Assistant professor Daniel Schade of Leiden University was a guest on various German-language media outlets, discussing the state of the Schengen Agreement after 30 years.

Last Saturday, Reijer Passchier was a guest on one of his favourite radio programmes: Dr. Kelder en Co.

Never before has so much research been carried out on the therapeutic effect of psychedelic drugs. Researchers at the LIBC Public Day are happy about the effect the drugs can have on depression, anxiety and PTSS, but at the same time they have some doubts. ‘The hype is bound to crash before long.’

Taking probiotics can help reduce negative feelings. This is shown by research by Katerina Johnson and Laura Steenbergen published in the journal npj Mental Health Research. They also investigated which people benefit most from these ‘good’ bacteria.

Have you ever experienced the feeling of awkwardness when attending a party where you didn’t know anybody? Ever felt shy at a party within the first few minutes? While this feeling is labelled loosely as feeling socially anxious, social anxiety disorder goes to a much further extent.

Lecture

Welcome to Leiden University

It is a full classroom: more than 30 pupils from 5 and 6 vwo are present to listen to political scientist Leila Demarest's lecture. She gives a brief introduction on the topic she is about to discuss: democracy in the global North and South. At first, the group seems a bit quiet, but when she asks questions…

Assistant Professor of European Studies and International Relations Daniel Schade was a guest on Deutschland Heute on Deutschlandfunk and spoke about the recent Schengen evaluation report by the European Commission.

Got an hour to spare over the long weekend? Then listen to an episode of the new podcasts that have seen the light of day at the faculty in recent months.

From 3 to 13 December you can see the exhibition Plastic Justice at the Kamerlingh Onnes Building. Esther Kentin, coördinator of the Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic, saw the exhibition at the Plastic Health Summit and initiated a collaboration with the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.

Welcome to Leiden University

Do you have a question concerning the Bachelor Honours Classes (BHC’s)? You can find the answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions below.

What happens in the brains of people with psychiatric illnesses? With a €23.23 million gravity grant, scientists from different fields will search for biological causes over the next decade. ‘By joining forces, we hope to improve diagnosis and treatment for patients with these diseases.’

Organisation

The Moria deal has been marked as a controversial issue in the formation process for a new Dutch government – a development that fits with the government’s hesitancy in implementing what is already a meagre asylum policy, writes master’s student Nina Fokkink in an article in Dutch newspaper NRC.

Every day, 5 people die by suicide in the Netherlands. Suicide is a complex phenomenon and consequently many questions remain about how to reduce the number of suicides. Renske Gilissen will strengthen both research and education on suicide prevention at Clinical Psychology in Leiden. From June 1,…

Last Tuesday, the Herta Mohr building was filled with secondary school pupils. During the profile choice afternoon, they were introduced to various aspects of language studies. 'It’s really exciting to be here.'

Recently, we have witnessed an increased interest of the public and media in the hidden world of underwater archaeology sparked by the identification of a shipwreck as "Klein Hollandia". The research was a joint effort of a team of British and Dutch maritime archaeologists with one familiar face from…

The first fine for space debris has been issued. An American company that had failed to clean up its space junk has been fined $150.000.

Also in 2024, our colleagues from the Institute of Psychology were visible in the media in various ways. Check out their appearances in Dutch media, from NRC to the Podcast psychologist.

Fantastic plants, dizzying patterns and pulsating sounds: researchers from Leiden are going to study the effects of a simulated psychedelic trip on the mind and body at Lowlands Festival. Why might this be interesting for therapies?

Knowing whether or not a treatment is working just by wearing your watch? Data scientist Ahnjili ZhuParris has identified a lot of opportunities for the use of machine learning in clinical research to monitor test subjects at home.

On 30 April, Prime Minister Mark Rutte was presented with the manifesto of the NWO Youth Challenge, which contains advice for policymakers, scientists and administrators on the empowerment of youth in the time of coronavirus. The manifesto is based on research questions submitted to the science community…

Seven Leiden professors have been elected as members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). In total 23 new members will be inaugurated on Monday 13 September.

Preventing or delaying disease often requires lifestyle changes, which turns out to be difficult. Valentijn Visch and Sandra van Dijk are researching how to help people change their behaviour.

Professor of Brain, Safety and Resilience Anne-Laura van Harmelen has been nominated for the Huibregtsen Prize. The winner of the prize will be announced on the Evening of Science & Society (4 October).

During a well-attended Studium Generale lecture at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave, Professor Ellen de Bruijn demonstrated how hormonal fluctuations influence the female brain. 'We urgently need more attention for the mental health of girls and women during transitional periods.'

Depression or ADHD? Neatly delineated diagnoses fail to do justice to the infinitely complex reality that they refer to, argues Eiko Fried in a new paper for JAMA Psychiatry. His proposal: to map the underlying mechanisms of mental health problems using a Mental Health Atlas.

How can we supply the growing world population with sustainable energy? At Laurens College in Rotterdam, Prof. Marc Koper speaks with the students about the crucial role of chemistry in the energy transition. Guest classes like this are a good way for school students to learn about the academic world,…

In his last week as interim cabinet minister, alumnus and outgoing Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Geoffrey van Leeuwen set time aside to give a guest lecture at his alma mater, Leiden Law School. It was the perfect opportunity for a flash interview.

Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, gave a guest lecture to first-year law students at Leiden University. He spoke about democracy, the war in Ukraine and the role of the Netherlands.

Turkish politics was shaken by the arrest of Istanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, along with dozens of others from the main opposition party.