Rigid materials break more easily than floppy ones. This simple observation allows to predict and control the width of cracks. Theoretical understanding of how materials break is useful in for example the production of cars or screens. Publication in PNAS.

On 9 March 2023, the Council for the Judiciary organized a conference on innovations within the judiciary, which took place in the building of the Dutch Supreme Court. The central conference theme was judicial innovation and what we can learn from various forms of socially effective justice (‘maatschappelijk…

Lodewijk Petram, author of the book 'The World's First Stock Exchange', discussed the rise of the Amsterdam stock exchange in the 17th century in the ninth Hazelhoff Guest Lecture.

The Faculty of Science adopted an action plan Diversity and Inclusiveness in 2015. In this action plan, the Faculty commits to a number of actions to further improve diversity and inclusion for staff and students, such as more female full professors at the faculty, and encourages initiatives that foster…

The starting point for this research project is the notion that the human brain is susceptible to all kinds of fallacies and biases that affect our perceptions and influence our reasoning outside of our conscious awareness. Indeed, most people think they are merely observing facts and that they process…

Subproject of

In this research group, headed by Bob Van de Water, cell signaling programs that underlie adverse drug reactions as well as cancer development and progression are unraveled. Adverse drug reactions involve cell injury in critical target organ cells which leads to the activation of cellular stress response…

Read more about our staff here.

See below for the full programme and abstracts of all papers.

A History of Dutch Corruption and Morality showcases 300 years of change, continuity, and diversity in the history of Dutch political corruption and public morality. It analyses a series of corruption scandals and shows how the following debates were connected to the big changes of that time: from the…

Which genes are involved in woodiness and associated traits such as drought tolerance, flowering time, stem elongation, life span, and plant herbivory, and how do these gene regulatory pathways overlap?

Within the Vision on Teaching and Learning, one of the 8 ambitions is Activating Teaching and Learning. With the support of the Vice-Deans and Vice-Rector, Hester Bijl, the Saltswat project is working on accelerating this ambition. What is the purpose of this site? Being effective…

With many kilometres of beaches, hundreds of sights, excellent restaurants and lively cafés, the Hague really is a cool city to live in. However, arranging accommodation can demand a lot of time and effort for Dutch and international students. For this reason, finding a place to stay is one of the first…

Find out how to arrange your student housing. Make sure to start early.

The Psychology Research Seminars are organised by and for institute staff. They offer an opportunity to share knowledge, gain new insights, and meet colleagues from various disciplines.

Four promising young researchers from Leiden University have received a Rubicon grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant will enable them to gain valuable research experience at top universities abroad.

The TRI Leiden Second Chance Project aims to promote recovery and re-integration of entrepreneurs who have recently undergone bankruptcy. The Project Team, Jan Adriaanse, Mark Dechesne and Jennifer van Kesteren, have been accepted to speak at the Personal Insolvency Conference themed ‘A Fresh Look at…

Public authorities are increasingly being fined for failure to comply with decision periods specified in the Dutch Open Government Act (Woo). But to what extent is this remedy still effective? Geerten Boogaard, Professor of Local Government, discussed this on 'Mr.', a recognised platform for legal professionals…

Inspectors say the William Schrikker Foundation, a leading Dutch youth protection agency, is failing in its duties. Mariëlle Bruning, Professor of Child Law, told public broadcaster NOS: ‘It's deeply concerning that there's insufficient oversight of children’s safety.’

PhD student of the division Pharmacology, Jantine Brussee has won the second prize of the Figon-Pfizer PhD student Competition, at the Dutch Medicine Days in Ede.

More than a hundred people took part in the conference on Studying with a Disability on 20 April. Dozens of students shared their experiences. 'I would rather you ask me the same question a hundred times than that you decide on my behalf.'

How can parents avoid passing on stress and mental health problems to their children? Professor of Stress-Related Psychopathology Bernet Elzinga develops simple interventions to help both parents and young people. For her research, she has been awarded the Spinoza Prize, the highest academic honour…

Hermelijn Smits is Professor of Host-commensal Interactions and Immune Modulation. In this role she is increasing our current understanding of the way in which microbes and parasites shape our immune system to protect us from respiratory infections and chronic inflammatory diseases. In her inaugural…

From painful joints to intense fatigue: a third of rheumatism patients suffer serious effects from this chronic condition and rely long-term on medication. Leiden psychologists are to receive a subsidy from the Netherlands Arthritis Foundation to investigate whether placebo techniques can help patients…

Una Europa launches regular seed funding calls. Leiden University also often offers additional funding for projects involving Una Europa universities.

The new project INFLANET will train young scientists in Europe to become experts in inflammation research. Professor Annemarie Meijer from the Institute of Biology Leiden coordinates the training.

Andrea Evers is the new Professor of the brand-new unit of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology. She's getting off to a flying start in Leiden with a consolidator grant of the European Research Council (ERC). Her ambition? 'To work together with other disciplines; that way we can arrive at new insigh…

To relieve a patient's pain, it can be effective to induce expectations. This finding is promising for optimising the effectiveness of treatments, conclude Kaya Peerdeman and colleagues in their article in PAIN.

The government is investing 646 million euros and has set aside a further 3.5 billion to drive economic growth in the Netherlands. Much of the National Growth Fund will be used for scientific innovations. Leiden University is involved in three of the projects.

The Plastic Soup Foundation and Parley for the Oceans hosted the very first Plastic Heath Summit in Amsterdam on 3 October, covering the most relevant and pressing health concerns surrounding plastics and human health. Beyond discussing the latest findings in the field we asked the urgent question:…

A recent publication by Biopharmaceutics PhD-candidate Eva Kritikou has been accepted by the renowned scientific journal Scientific Reports.

JUSTREMIT is an ERC-funded project that brings together political theory, ethnography, and security studies in an interdisciplinary study of remittances and global justice.

Studying the impact of urbanisation on the respiratory health of past Dutch populations (1200-1850 CE).

Current research at the Skin Barrier and Vaccination group.

The modification of risk factors and related health behaviors lies at the very core of adequate cardiovascular risk management, yet evidence shows that the majority of people with cardiovascular disease (CVD) fail to achieve a healthy lifestyle in the long term. The main objective of this project is…

During this programme you will acquire in-depth knowledge of one of eight world regions by studying its politics, economy, history and culture, and a local language. You will gain the ability to place regional developments in a global context, providing a strong preparation for the labour market in…

In the introductory year the Arts, Media and Society programme will give you a strong foundation in modern and contemporary art and art history. You will also begin developing your academic skills. In the second and third year, you will explore the impact that art has on society and the role of the…

This three-year programme offers you a unique chance to gain a specialised qualification in a rich, valuable area of knowledge, plus the freedom to tailor the programme to your own ambitions. And what better place to study than in Leiden, the international centre of Dutch studies?

English Language and Culture is a multi-faceted programme in which you’ll study the language in all its varieties, from Old English to the many different pronunciations currently in use. You’ll also study British, American and Canadian literature in their cultural-historical context.

Researchers of the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) and the Leiden Institute of Chemistry have made an important discovery about the commonly used anti-cancer drug doxorubicin. They have found a way to reduce its side effects without sacrificing the effectiveness of the medication. This is encouraging…

On Friday 17 April Leiden Mayor Henri Lenferink will officially open the new Metabolomics Facility of Leiden University. The facility’s ultimate goal is to prevent disease and to improve health throughout the human lifespan.

It was for the second time that the theme Business Rescue was discussed at the Annual Conference of the European Law Institute (ELI). It was for the second time that the theme Business Rescue was discussed at the Annual Conference of the ELI. In September 2014 as one of the reportes I presented a progress…

On Friday 19 April, Netspar (Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement) and Network Vrouwen FNV held a knowledge event at Madurodam in The Hague on the topic of the gender pension gap. Suzanne Kali, lecturer and researcher at the Labour Law and Social Security department, was a speaker and…

On 2 and 3 September 2016, the International Conference on ASEAN Development (ICAD) 2016 took place in Leiden. The conference aimed to draw comparative lessons from the EU for the development of the ASEAN Economic Community, which was launched in 2015.

This newsletter provides an update on the various activities of the Turnaround, Rescue and Insolvency Leiden research team (staff members). It takes place, against many developments in Brussels. The European Commission is working on its legislative proposal on business insolvency, including early restructuring…

To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of Resolution 1325, this introduction discusses the state of the field in the women peace and security (WPS) agenda and outlines the challenges to implementation. It begins by ntroducing the current gaps we see in WPS practice, many of which are driven by…

Despite various initiatives it appears that it is no simple task to get ex-prisoners back on the job market.

Prof. Carsten Stahn, Professor of International Criminal Law and Global Justice and Programme Director of the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies in The Hague, explores some of the connections between just post bellum and peacebuilding, based on findings of the Jus Post Bellum project and…