Faculty of Science
Awards and Grants 2026
On this page you will find an overview of awards and prizes granted to our staff and students in 2026, as well as special appointments at Leiden University and other institutions.
International awards, scholarships, grants and acknowledgements
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Two Leiden research projects have received funding from the European Biodiversa+ partnership, to which NWO makes an important financial contribution. The TIDELINES project by Jan Macher (CML) examines how beach management can protect biodiversity while maintaining essential functions such as recreation and coastal protection.
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NWO and the National Science Foundation China are investing 1.1 million euros in research on urban resilience. In the Dutch‑Chinese ReSURE2 project, Arnold Tukker and Mingming Hu (CML) will develop solutions for flooding, extreme heat and biodiversity loss in cities worldwide that are increasingly affected by climate change.
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The Novo Nordisk Foundation has awarded a prestigious Gram‑negative Antibiotic Discovery Innovator (Gr‑ADI) grant of more than €3 million to an international consortium that includes Gilles van Wezel (IBL) and Jos Raaijmakers (NIOO‑KNAW). In the project Nature‑inspired discovery of novel anti‑Klebsiella drugs, the researchers work on identifying new antibiotics against Klebsiella pneumoniae.
National awards, scholarships, grants and acknowledgements
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Three Leiden researchers have been awarded a Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council, receiving up to 1.5 million euros each to support ‘adventurous, talented and pioneering researchers’. The grants go to Matthias Barz (LACDR) for developing man‑made antibodies and Reinout van Weeren (Leiden Observatory) for research into the first galaxy clusters.
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The Leiden spin‑off Omivera has received a seed investment from UNIIQ to accelerate the development of its new CellEKT technology. This technology, developed by Joel Rüegger (LIC) and colleagues in the laboratory of Mario van der Stelt (LIC), uses kinome profiling to better understand how cancer drugs work in living cells.
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The Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) has elected six Leiden professors as members. Among them are Sense Jan van der Molen (LIC) and Gilles van Wezel (IBL), who joined the KHMW on 9 February.
- Two talented academics from Leiden who recently obtained their PhD have been awarded a Rubicon grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The grant enables them to gain experience at a knowledge institute abroad. Timo Kist (Leiden Observatory) got the Rubicon grant for his researchproject: Learning cosmic dawn: understanding the epoch of first light.
- Michael Richardson (IBL) and Marco de Ruiter (LUMC) have received funding through the NWO Open Competition ENW‑M for research into the health impact of nanoplastics. The project addresses a pressing question of whether nanoplastics are harmful to our health.
University awards and acknowledgements
- Serge Lemay appointed Professor of Iontronics at Leiden Institute of Physics (LION).
- Frederic Lens appointed Professor of Biodiversity and Anatomy of Plants at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL).
- Leila Akkari appointed Special Professor of Cancer–immune Interactions at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC).