Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

The barrier function of the skin is primarily provided by the stratum corneum (SC), the outermost layer of the skin. Skin barrier impairment is thought to be a primary factor in the pathogenesis of atopic eczema (AE).

Protein–protein complexes are formed via transient states called encounter complexes that greatly influence the formation of the stereospecific complex.

Can we find new chemical and biological sensing routes on the edge and surface of graphene to improve the potential of graphene to act as a sensor?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the formation and growth kinetics of complexes between proteins and oppositely charged polyelectrolytes.

It is estimated that approximately 30% of all proteins require a metal to function. Investigating the relationship between metal-binding and peptide/protein folding allows us to uncover fundamental rules for creating metallo-peptides and proteins, which in turn leads to the creation of new structures,…

PNAS publication on protein encounter complexes

Science, Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC)

Supervisor: Xue Yang

Promotor: M. Ubbink, Co-Promotor: R. T. Dame

Developing robust and comprehensive analytical methods to size and quantify subvisible particles in biopharmaceutical products.

Promotor: J.P. Abrahams, Co-Promotor: N.S. Pannu

PURPOSE: In the present study we investigated the root-cause of an interference signal (100-200 nm) of sugar-containing solutions in dynamic light scattering (DLS) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and its consequences for the analysis of particles in biopharmaceutical drug products.

Activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) is a functional proteomics technique for directly monitoring the expression of active enzymes in cell extracts and living cells. The technique relies on irreversible inhibitors equipped with reactive groups (warheads) that covalently attach to the active site…

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

The indane (2,3-dihydro-1H-indene) ring system is an attractive scaffold for biologically active compounds due to the combination of aromatic and aliphatic properties fused together in one rigid system.

Over several decades, a variety of computational methods for drug discovery have been proposed and applied in practice. With the accumulation of data and the development of machine learning methods, computational drug design methods have gradually shifted to a new paradigm, i.e. deep learning methods…

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, Co-Promotor: B.I. Florea

Source: Biochem Pharmacol, Volume 95, Issue 4, pp. 290-300 (2015)

The receptor nomenclature committee of IUPHAR, the International Union of Pharmacology, has several subgroups. Among these are a few that our division is involved in, those for adenosine, nicotinic acid, and GnRH receptors.

Researchers led by Professor of Chemistry Marcellus Ubbink have recently published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) about the dynamics of an important redox enzyme. This work was accomplished thanks to an NWO VICI subsidy granted to Professor Ubbink.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the lipid/protein ratio and the total dry SC mass per surface area are related with the skin barrier function of controls and AE patients.

The work done by SUMO proteins in the cells of our body is of vital importance. Molecular cell biologist Alfred Vertegaal has been studying these proteins for nine years, first with a Veni subsidy and then with a prestigious Vidi subsidy.

Actinobacteria are Gram-positive bacteria that have a complex multicellular life cycle and are well known for their ability to produce a wide range of bioactive natural products (NPs).

PhD Defence

Streptomyces present a valuable platform for natural product discovery. Lugdunomycin is a novel angucycline-derived polyketide from Streptomyces sp QL37, with unprecedented skeleton and antimicrobial activity.

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

Alireza Mashaghi and his research team have created a new framework to understand shapes of proteins and DNA. With this framework, many diseases can be understood better.

Chemist Gerjan de Bruin has designed a method of slowing down the degradation process of proteins in cells. This may contribute to new cancer medicines with fewer side-effects. PhD defence on 1 June.

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…

A new paramagnetic probe has been synthesized and applied to proteins.

An essential protein that regulates our heart beat turns out to be important for cancer cells as well. The discovery might open novel treatment strategies for fighting metastasis. Publication in Science Signaling on April 4th.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink

PhD Defence

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…

Neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, are characterised by aggregates of protein in the brain. The connection of these aggregates to the disease itself is unclear. Martina Huber, Enrico Zurlo and colleagues published a new method to monitor the formation of these aggregates.

A new biophysical technique enables scientists to study the behavior of Aβ-peptide. This protein is known to play a role in Alzheimer’s, but for effective medication we need to know exactly what it does. Publication in Journal of Biological Physics on March 16th.

Bone remains that are thousands of years old are often too fragmented to be identified. PhD candidate Frido Welker is the first person to be able to distinguish human bones from one another on the basis of old proteins. PhD defence 18 May.

Promotors: W. Jiskoot; G.J. Witkamp, Co-promotor: M.R. Nejadnik

During the annual LACDR Spring Symposium, the audience chose PhD student Rob van Wijk as best speaker. Furthermore, six PhD students won a poster prize. Matthias P. Mayer of Heidelberg University opened the symposium with a keynote lecture about chaperone proteins.

Inhibiting specific protein production in the human body can serve as a crucial weapon in the fight against Alzheimer's, Eline van Maanen believes. PhD defence 23 November.

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.

The Leiden students who participated in the iGEM synthetic biology competition have won the prize for best production. They developed a way to have bacteria produce the substance suckerine, a protein derived from the Humboldt squid. By doing so, they want to help heal burn wounds. ‘The announcement…

Mysterious protein fibers show up in the brain cells of people suffering from Alzheimer’s' disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Leiden physicist Louise Jawerth has been awarded a Vidi grant to find out how these fibers form in the first place.

Eleven ambitious Leiden students hope to heal burns with a special substance from squid teeth. They are taking part in the international iGEM competition. They need to raise almost 10,000 euros to fund their project this summer.

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