Promotores: Prof.dr. G.A. van der Marel, M. van Heel

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

The progressive loss and degeneration of dopaminergic neurons is a major pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD). The onset and progression of PD can be triggered by multiple risk factors, for instance, genetic mutation, environmental exposure, and aging.

Ferritin is a spherical metalloprotein, capable of storing and releasing iron in a controllable way. It is composed of a protein shell of about 12 nm and within its cavity, iron is stored in a mineral form.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a major health threat. Addressing this challenge requires among others the development of new antibacterial compounds. The research described in this thesis focuses on discovering novel antibiotics from soil bacteria, specifically Streptomyces and Paenibacillus.Despite…

Mechanical metamaterials are carefully engineered materials whose properties are controlled by their structure, not by their composition, which allows using metamaterials to study and control physical effects in detail⁠.

DNA carries various forms of information. Out of these forms of information the most well-known is classical genetic information.

Glycosidases are essential in fundamental biological processes and are responsible for the degradation of most (oligo)saccharides, glycolipids and glycoproteins.

Despite being the object of intense study, embryonic development has been difficult to model due to a number of reasons. First, complex tissues can be comprised of many cell types, of which we probably only know a subset.

The ability to count is a property not often attributed to materials, despite the abundance of memory in materials. Regardless of how a material stores information, it is often difficult to retrieve exactly ‘what’ a material remembers.

Freshwater is an important resource, but at a great risk of species decline due to habitat loss, pollution and over-exploitation, and invasive alien species.

We have studied the impact of particle shape anisotropy, multivalent interactions and flexibility on systems of micron-sized colloidal particles.

Plant exudates appeared long time ago in the history line of life in the early Devonian. They are typical saps produced by specialized cells.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.N. Kok, Co-Promotor: W.A. Kosters

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) constitutes a small subtype (~15%) of breast cancer, but causes the majority of breast cancer-related deaths.

Traditional drug discovery approaches have been hampered by (in vitro) cell-culture models that poorly represent the situation in the human body.

This thesis investigates the application of deep learning techniques in image analysis across various domains, focusing on four main themes: feature extraction, classification, segmentation, and integration, demonstrating the transformative potential of these technologies.

The way organisms develop from the initial single-cellular state to a complex final assembly like the human body, and how the final body is maintained throughout life, is one of the greatest mysteries and it’s understanding one of the biggest scientific challenges.

This Thesis focuses on the design and synthesis of ADP-ribosylated compounds that can be applied in biological studies.

Promotor: Prof.dr. B. van de Water, Co-promotores: L.T.M. van der Ven, A.S. Kienhuis

The last decades it is increasingly recognized that acute as well as chronic postoperative pain is an important problem. Treatment and prevention of postoperative pain is a challenge, especially in special patient populations where there is only limited guidance on how to optimally use opioids.

The PID-directed shift in PIN polarity has been broadly accepted as one of the essential mechanisms for the regulation of auxin transport polarity.

This dissertation combines the use of defined microenvironments, high-resolution fluorescence microscopy, and time-resolved analysis, to study intracellular and cellular motility.

Bacteriophages, or phages for short, are the most abundant biological entity in nature. They shape bacterial communities and are a major driving force in bacterial evolution.

Supervisor: P.J.J. Hooykaas

The adenosine receptors are proteins that reside in the extracellular membranes of cells. Activation of adenosine receptors plays a role in many physiological and pathological processes, such as immune responses and cancers.

Decentralized plug and play systems for energy production are the future picture of our society. Artificial photosynthetic systems are used for this purpose.

This thesis is a collection of experimental attempts to enhance photoluminescence of fluorescent molecules and quantum dots with single gold nanorods (GNRs) and relevant applications.

Inactivating mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes predispose to several types of cancer.

Organisms often need to adapt more efficiently and devise new strategies for surviving difficult ecological circumstances.

Electron microscopy has become an extremely important techniquein a wide variety of elds.

The research described in this thesis focused on the use of bioorthogonal antigens to investigate immunological processes in antigen presenting cells. Bioorthogonal antigens are antigenic proteins produced through recombinant expression in a methionine auxotrophic E. coli strain.

Drug development is a time- and resource-consuming process that starts with the discovery and validation of a (protein) target that contributes to pathogenesis or disease progression.

This thesis investigated miniaturized mass spectrometry (MS)-based analytical methods to address challenges in analyzing biomass-restricted biological samples.

This thesis explores how electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy can be used to investigate key biochemical processes.

The deeper understanding of an organism's pathology is important for developing treatments. Over centuries of systematic research, clinical researchers have demonstrated that the more information they acquire about the cellular properties and their organisation in the tissue, the better they can understand…

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: J.D.C. Codée

Promovenda Jiangnan Ding onderzoekt hoe je een blok rubber zo kunt ontwerpen dat het dienst kan doen als een mechanische computerbit. Zo'n zogenaamd mechanisch metamateriaal wordt op een specifieke manier samengeperst om de vorm te veranderen. ‘Met een heel eenvoudig materiaal kunnen we in de toekomst…

Het is de groep van Daniela Kraft gelukt om een netwerk van microdeeltjes te maken dat zowel sterk als volledig flexibel is. Dat klinkt misschien simpel, maar toch zijn ze wereldwijd de eersten die hierin geslaagd zijn. Een heuse doorbraak in de natuurkunde van zachte materie.

Martin van Hecke en Lennard Kwakernaak ontwikkelen in hun onderzoek met universiteit leiden en amolf een mechanisch metamateriaal dat tot tien kan tellen.

Zwermen drones, voetgangers of de cellen in je lichaam. Dat zijn allemaal voorbeelden van actieve materie: materialen waarvan de bouwstenen autonoom kunnen bewegen. Dat is wat Luca Giomi bestudeert. Giomi is per 1 januari 2024 benoemd tot hoogleraar theoretische natuurkunde op het gebied van zachte…

Hoe beslist een embryonale stamcel of het een hart- of een niercel wordt? Dat is de vraag die rekenkundig biologe Maria Mircea bestudeerde voor haar promotieonderzoek. Ze keek naar de binnenkant van individuele cellen om te analyseren hoe ze veranderen. Dit is wat ze ontdekte.

Onderzoekers hebben een materiaal ontwikkeld dat ingaat tegen een van de basisprincipes van de natuurkunde. Reguliere materialen die ingedrukt worden, verspreiden de druk gelijkmatig, ongeacht waar die vandaan komt. Het nieuwe materiaal breekt met deze wetmatigheid en dat kan interessant zijn voor toepassingen…

The upscaling of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data is recognized as one of the main challenges in the ex-ante LCA of emerging technologies. This challenge arises since industrial-scale system specifications for these technologies are unknown and industrial data is lacking.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink, Co-promotor: Prof.dr. A.H. Meijer

In this dissertation, matching, entropy, holes and expansions come together. The first chapter is an introduction to ergodic theory and dynamical systems.

Artificial intelligence algorithms govern in subtle, yet fundamental ways, the way we live and are transforming our societies. The promise of efficient, low‐cost or ‘neutral’ solutions harnessing the potential of big data has led public bodies to adopt algorithmic systems in the provision of public…

Plants produce an astonishing variety of secondary metabolites (SMs) which are thought to play vital roles in the fitness of plants through ecological interactions.

In het academisch jaar 2023-2024 biedt het interdisciplinaire onderzoeksprogramma Sociale Veerkracht en Veiligheid vier vakken aan voor studenten die beginnen met het derde jaar van hun bachelor. Deze vakken zijn te volgen binnen de ruimte voor keuzevakken. Je kunt de vakken afzonderlijk als keuzevak…

How can we bridge the gap between experts and the general public?