eDNA based approaches have become an important component of ecologists' and environmental managers' toolkits for biomonitoring in conservation and an increasingly important source of ecological knowledge.

Three Leiden researchers have been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). They each receive 1.5 million Euro to develop their own research project in the coming 5 years.

This project is situated within the context of an innovation of the biology curriculum in Dutch secondary schools. The main purposes are (1) to clarify the relation between teachers’ practical knowledge and the decisions they make when planning and implementing their lessons and (2) to develop a professional…

Promotor: J. van der Greef; Co-promotor: E. van Wijk, M. Wang

Promotor: Richard D. Gill

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink Co-promotor: Dr. B.E. Snaar

Promotores: G.R. de Snoo, W.T. de Groot, Co-promotor: C.J.M. Musters

Promotor: J.G.E.M.Fraaije, Co-promotor: A. Kros

Carbohydrates, alongside proteins and nucleic acids, constitute a crucial and versatile family of biomolecules present in all life forms. They manifest as monosaccharides, oligosaccharides, and polysaccharides, covalently bonded to proteins and fats. Carbohydrates are integral to plant and arthropod…

Climate change is a challenge for both current and future generations. New biological resources have to be developed in order to meet the demand for energy as well as the demand for food.

Engineering an efficient microbial enzymatic polyethylene degradation pathway via an innovative combination of biochemistry and computational biology tools for enzyme discovery and characterization.