Promotor: A. Kros

This thesis describes the design, characterization and application of dextran based crosslinked network.

PhD Defence

The current resurgence of whooping cough is alarming, and improved pertussis vaccines are thought to offer a solution. Outer membrane vesicle vaccines (omvPV) are potential vaccine candidates, but omvPV-induced humoral responses have not yet been characterized in detail.

This thesis describes the genetic and prokaryotic diversity of giant barrel sponges.

In this Thesis, novel charge induction mechanisms of ionic liquids are treated, tested and experimented on complex oxides, in particular cuprates.

Membrane proteins and membrane interactions of proteins are studied by spin label EPR. Intact, native membranes, vesicles of all sizes and nano-disks can be investigated, because the size of the object does not matter in EPR. Whereas solution NMR is limited to micelles (a few nm in diameter), by EPR…

Which genes are involved in woodiness and associated traits such as drought stress resistance, flowering time, stem elongation, life span, and plant herbivory, and how do these QTLs overlap?

Who tried to influence the mission and position of the Dutch security services between 1912 and 1992, what effect did that have on the form and contents of the security services? How to account for transformations of the security services?

The thesis describes the use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, in continuous wave and pulse modes, to address the interaction of α-Synuclein (αS) with membranes and the aggregation of αS.

Up above the world so high a giant star twinkles. Could an 83-year-old astronomer unravel the mystery of this megastar? ‘At times I thought: that’s it! I give up! It’s beyond me.’

Promotores: Prof.dr. G.F.A Kersten, Prof dr. J.A. Bouwstra

PURPOSE: To determine the effect of elasticity on the skin permeation of ketoprofen from surfactant-based vesicular formulations and elastic liposomes.

Researchers from Japan and the Netherlands who were previously involved in the discovery of an exoplanet with huge rings have now calculated that the giant rings may persist more than 100,000 years, as long as the rings orbit in the opposite direction to that of the planet around the star. Their findings…

Galaxies are often found in clusters, which contain many “red and dead” members that stopped forming stars in the distant past. Now, an international team of astronomers, led by Andra Stroe of Leiden Observatory and David Sobral of Leiden and the University of Lisbon, has discovered that these comatose…

Leiden scientists will be working on the development of a camera for the European Extremely Large Telescope that is currently under construction. On 28 September the Netherlands Research School for Astronomy signed an agreement with the European Southern Observatory.

The largest galaxies in the Universe feed off cosmic oceans, which helps them grow. This is the presumption of an international team of scientist with two Leiden astronomers, based on observations of the ‘Spiderweb’ galaxy. The researchers published their evidence in Science on 2 December 2016.

Dwarf satellite galaxies in the Milky Way perform different dances than researchers initially expected. Marius Cautun from Durham University received a Marie Curie grant to unravel the mysteries of this orbital dance. October 1st 2018 he will start his research at the Leiden Observatory.

Meticulous analysis of hundreds of photographic plates from the star J1407 between 1890 and 2007 show no stellar eclipses. Robin Mentel, a master student at Leiden University, could not detect eclipses of the star J1407 by a planet hypothesized to have giant rings, called J1407b. However, an eclipse…

PhD Defence

Promotor: J.G.E.M. Fraaije, Co-Promotor: A. Kros

Recently, archeologists of Leiden University made an excavation in Oegstgeest, where they found a unique silver bowl from the first half of the seventh century as well as imported pottery and winebarrels. Thijs Porck, lecturer in Old English language and culture at Leiden University, places the Oegstgeest…

PhD Defence

Promotor: J.G.E.M.Fraaije, Co-promotor: A. Kros

Promotor: I. A. G. Snellen, Co-promotor: M. A. Kenworthy

Lecture, Public event

Multicellular giant algae Chara species have been widely used in physiological studies for decades.

Lecture

This thesis addresses the chemical processes that determine the compositions of giant planet atmospheres.

A selection of recent publications from the Plant BioDynamics Laboratory.

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…

Vaccines are an extraordinary category of biopharmaceuticals. They are usually prophylactic and come in many types, from whole bacteria to peptides and nucleic acids. They are very cost effective and almost every human on the planet is vaccinated. The latter mandates that vaccines have to be extremely…

Control of infectious diseases poses continuous challenges for human health.

Promotor: A. Kros, Co-promotor: R.R.C.L. Olsthoorn

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

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. den Hertog

PhD Defence

‘Can he do it?’ Since the remarkable victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 Nigerian presidential elections, this has arguably been the most frequently posed question in Nigerian politics.

Promotor: E. Bouwman, Co-promotor: S. Bonnet

A new research line is the development of liquid biopsy fingerprints to predict early Alzheimer’s disease (AD) stage in human in readily accessible body fluids in human (in collaboration with: Dr. Geert-Jan Groeneveld, CHDR; Prof. Elga de Vries, Free University Medical Center; and others).

Dividing Worlds: Tsunamis, Seawalls, and Ontological Politics in Northeast Japan

PhD Defence

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

How has early development in R. ocellatus been modified as a result of its parasitic embryonic lifestyle?

Α-synuclein, a protein associated with Parkinson’s disease, proves to bind with membranes in a surprisingly efficient way. It confirms scientists’ suspicion of the protein’s leading role in the transmission of neurotransmitters between nerve cells in the brain. Publication in PLoS ONE.

Mission: The Environmental Biology department aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through this understanding they facilitate strategic management of natural resources by addressing urgent challenges…

The 80,000 visitors to the Liberation Day Festival in The Hague on 5 May can learn about 444-year-old Leiden University at a range of interactive events on Malieveld and in the Dutch Parliament.

Promotor: E. Gittenberger, Co-promotor: B.W. Hoeksema

Promotores: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Prof.dr. C.P. Dullemond

This thesis examines the link between simple molecules and the underlying structure and chemistry within protoplanetary disks - the birthplaces of planets.