Astronomical observations of cold regions in the universe show a rich inventory of ices. Part of these ices may end up on planets like our own, but in that journey they will be exposed to considerable amounts of radiation.

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

This thesis is concerned with the constitution of chiral responsive matrix assemblies that may undergo light-driven conformational changes and self-select vibrations to develop vibronic states for driving semi-classical coherent transfer with nearly 100% yield in a lossless NCAP process.

Promotor: Prof.dr. A. P. IJzerman, Co-Promotor: L.H. Heitman

Autophagy is a fundamental degradative process, maintaining cellular homeostasis and functions in host defense against intracellular pathogens, including mycobacteria and Salmonella.

Low-mass main-sequence stars like our Sun are continuous sources of outflowing hot magnetised plasma. In the case of the Sun, this is known as the solar wind, whereas for other stars they are called stellar winds.

There is concern about the threat that nanoplastics (NPs) may pose to both wildlife and humans. This thesis explores the mechanisms of toxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) in chicken embryo.

Atherosclerosis is the most important underlying process that drives cardiovascular disease, and is characterized by an accumulation of cholesterol which triggers an inflammatory response in the vessel wall.

Anthropogenic noise has been shown to affect marine animals in various ways, this may have fitness consequences at individual and population level. This thesis aims to increase insight into the quantification of sound-induced behavioural responses that are relevant to fitness, and into factors that…

Sound is everywhere in the marine environment and hearing is therefore a very important for stimuli for fish. They use sound for orientation and communication, during migration, aggregation and spawning, but also for detection of prey and predators.

Promotor: Prof.dr. W.Th.F. den Hollander, Co-promotor: R. Fernandez.

This thesis describes the development of improved formulations and alternative delivery strategies for polio vaccination.

Glycoside hydrolases (glycosidases/GHs) are widely abundant enzymes in all kingdoms of life and are important biocatalysts that catalyze the hydrolysis of glycosidic linkages in oligo/polysaccharides, glycoproteins and glycolipids with tremendous efficiency

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

Why do black holes emit thermal radiation? And how does a closed quantum system thermalize?

The power of personalized nutrition lies in being able to conduct clinical research on healthy people while capturing metabolic markers sensitive to the impact of environmental and metabolic stressors (e.g. diet, changing sex hormones and the menstrual cycle).

This dissertation, Layered Loyalties: The Natuurkundige Commissie in the Netherlands Indies (1820-1850), studies the Natuurkundige Commissie.

This dissertation focuses on developing new mathematical and statistical methods to properly represent time-varying covariates and model them within the context of time-to-event analysis.

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.

This thesis describes the development and validation of new high-contrast imaging techniques, with the ultimate goal of enabling the next generation of instruments for ELT-class telescopes to directly image Earth-like extra-solar planets orbiting around nearby stars.

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.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper

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

Animal diet studies are critical for understanding ecological processes such as trophic interactions, energy flow, and nutrient cycling. By examining what animals consume, ecologists gain insights into species specialization, predator-prey relationships, and ecosystem management.

Promotor: W.T. de Groot

Sustainable energy from wind and solar is most readily available near the sea.

Promotor: G.F.A. Kersten, W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: B. Metz

Promotor: G.P. van Wezel, Co-promotor: D. Claessen

When observing star-forming galaxies, we are not only seeing stellar light, but we also see how this interacts with galactic gas and dust. This thesis contains studies of the stellar, nebular and dust properties of low mass star-forming galaxies.

Streptomyces are bacteria abundant in soil that participate in diverse and complex interactions. These bacteria are the main producers of the antibiotics we currently use in the clinic.

Anthropogenic noise negatively affects wildlife in a wide range of taxonomic groups.

The redox-conversion reaction of metal-disulfide and metal-thiolate complexes are important, as they may shed light on electron-transfer reactions that often occur in Nature.

Plastics have become an integral part of modern society due to their versatility and durability.

The growing demand of energy indicates that global energy resources in the form of fossil fuels will not be sufficient in the future. In order to solve potential future energy problems development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is highly desirable.

Atherosclerosis is a progressive disease resulting in the formation of an arterial plaque. Despite lipid lowering, recurrent cardiovascular events remain a risk. While atherosclerosis is primarily lipid-driven, the immune system plays a critical role in the pathophysiology.

For questions and suggestions regarding the series, please contact prof. dr. Olaf van Vliet or dr. Max van Lent

Microglia support the central and peripheral nervous system by forming the first line of defense against hazardous events. Microglia are increasingly acknowledged as critical players in neurodegenerative diseases, highlighting them as potential therapeutic targets.

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

The major and ultimate aim of metabolomics is to obtain an answer to a specific biological or clinical question.

Synthetic microswimmers take an important place within the interdisciplinary field of active soft matter.

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

In this thesis, a system pharmacology approach, integrating metabolomics, pharmacology and chemical biology, was applied to understand and modulate the endocannabinoid system across different model systems (cells, zebrafish, mice and humans).

An important part of the SCS specialisation is the internship period. Students will get the opportunity to get to know the field and to apply what they have learned during the courses.

Promotor: Prof.dr. A.P. IJzerman, Co-Promotor: L.H. Heitman

CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that human macrophages can be induced to exert direct anti-tumor activity against osteosarcoma cells. Our observation that the induction of macrophage anti-tumor activity by L-MTP-PE required IFN-gamma may be of relevance for the optimization of L-MTP-PE therapy in…

Promotor: M. Franx, Co-Promotor: I.F. Labbé

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

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-Promotores: S.C.Hille, O.W. van Gaans

In analogy to mathematical proofs, the goal of a proof system is for a prover to convince a verifier of the correctness of a claim.