This project aims to further understand the molecular details related to the biosynthesis and function of Galf containing glycoconjugates in fungal Aspergillus spp.

How are the epidermal lipid pathways involved in health and disease.

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

Promotors: Prof.dr. P.J. Punt, Prof.dr. C.A.M.J.J. van den Hondel

There is considerable need for improved skin models to develop safe and efficient drugs for skin delivery as well as for cosmetic and chemical product testing on the skin.

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, Co-promotor: M. van der Stelt

Promotor: J.M. Memelink

This thesis describes the structural and biochemical characterization of the β-lactamase BlaC from Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), and the Alr and YlmE proteins from Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2).Mtb is the main cause of tuberculosis.

Promotor: Prof.dr. T. Hankemeier, Co-promotor: R.J. Vreeken

Promotor: G.P. van Wezel, Co-promotor: Y.H. Choi

Natural vanilla flavor is one of the most important in the world. However, the cost of this flavor is expensive. Production of this flavor by alternative methods, could reduce the cost.

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

Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Volume 135, pp. S59-S59 (2015)

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

Leiden Biology student Lukas Kiefer has won the Unilever Research Prize 2018 for his research into efficient production of a new antibiotic. Kiefer: ‘I want to make biological medicines available to people in need.'

PhD Defence

Hermen Overkleeft and his colleagues Gideon Davies (University of York) and Carme Rovira (University of Barcelona) will receive a 9.1 million euros Synergy Grant from the European Research Council. Together, they will form the Carbocentre Synergy team for research into enzymes that work on glycans:…

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

Lecture

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

Promotor: Prof.dr. R. Verpoorte, Co-promotores: Dr. Y.H.Choi, N.R. Mustafa

Focus in skin research

Dr. at Max Planck Institute for chemical Ecology, Jena - Germany

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, Co-promotor: M. van der Stelt

The work in this thesis has been focused on two subjects. The first is the assembly of alginate oligosaccharides and the generation of building blocks for the enzymatic synthesis of alginate, and the second is the total synthesis of large fragments of the zwitterionic SP1 polysaccharide.

Diacylglycerol lipase (DAGL)-α and -β are enzymes responsible for the biosynthesis of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). Selective and reversible inhibitors are required to study the function of DAGLs in neuronal cells in an acute and temporal fashion, but they are currently lacking.…

Emeritus professor at the Natural Products Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University - the Netherlands

Plant-microbe interaction resulted in different physio/chemical responses by host plant and interacting rhizobacteria.

Plant Sciences' contribution to the Bioactive Molecules research theme is to identify new plant bioactive molecules, and unravel their mechanisms of action in plant development or health, and the regulatory networks and (bio)synthetic pathways required for their production.

Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for natural products are widespread in microbial genomes, and they are rapidly exchanged. This research assesses the factors that control the spread of BGCs and resistance genes in nature. This includes risk assessment for the spread of engineered DNA in nature.

Key publications of the Skin Barrier and Vaccination group.

PhD at Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens - France

Promotor: P. J. J. Hooykaas, Co-promotor: R. Offringa

Recently, the PhD thesis of Lolu Danso Eweje appeared entitled ’Development of human skin equivalents to unravel the impaired skin barrier in atopic dermatitis skin’.

- Which metabolites could be components of NADES? - How can we prove the presence of NADES in nature? - What are the roles of NADES in nature? - How to apply NADES in life sciences?

Hui Deng (MSc.), a PhD-student in the department of Molecular Physiology, has received an award for the best oral presentation during the 26th International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) conference with more than 300 participants in Bukovina, Poland. Hui Deng presented her work on “Rapid and…

On Monday 21 September Annemarie Meijer, Professor of Immunobiology, presented her inaugural lecture on immunobiology and infectious disease.

Fungi living in vanilla plants play a role in the development of the taste and smell of vanilla, according to Shahnoo Khoyratty of the Institute of Biology Leiden. PhD defence on 27 October.

Annemarie Meijer is appointed full Professor of Immunobiology. Meijer’s research focuses on immunobiology and infectious disease. She uses the zebrafish as a model for understanding mechanisms of host immune defense against intracellular bacterial pathogens.

A full overview of MacBio PhD Theses.

The current projects of the Molecular Physiology group focus on kinases and proteins of the endocannabinoid system.

What is the role of auxin in the initiation and process of somatic embryogenesis?

Lecture

Emeritus Professor Ben Lugtenberg edited a book on “Principles of Plant-Microbe Interactions” together with Paul Hooykaas, Eddy van der Meijden and Jos Raaijmakers, all from the IBL.

Mathematical and computational analysis of the dynamics of polar transport of the plant hormone auxin.

Emeritus Professor Ben Lugtenberg received ‘The Arima Award for Applied Microbiology’ from the IUMS (International Union of Microbial Societies) for his life-time contributions to this field.