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.

Alexander Kros studies supramolecular systems in a biological environment. The unifying theme between the projects in my lab is specific molecular recognition, i.e. the intermolecular interaction between complementary molecules with high affinity and selectivity. Studying, imitating and dissecting processes…

Dr. Erik Vijgenboom (IBL) and Dr. Peter Punt (IBL/TNO) obtained a new NWO-grant for their project FILAZYME to develop filamentous micro-organisms for enzyme production to degrade biomass.

Biological chemist Nathaniel Martin and his team received an NWO grant to examine how blocking a specific enzyme in our body, NNMT, could be helpful in the treatment of some cancers. Trials with mice have been promising, and together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Martin wants to take the next…

Leiden chemists, together with colleagues at the University of York (UK) and Technion (Israel) have discovered a small, sugar-like molecule that maintains the integrity of tissue around a tumour during cancer. This molecule prevents tumour cells from spreading from the primary cancer site to colonise…

Prof. Elizabeth de Lange is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Also, while she underscores that there is still the need for using animals in drug research, she is concerned about this use, and advocates the use…

Target selectivity is an important aspect of any drug molecule, and certainly a parameter to be optimized. That is not trivial for a number of reasons. First of all hundreds of drug targets (receptors, enzymes, ion channels) exist, and no single lab in the world has assays for all of them.

A full overview of MCBIM PhD theses.

How do pathogenic mycobacteria alter lipid metabolism in human cells and patients, and which disrupted pathways could be targeted for new antibiotics?

best phd theses of the faculty of science Leiden - physics, chemistry, computer science, biopharmaceutical sciences, biology, industrial ecology, environmental sciences, astronomy, mathematics. thesis

The Paramagnetic NMR Facility Leiden has been established to provide support to researchers who want to apply paramagnetic NMR spectroscopy to biomolecules. Support is offered in the design and synthesis of paramagnetic probes, either for general application (such as lanthanide tags and spin labels)…

Gold nanoparticles give us a better understanding of enzymes and other molecules. Biswajit Pradhan, PhD candidate at the Leiden Institute of Physics, uses gold nanorods to study individual molecules that would be challenging to detect otherwise. Resulting knowledge can be applied to many research fields,…

How do fats and enzymes in the brain contribute to multiple sclerosis? In his PhD research, Daan van der Vliet combined chemistry and neuroscience to gain new insights into how brain disorders develop.

While the Netherlands was in lockdown because of the coronavirus, PhD candidate Koen Rijpkema began his research into the same virus. In the lab, he developed molecules that can inhibit an important viral enzyme.

Leiden researchers have found minute movements in the laccase enzyme. This discovery could lead to the development of much more efficient biofuel cells. Publication in Biophysical Journal.

With a grant from NWO, Thomas Hankemeier will develop new methods to better understand the dynamics of the building blocks of life, such as cells, enzymes, and metabolites. He does this together with the University of Amsterdam and a number of companies.

No less than 172 international master students coming from 30 different countries visited the Faculty of Science on 29 August during the OWL: the Orientation Week Leiden.

Researchers from Leiden University, University of York, University of Barcelona/IQTCUB/ICREA and The Francis Crick Institute report a new class of experimental compounds that powerfully block influenza viruses. The findings offer a potential new strategy for treating flu infections and preparing for…

Soil bacteria can produce a wealth of antibiotics that are new to us, claims Gilles van Wezel, Professor of Molecular Biotechnology at the Institute of Biology Leiden. His research group has developed a method that can rapidly identify and produce these unknown compounds.

Ebru Alazi ‘hacked’ an enzyme-producing system in the fungus Aspergillus niger in order to produce renewable energy more easily. She manipulated the fungus, making it produce more pectinases: enzymes mainly used in the food industry and in the production of renewable energy, such as biofuels. Promotion…

Leiden biologists have found a mutation in flour beetles that allows them to speed up their development. The study has been published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Han de Winde will step down as a member of the faculty board of the Faculty of Science from 1 September 2018. De Winde had been vice–dean at the faculty since 2013. As director of education he was responsible for the bachelor's and master's programmes at the faculty.

Recently, the PhD thesis of Lolu Danso Eweje appeared entitled ’Development of human skin equivalents to unravel the impaired skin barrier in atopic dermatitis skin’.

In an Advance Online Publication biophysicist John van Noort and others show using magnetic tweezers that DNA is folded in compliant helices of chromatin. This allows enzymes access to the DNA needed for gene expression. Van Noort's research group made the discovery in close partnership with researchers…

From pipetting in the lab to shining in front of the camera at a global student event. With 8.000 viewers watching the livestream, Marjolein Crooijmans presented the iGEM Giant Jamboree in Paris.

Fourteen bachelor’s and master’s students are representing Leiden University in this year’s International Genetically Engineered Machine competition (iGEM). Their plan: to create a kit that can be used to quickly identify infectious diseases in case of an outbreak.

At the OWL faculty day about 150 newcomers met their fellow students and had a chance to check out the study and research facilities at the Faculty of Science. The OWL introduction week is specially for new international bachelor’s and master’s students at Leiden University.

Remko Offringa, Associate Professor in Plant Developmental Genetics, and Associate Professor in Molecular Microbiology Arthur Ram both have been appointed as the new Directors of Education at the IBL. Offringa in the role as Director of Education for the Master program and Ram as Director for the Bachelor…

A patent for what may be a potent, new antibiotic. And: a clear overview of promising approaches to overcome a crucial resistance tactic employed by bacteria. In the span of one week, two researchers from Leiden are receiving their PhDs, each of them on an important step in the battle against bacteria…

Aukje Beers combined theory and practice, as well as chemistry, biology, and computer models. In this way, she discovered two protein inhibitors during her master’s project that could contribute to the development of a new cancer drug. For her research, Beers received the Unilever Research Prize on…

Tackling key challenges of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry to aid drug discovery is one of the focus areas of Leiden University. To this end, the Leiden Early Drug Discovery & Development network (LED3) was established by the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC), the Institute of Biology Leiden…

Why does a medicine work well for one person, but cause side effects in another? Research by Laura de Jong shows that it’s not just our DNA that matters – other medicines and illnesses can also affect how our bodies respond.

On the 19th of May 2020, our dear colleague and friend Professor Dr. Huib Ovaa has passed away from prostate cancer. Last summer Huib became ill, and in first instance it appeared that he had attracted a relatively harmless infectious disease. Unfortunately, it became soon apparent that he suffered…

The genomic DNA of every organism is organized and compacted in order to fit inside the cell. This is achieved by the joint action of numerous architectural proteins that aid in folding the genome. Genome folding is tightly interconnected with transcription, with genes in certain regions being silenced,…

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

Central in coordination and organometallic chemistry is the synthesis of new chelating ligands, the synthesis and characterization of metal complexes with these ligands, and the study of their properties. An important goal in my research is to create understanding of the relation between the structures…

Improving healthcare with our scientific discoveries: that is the goal of pharmaceutical research at Leiden University. And there’s a lot involved in that. Our research starts with the discovery of the effect achieved by a particular substance, and sometimes continues all the way through to the development…

Meet the scientists within the LED3 community

No, this isn’t about a Star Wars Alliance that wants to suppress The Resistance. Rather, the EPIC Alliance brings together scientific experts from seven countries to address the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Leiden professor Nathaniel Martin is part of the 11-member consortium.

Leiden Biology student Pam Engelberts received the annual award for being the best BSc-student in 2016 from the “Stichting Professor Dr. K. Bakker-fonds”.

A new paramagnetic probe has been synthesized and applied to proteins.

Destroying proteins from the Golgi apparatus of the cell in a controlled manner. That is the focus of chemist Marta Artola’s pioneering research. By developing a groundbreaking technology to target specific proteins in the Golgi, Artola aims to unlock new ways for drug development. For this ambitious…

A Leiden Groningen student team has reached the European finals of the BISC-E competition. In this annual competition students have to come up with a sustainable solution to a major social problem. The team invented Suckerspheres: a natural alternative to the plastic microbeads that are still widely…

Leiden PhD candidate Jo-Anne Verschoor discovered that nearly twenty percent of the bacterial strains she studied could degrade plastic, though they needed some encouragement to do so. ‘Bacteria are just like people,’ says Verschoor. Her research was published in the journal Communications Biology,…

The bacterium Vibrio cholerae is a serious threat to our health because it is the causative agent of cholera. Worldwide, over a billion people per year are at risk of cholera infection. New strains of V. cholerae are resistant to the multiple drugs used to treat cholera, meaning that new types of drugs…

Professor of Fungal Genetics and Biotechnology Arthur Ram explains how fungi can help us be more sustainable.

Research of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry into the development of a sustainable fuel cell has accidentally resulted in an exceptionally efficient catalyst for the production of hydrogen peroxide. The catalyst, discovered by Dennis Hetterscheid and PhD candidate Michiel Langerman, may lead to a more…