In the series 'PhD in the Picture', our PhD students tell us all about their research: what are their findings? How did they do it, and how does their research touch upon hot topics in our society today?

Researchers are pulled in various, sometimes contradictory directions by the multiplication of performance metrics and new incentives to align with societal needs. Management structures, funding systems, and publication practices are increasingly influenced by pressures to promote only the highest quality…

The Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) of Leiden University proudly establishes the Blaise Pascal chair. The chair applies for one year and is meant to strengthen the cooperation of the Leiden computer science research with foreign institutes.

The programme offers you the ability to combine experimental research with theoretical courses. The programme helps you grow into an independent and skilled physicist.

Join us for Liveable Planet lunch meetings: Liveable communities. We will organise a monthly lunch meeting to inspire and build a sustainability community at the University Leiden.

NIMAR, like other university institutes, shares reliable, high-quality academic knowledge, the product of teaching and research, with society.

On the basis of the characteristic aspects of a picture, certain computers can tell us what the picture is showing. They can learn this in the same way that young children are able to learn to recognize images. Further improving these techniques opens the way to a whole range of new applications. Biology…

The project ‘Food citizens? Collective food procurement in European cities: solidarity and diversity, skills and scale’ has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement No. 724151).

Hydrodesulfurization (HDS) is an ubiquitous part of oil refining that ensures that fuels are cleaned of impurities and environment release of pollutants such as SOx and NOx gasses are minimized.

The Centre for Indigenous America Studies (CIAS) at Leiden University is designed to coordinate and promote the teaching and research of Indigenous languages, literatures, cultures and cultural heritage. Our aim is to contribute to an increased acknowledgement, recognition and understanding of Indigenous…

In 2019, LUGO started a petition demanding an ambitious sustainability vision for 2030. This petition was formulated based on what LUGO deemed achievable rather than based on the restrictions of the present. We believe that sustainability should be one of the core values of the next central policy…

Human language is constantly evolving with its linguistic structure being shaped by language users at both individual and population levels. Focusing on the interplay between processes of language acquisition and communicative need in shaping human languages, this thesis introduces a novel computational…

Exploiting the Ecological Role of Natural Products as Novel Biocontrol Agents (LIPQUORUM): The central aim of LIPQUORUM is to unravel the intricate interkingdom signaling mechanisms between the Bacillus subtilis species complex and the devastating fungal pathogen Sporisorium scitamineum.

The Grachtwacht (Canal Watch) conducts research on urban wildlife and the impact of plastic on nature. With our clean-ups, we not only collect waste, but also data. This way we try to find out the source of the waste and turn off the tap on shore. This way there is structurally less plastic in the c…

The quantum nature of matter and light has grown into a broad and fruitful research field for theorists and experimentalists alike. It combines foundational research with toward applications, the most well known of which is the quantum computer.

The programme guarantees a thorough experience on the frontline of physics research with a practical training of communicative and computer skills.

Discover the MSc The Politics of Artificial Intelligence at Leiden University: analyse who designs, controls and benefits from AI while using core Political Science theories to address regulation, ethics and global impact.

Gaucher disease is a rare metabolic disorder, in which a mutation of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) causes buildup of its substrate glucosylceramide and the deacylated counterpart glucosylsphingosine in lysosomes.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest threats to human health worldwide in the coming decennia.

In 2019, LUGO started a petition demanding an ambitious sustainability vision for 2030. This petition was formulated based on what LUGO deemed achievable rather than based on the restrictions of the present. We believe that sustainability should be one of the core values of the next central policy…

Our program specializes in creative exploration and a broad understanding of scientific research and technology. It prepares students for a career involving creative and critical thinking. Our alumni have a broad choice of career prospects: they hold positions ranging from academic researcher to creative…

The MSc program Evolutionary Biology focuses on important factors for the evolution of organisms. It prepares you for a research careers at universities, research institutes, or biotechnology sector. It’s also possible to combine training in biological research with training in communication, education…

Great apes and the right to health

This thesis focuses on enhancing predictions of central nervous system drug exposure using the LeiCNS-PK3.0, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

The main aim of Eva's research is to create a frame of reference in which these animals as symbols must be understood, be they depicted on pottery, as amulets, as floor plans or in any other way. This frame of reference can then be used to interpret the various animal images encountered by Caribbean…

In this thesis, we have studied the potential of the zebrafish larval model in studying the ECS, as a complementary model to the existing rodent models.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink, Co-promotor: Dr. M. van der Zee

Songbirds as vocal learners learn their songs and song preference from social tutors⁠. Tutor choice for both song and preference learning are important to characterize for understanding individual learning performance and cultural transmission of song⁠.

Promotor: H.P. Spaink, A.H. Meijer Co-promotor: R. Marin-Juez

Promotor: C.J. ten Cate, Co-promotor: H.W. Slabbekoorn

From the virtuosic songs of a nightingale to the various alarm calls of a great tit, bird sounds are incredibly diverse. They are among the most complex sounds in the animal kingdom and, according to Darwin, resemble language more closely than the vocalisations of other animal groups. But what do we…

Tuberculosis bacteria and other intracellular pathogens use cells of our immune system as Trojan horses to spread into tissues. Annemarie Meijer, professor of immunobiology, explains how research into innate defence mechanisms using zebrafish inspires novel strategies for infectious disease treatmen…

Vaccines are an extraordinary category of biopharmaceuticals. They are usually prophylactic and come in many types, from whole bacteria to peptides and nucleic acids. They are very cost effective and almost every human on the planet is vaccinated. The latter mandates that vaccines have to be extremely…

In her book Between Smiles and Grimaces, Mariska Kret shows us what differences there are between humans and animals, and more importantly, what similarities.

In this course, you will explore the organs involved in our food digestion and discover the common causes of abdominal and pelvic pain. The latest graphics and animations will give you new insights and understandings of this part of the body.

The CRITTERS exhibition in Naturalis Biodiversity Center lets artists and researchers look for a connection between technology and natural organisms.

Biologists today have to be able to work with big data. Data analysis skills should be taught from the start of the degree programme, or - even better - in secondary school. This is the message of Vera van Noort, new Professor of Computational Biology. Inaugural lecture 22 January.

A research goal for ABS is to develop miniaturized platforms for research in (stem)cell, in-vitro systems and application in clinical and preventive research. Combined with the high throughput, this development will make it possible to study the dynamics of pathogenesis in human and cellular models…

The research aims to understand how did Cuban and Dominican landscape encapsulate historical conceptual transformations about human –nature spiritual interaction after the Spanish conquest? More specifically, what are the present day cultural associations with Cuban and Dominican natural landscape?…

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Schilthuizen

The role of domestic and wild resource exploitation in Bronze Age subsistence

The master's specialisation Molecular, Cellular and Organismal Biology at Leiden University examines the molecular mechanisms underlying health and disease and how cells and organisms adapt to environmental factors.

Participation in research programmes

Publication of Johann Natterer's (1787-1843) word lists of Amazonian languages.

An overview of our infrastructure at the SPP division:

What the Sex Lives of Bugs, Birds, and Beasts Tell Us About Evolution, Biodiversity, and Ourselves, Menno Schilthuizen reports from the front lines of evolutionary biology, on a quest to make sense of the origins, workings and evolution of our and other species’ reproductive selves.

In April 2019 LUGO did a vegan challenge!

In the last couple of decades an ‘animal turn’ has taken place in the social sciences. This has led to a call to study social issues by including non-human animal perspectives. This Collaborative Research Group thinks it's high time that African Studies joins the chorus of minds that try to contribute…