Cell adhesion signaling

Synthesis and application of chemical biology tools to study immunomodulatory signaling lipids.

Promotor: A.H. Meijer, Co-promotor: B.E. Snaar-Jagalska

The aim of this thesis is to study cell-cell interactions and the development of an assay to explore and quantify the exchange of membrane compounds.

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Who benefits from CXCR/CXCL chemokine signaling during infection: host or pathogen?

Establishing human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) CRISPR-Cas9-based fluorescent reporter cell lines for NF-kB signalling. We will use this to enable studying the dynamic activation and downstream signalling of Toll-like receptor and cytokine signalling in iPSC-derived differentiated cells in a…

We study cell-fate decision-making using embryonic stem cells as a model system. Stem cells integrate a large number of cues to direct their development into a great variety of cell types.

In previous studies at our laboratory it was demonstrated that drug exposure of HepG2 cells can lead to an altered TNFα-induced NF-κB oscillatory phenotype, concurrent with a synergistically increased sensitivity for TNFα-induced apoptosis.

The word ¨pyroptosis¨ can be understood as ¨fiery falling¨, which describes the bursting of pro-inflammatory signals from the dying cell. Our observations indicate that pyroptosis also ¨spreads like wildfire¨ and once a cell dies via pyroptotic cell death, neighbouring cells are more prone to die as…

Source: Biosens Bioelectron, Volume 74, pp. 233-42 (2015)

The master's specialisation From Cells to Organisms at Leiden University examines the molecular mechanisms underlying health and disease and how cells and organisms adapt to environmental factors.

Promotores: A.H. Meijer, H.P. Spaink

Promotor: H.P. Spaink, A.H. Meijer Co-promotor: R. Marin-Juez

At the Cell Observatory we visualize the dynamic structures of life - from molecule to cell to organism -with the ultimate goal to tackle disease, for instance to reduce the spread of cancer and develop new medicines for tuberculosis. The development of new medicines is one of the core efforts of Leiden…

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This thesis focuses on the role of chemokine receptors CXCR3 and CCR2 in the inflammatory process and infection control using the zebrafish model.

This project is funded by the Dutch Cancer Society. The project will be part of an ongoing research line aimed at identifying mechanisms of cancer therapy resistance and metastasis. In this project, it will be investigated how the Grainyhead family of transcription factors controls therapy response…

Decision support tool for cell therapy commercialization and business development

Leiden has a long history in the treatment of blood cell cancer. Research to find better therapies never stands still. One of the potential treatments currently being worked on is a ‘living medicine’.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink Co-promotor: Dr. B.E. Snaar

Living cells on topographically-controlled substrates: Understanding Cell Motility in a Quasi-3D Environment

Mechanical interactions between cells and their environment play an important role in many biological processes.

Visualization of biomolecules in living cells by tagging with gold nanoparticles.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper, Co-Promotor: S.C.A. de Jager

1. What is the exact role of PIN proteins in PAT? 2. How is PIN polarity established, and how is it modulated by AGC kinase-mediated phosphorylation? 3. What is the role of the AGC kinase, as modulators of PAT, in translating environmental signals, such as gravity, light or mechanical stress, to plant…

BioSolar Cells is a five-year research project in which ten knowledge institutions and 45 private industries work together.

What distinguishes a tumour cell from a healthy cell? Researchers are trying to answer this question as precisely as possible. Certain differences could eventually lead to new therapies.

Source: Mol Psychiatry (2015)

The group of Dr. Roxanne Kieltyka designs and synthesizes molecules that self-assemble into polymeric materials using specific non-covalent interactions. These substrates can be used for numerous applications in medicine ranging from disease detection to cell delivery depending on the (bio)molecular…

In this project innovative technology for photovoltaics cells is developed and analysis of ecological and health related risks are explicitly accounted for.

Cardiovascular disease is a major global burden and atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathological process.

Leiden University, the Faculty of Science, Division Drug Discovery & Safety at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR) is looking for a PhD candidate – biology of induced pluripotent stem cells for biochemical modeling of peripheral neurodegeneration

In order to gain a better insight into the basis of the rapid jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated stress response, an integrated approach using a targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry-based (HRMS) platform, was conducted to monitor the metabolism of JA using the model system of cell suspension cultures…

Promotor: Prof.dr. R.M.H. Merks

The CMCB brings together microbial cell biology expertise in Leiden. It aims at optimal resonance between the groups and maximal exploitation of the available infrastructure and to develop innovative cross-boundary technology platforms.

The main aim of this thesis was to unravel the signaling and regulatory networks that drive tumor cell migration during breast cancer metastasis.

The research described in this thesis combines the latest insights in lysosomal function with lysosome centred cell signalling.

Promotor: R.C.M. Pelger Co-Promotor: G. van der Pluijm

Almost all bacteria are enveloped by a cell wall that provides cellular protection.

Promotor: Prof.dr. P. Hooykaas, Co-promotor: Dr. R. Offringa

Cardiovascular syndromes are the major cause of death in Western societies.

The loss of T-cell homeostasis and tolerance towards self-antigens is the underlying cause of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases like atherosclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or type I diabetes. Traditionally, the treatment of these diseases consisted on systemic immune suppression, which can entail…

Atherosclerosis, in particular rupture of atherosclerotic plaques, is the underlying cause of most heart attacks or strokes and is the leading cause of death worldwide.

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.

Promotor: B. van de Water

Atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathology of cardiovascular disease. Atherosclerosis is caused by an immune response which is directed against (modified) lipoproteins which accumulate in the vessel wall.

We aim to engineer streptomycetes to fully exploit their potential for natural product productions, by a rational design and evolution approach.