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.

Heterogeneous catalyzed processes are highly significant to the chemical industry. Dissociative chemisorption (DC) of molecules on surfaces is always considered as a step with a high degree of rate control for heterogeneous catalysis.

Promotor: J.M. Memelink

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 this thesis, we used genetically engineered mouse models and a variety of cell-culture based assays to identify genes and pathways that are involved in the development and treatment of invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC).

Bacteria often experience external challenges, such as changes in environmental conditions or attacks by bacteriophages.

One of the effects of climate change is the phenomenon of desertification, a process that occurs in semi-arid and arid areas and causes land degradation as well as vegetation loss. Due to the lack of resources, vegetation self-organizes to sustain itself by forming large-scale spatial patterns.

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: O.W. van Gaans

In this thesis, we explore a Hochschild homology and cohomology-like notion for logarithmic schemes.

Promotor: S.J. Edixhoven

In this thesis, we consider various (electro)chemical phenomena at surfaces and nanoparticles and their underlying atomistic processes, which we studied using first-principles methods such as density functional theory.

Most of current public-key cryptography is considered insecure against attacks from sufficiently powerful quantum computers. Post-quantum cryptography studies methods to secure information resistant against such attacks. One proposal is isogeny-based cryptography, which bases its security on computational…

Promotor: G.P. van Wezel

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.

This thesis pioneers diatom molecular identification and quantification through genome-scale methods, with four key aims: (i) reviewing DNA/RNA sequencing methods in aquatic biomonitoring to highlight their strengths and limitations;

Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a gram-negative plant pathogen belonging to the family Rhizobiaceae, is the causative agent of crown gall disease, which can affect many plant species including agronomically important ones.

Bacterial biocatalysis constitutes a sustainable alternative for high-value chemicals production by enabling the utilization of renewable feedstocks.

The ongoing increase in antimicrobial resistance combined with the low discovery of novel antibiotics is a serious threat to our health care.

Prof.dr. J. Memelink

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper, Prof.dr. P.H.A. Quax, Co-promotor: I. Bot

Promotores: Prof.dr. P.M. Brakefield, Prof.dr. B.J. Zwaan (Wageningen Universiteit)

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 genetic information of all living organisms is contained in their DNA. Cells modify the degree of DNA compaction by epigenetics, which largely determines what genes are read out and which genes are transcriptionally silent.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body, makes treatments less effective. It is important to unravel the mechanism of metastasis.

Aspergillus niger is an important industrial producer of organic acids and enzymes producing large amounts of spent fungal biomass.

Supervisor: P.J.J. Hooykaas

Metals surfaces form a group of effective catalysts for the reaction of small molecules such as hydrogen (H2).

The unit residue group, to which the present thesis is devoted, is defined using the norm-residue symbol, which Hilbert introduced into algebraic number theory in 1897.

Promotores: Prof.dr. P.C.W. Hogendoorn & Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink Co-promotor: Dr. B.E. Snaar-Jagalska

Promotor: B. van de Water

In this thesis, rational points on K3 surfaces are studied. In the first part of Chapter 1 the Brauer group and the the Brauer-Manin obstruction are introduced.

Promotor: H.J. van den Herik, B.R. Katzy, Co-promotor: K. Sailer

Promotoren: R. Tijdeman, A.K. Lenstra, Co-promotor: H.J.J. te Riele

One of the most important correlation functions in physics, especially in cosmology, is the energy density, which describes how much energy is present at each point in spacetime due to matter fields. A key contribution to the energy density of the primordial universe comes from gravitational waves (GWs),…

Stochastic resetting is simple enough to be approached analytically, yet modifies stochastic processes in a non-trivial way.

Promotor: H.W. Lenstra

Promotor: P.M. Brakefield

Promotor: Peter Stevenhagen

In this thesis, I study 1) metabolic alterations in tuberculosis related to wasting syndrome in human patients as well as in rodent and fish animal models. 2) effects of the mutation of the leptin gene on cachexia and diabetes in rodent and zebrafish animal models.

Combinatorial games are games for two competing players, moving in a turn-by-turn fashion, in which there is no chance nor hidden information⁠. Chess, checkers and the simpler tic tac toe are well-known examples of this class of games, as well as game of go⁠.

Second-year MIRD students showcase their thesis research on global issues during the 2025 Thesis Symposium, bridging theory and diplomatic practice.

This thesis is comprised of three chapters covering the theme of studying semistable varieties by looking at their dual combinatorial objects.

This thesis explores how bees and hoverflies are distributed across the Dutch landscape and how ecological and landscape factors shape their occurrence.