The research described in this thesis centered on retaining exo-β-glucosidases implicated in health and disease, in particular the human inherited lysosomal storage disorder, Gaucher disease (GD).

The main research question of this thesis was: Can nitrogen cycling on dairy farms on peat soil in the Dutch Green Heart area be improved by adapting management to the nitrogen supply from soil and by using other grassland species and crops without affecting milk production?

Due to their central physiological roles in living organisms, retaining beta-glycosidases have been the subject of tremendous research efforts to examine their structure/function relation using numerous biophysical and biochemical approaches.

Mycoheterotrophy is a particular mode of life in which plants obtain carbohydrates from their associated fungal partners, instead of by using photosynthesis.

Promotores: Prof.dr. W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg & Dr. M.G. Vijver

Traditionally, vaccines are administered intramuscularly using conventional hypodermic needles, which cause pain and distress. Microneedles are very short needles (smaller than 1 mm) that are practically invisible to the naked eye.

This thesis describes the design and development of subunit‐selective inhibitors of particular catalytically active subunits of human constitutive proteasomes and immunoproteasomes.

Promotor: T. Hankemeier, Co-promotor: T.H. Reijmers

The recently introduced nature-originated deep eutectic solvents, so-called natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) are considered as truly green solvents, which composed of natural ingredients found abundantly in organisms.

We have examined sequences from the ligand-binding domain of the nicotinic acetyl choline receptor (nAChR) in 148 vertebrate species. We are in interested in this receptor because the α-neurotoxins of many venomous snakes binds to this receptor in its location at the neuromuscular junction in all ve…

This thesis describes the synthesis, analysis of various tetrazine bearing compounds and use in bioorthogonal chemistry.

Promotores: W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg, G.R. de Snoo, Co-promotor: M.G. Vijver

The main aim of my Ph.D. thesis is to further explore the value of using early developing zebrafish larvae (up to 5 dpf) as a model to study anxiety-like behaviour and their pharmacological modulation with drugs.

This thesis focuses on data found in the field of computational drug discovery. New insight can be obtained by applying machine learning in various ways and in a variety of domains. Two studies delved into the application of proteochemometrics (PCM), a machine learning technique that can be used to…

This thesis explores interfacial conductance and electric field-effects in LaAlO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink

The International Course on Water Use and Management in Cagayan Valley The Philippines (2011-2015)

This thesis presents the systematics, epidermal defense, and bioprospecting of wild orchids.

Promotor: F.J. van Lunteren, E. Jorin

In this thesis, the discovery and optimization is described of chemical tools to study the N-acylethanolamine (NAE) biosynthetic pathway.

To gain more insight into the evolutionary development of orchid flowers and fruits, the orchid species Erycina pusilla was studied. The evolutionary origin of the median petaloid sepal, the callus on the labellum, and the stelidia was studied.

Om beter om te kunnen gaan met de druk van het moderne leven doen Koreanen aan GiCheon: intensieve oefeningen voor lichaam en geest. Rondom deze bewegingsleer is de uitgevonden traditie van bergasceten ontstaan, maar GiCheon is vooral een modern stedelijk fenomeen. Dat concludeert promovendus Victoria…

De master Asian Studies van de Universiteit Leiden is een hoogwaardige opleiding bij één van de meest vooraanstaande centra voor Aziëstudies in Europa.

Het nieuws dat Noord-Koreaanse militairen aan Russische zijde vochten in Oekraïne kwam in 2024 voor velen als een verrassing. Noord-Korea is toch die in zichzelf gekeerde dictatuur waar op grote schaal mensenrechten worden geschonden? Maar het land blijkt juist ook in het buitenland grote ambities te…

How were the Russians, under early modern conditions, able to incorporate this distant, undeveloped and, because frequent nomadic attacks, dangerous territory? And what role did the Kolyvan-Voskresensk plants play in this process?

Hybrid zones occur where two species meet and produce offspring (hybrids). Typically, hybrids show a considerable reduction in fitness. In this thesis two hybrid zones are treated.

In Oost-Azië staat de autoritaire as van Rusland, China en Noord-Korea recht tegenover de democratische as van Zuid-Korea, Japan en Taiwan. Deze laatste drie landen hebben elk een uniek en effectief antwoord gevonden op de macht van China in de regio en zijn erin geslaagd de druk van hun dictatoriale…

Koreastudies in Leiden, Korean studies, Japanese studies, Chinese Studies, Asian Studies, South and Southeast Asian Studies, International Studies, Film en Literatuurwetenschap

Despite the fact that gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are one of the most studied nanoparticles, there is still a necessity for new approaches allowing for effective protective coating to enable wider use of GNPs in biomedical applications.

The stratum corneum is the outermost skin layer and consists of dead cells embedded in a lipid matrix.

Promotor: E.F. Smets, Co-promotor: J. Geml

The research described in this thesis focused on identifying novel drug targets and synergistic combinations for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), a virulent subtype of breast cancer with a dismal prognosis and limited therapeutic options.

Diacylglycerol lipases (DAGLα and DAGLβ) are responsible for the biosynthesis of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in the brain and peripheral tissues. Selective DAGLβ inhibitors have been proposed as a potential treatment for inflammatory diseases with reduced potential for central…

In the last decade, the redox interconversion between metal thiolate and disulfide compounds has been extensively investigated for copper, but not for other transition metal ions.

In this thesis, we present new laboratory data of interstellar dust analogues.

In this thesis, we aimed to better understand the underlying mechanisms involved in TNBC progression and metastasis formation and discover new targets to reduce breast cancer related deaths.

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. Smets, Co-Promotor: L.W. Chatrou

Neurodegenerative diseases pose a large medical and societal challenge. The etiology of these diseases is still poorly understood, which makes drug discovery for these diseases difficult.

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a major cereal crop that millions of subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) rely on. However, the scourging impact of the root parasitic weed Striga (Striga hermonthica, a.k.a. “witch-weed”) has remained a major constraint hampering the productivity of sorghum in…

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide, and better models are urgently needed for disease progression studies and drug development.

Promotor: P.G.L. Klinkhamer, Co-Promotores: K. Vrieling, P.P.J. Mulder

Microbiome composition of the spermosphere and the rhizosphere of wild and modern bean accessions grown in an agricultural and a native soil from Colombia was characterized by metagenomics and cultivation-dependent approaches.

Filamentous Actinobacteria, such as Streptomyces, produce a plethora of chemically diverse bioactive metabolites that have found applications across medicine, agriculture and biotechnology.

Promotors: Prof.dr. T.H.W. Bäck, Prof.dr. B. Sendhoff (Technische Universität Darmstadt)

Promotor: Prof.dr. R. Verpoorte, Co-Promotores: N.R. Mustafa, A.E. Schulte

This thesis investigates reactive interfaces in surface science across three domains: heterogeneous catalysis, environmental nanoplastics, and two-dimensional materials.