Promotor: Prof.dr. T. Schmidt

Promotor: B. vd Water, T. Schmidt, Co-Promotor: E.H.J. Danen

This research group is interested in the physics of living cells, especially their cytoskeleton dynamics under defined external stimuli.

Actin Polymerization and Membrane Physics in Living Cells: Analysis of cell spreading mechanisms

The master's specialisation Molecular, Cellular and Organismal Biology at Leiden University examines the molecular mechanisms underlying health and disease and how cells and organisms adapt to environmental factors.

This joint Master programme will equip you with the necessary competences to play a key role in the emerging field of transfusion medicine. Its current concept includes both transfusion of blood components and hematopoietic transplants, cellular and tissue therapy and immunotherapy. Areas that are integrated…

Are you thinking about studying Transfusion Medicine and Cellular and Tissue Therapies? Learn more and watch our video of our live-presentation we held at the Online Master's Open day.

Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) and tumor cell migration play an important role in cancer progression, and an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying these concepts is essential for developing new targeted approaches.

The applications of studying the early development of insects range from agriculture to material science.

The way organisms develop from the initial single-cellular state to a complex final assembly like the human body, and how the final body is maintained throughout life, is one of the greatest mysteries and it’s understanding one of the biggest scientific challenges.

Cellular stress response pathways are activated upon exposure to chemicals and help organisms deal with various molecular dangers (e.g. oxidative stress). When these pathways become hyper-activated an adverse response takes place and cells die, which may lead to organism-level toxicity such as drug-induced…

This book sheds new light on domestic forced migration by examining the experiences of American-born slave migrants from a comparative perspective.

High throughput microscopy

Promotor: T. H. Oosterkamp

Promotor: B. van de Water

Research groups in the Biological & Soft Matter Programme unravel mechanisms in biological processes and develop novel bio-inspired soft materials.

In this thesis the combinatorial use of bioorthogonal labelling and Electron Microscopy (EM)-based imaging techniques is explored to enable observations of specific molecular targets in their ultrastructural context within the cell.

Seasonal influenza vaccines provide protection against matching influenza A virus (IAV) strains mainly through the induction of neutralizing serum IgG antibodies. However, these antibodies fail to confer a protective effect against mismatched IAV. This lack of efficacy against heterologous influenza…

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

In this thesis, we show how MRFM can usefully contribute to the field of condensed-matter.

Study information

The potential of bioneedles to deliver influenza vaccines was investigated.

Comparison across jurisdictions is one way of assessing the appropriateness of lethal force resulting from the actions of law enforcement agencies. This article sets out a vision for a global use of force monitor that can enable meaningful comparisons between law enforcement agencies. It examines some…

Science, Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR)

Promotor: T.H. Oosterkamp

In this thesis, we describe the latest advances in SQUID-detected Magnetic Resonance Force Microscopy (MRFM).

On 9 May 2018, Roy van Keulen defended his doctoral thesis 'Digital Force: Life, Liberty & Livelihood in the Information Age'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A. Ellian.

During times of domestic turmoil, the use of force abroad becomes an appealing strategy to US presidents in hopes of diverting attention away from internal conditions and toward a foreign policy success.

This research examines the social, political, and cultural forces that structure people’s responses towards accented speech, and further uses the accent as a focal point to theorize the interrelation between language and body.

On 9 January 2019, Willem van der Muur defended his thesis 'Land rights and the forces of adat in democratizing Indonesia'. The doctoral research was supervised by Prof. dr. A.W. Bedner and Prof. dr. J.M. Otto.

Pericytes, the mural cells of blood microvessels, are important regulators of vascular morphogenesis and function that have been postulated to mechanically control microvascular diameter through as yet unknown mechanisms.

This research aims to investigate how different social forces interact with hydropolitics in the Eastern Nile Basin and what are the constraints of engagement.

Political scientist Corinna Jentzsch (Leiden University) about the organisation of rebel and government auxiliaries in the civil war in Mozambique (1976–1992).

SLAVES TO THE SYSTEM: Locating Responsibility for Forced Expatriate Labour Practices by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK)

Vanessa Frodermann, a PhD student at the Biopharmaceutical department of the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research, has discovered that arteriosclerosis could be inhibited by cellular therapy. Arteriosclerosis is one of the leading causes of the development of cardiovascular disease. Her PhD defence…

A story of Two Mosuls, The Resurrection of the Iraqi Armed Forces and the military defeat of ISIS. In this article, published in the Journal of Strategic Studies, the authors Maarten Broekhof, Martijn Kitzen and Frans Osinga discuss the military adaptation by the Iraqi armed forces and their role in…

In human cells, a meter-long DNA is condensed inside a micrometer-sized cell nucleus. Simultaneously, the genetic code must remain accessible for its replication and transcription to functional proteins.

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).

Intrigued by the way cells autonomously regulate their fate, we strive to understand and visualize cellular processes as the basis of Cell Signaling.

Our group operates at the cross-roads of different disciplines: molecular and cellular microbiology, biochemistry, structural biology and biophysics. The group harbors expertise in a multitude of molecular and cellular approaches including:

Control of Living Cells by Magnetic Fluorescent Nanoparticles

This thesis consists of two subjects, that are both a consequence of radiation pressure.

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University are starting a new two-year Master’s programme in Transfusion Medicine and Cellular and Tissue Therapies as of 20 October 2022. This part-time programme is entirely online and is open to students and professionals from home and abroad.

A new technique using fluorescent imaging to track the actions of enzymes might aid drug design for new anti-cancer, inflammation and kidney disease treatments. Researchers at the University of York and Leiden University have published these findings in Nature Chemical Biology.

Proteins organize themselves around our body cells through a self-induced force. They indent the cell membrane, which makes them roll towards each other. This discovery provides new insights into processes like nutritional uptake and brain signaling, as well as into such diseases as Alzheimer’s. Publication…

Leiden researchers discovered that North Korean labourers are being forced to work on a large scale in Poland. Professor of Korea Studies Remco Breuker will present a report on the abuses in Poland at the ‘Slaves To The System’ conference on 6 July.

Promotor: Roeland M.H. Merks

Protein chains typically fold to function. Folding is a complex process and if done correctly leads to a unique functional fold topology for a given protein chain. Other topologies are also possible but are often non-functional or toxic. These misfolded proteins are then unfolded and subsequently refolded…

From the 11th of May Ewa Snaar-Jagalska has been appointed Professor in the field of cellular tumor biology within the Faculty of Science at the Institute of Biology Leiden. Her research focuses on the cellular tumor biology and human cancer modeling in zebrafish