The CMCB brings together a diverse range of unique expertise in microbial cell biology. Members of the CMCB investigate both model and non-model organisms, bacteria and archaea, pathogens and non-pathogens.

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:

Twenty years from now, the world population is estimated to be around 9 billion people (now 7.8 billion). In combination with the improvements in living standards and the corresponding growth in consumption, this will result in an enormous increase in the demand for food, consumables, water and energy.…

Education & outreach

NWO has awarded a €392k Projectruimte grant to physicists Koenraad Schalm and Jan Zaanen to study ‘strange metals’. These materials are alleged to follow the bizarre laws of quantum mechanics even at everyday length scales.

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

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

Pathogenic bacteria are increasingly resistant to today’s antibiotics. Professor Gilles van Wezel seeks new forms of antibiotics in good bacteria that live in the soil.

The overall aim of this project is to understand, on the molecular level, how the bacterium V. fischeri cells interacts with their squid host.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has made a subsidy of 17 million euros available to further develop a Netherlands network for electron microscopy (NEMI). The network comprises five UMCs and eight universities, with Utrecht in the coordinating role. From Leiden, the Institute…

PhD Defence

In our lab, we investigate the physics and material properties of low-dimensional systems.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink, Co-promotor: Prof.dr. A.H. Meijer

Children with autism spectrum disorder experience serious challenges in social functioning, which threatens their development in many areas of functioning.

PhD Defence

PhD Defence

The small quantum world and our world of perception obey different laws of nature. Leiden physicists search for the border between both worlds. In an article published soon in Physical Review Letters they set an upper limit.

Lecture

PhD Defence

Leiden biophysicist Stefano Coppola has received the prestigious AXA Research Fund postdoctoral fellowship. With this grant he can work for two years on a project to research the role of mechanical factors in the development of pancreatic cancer.

Hass

A full overview of BPOC/SSNMR PhD theses.

The main goal of the THEOR CHEM group, headed by Prof. Geert-Jan Kroes, is to achieve the ability to predict the outcome of chemical reactions involving hydrogen from first principles. This goal is important in almost all fields of chemistry and in many fields of physics.

PhD at Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department, University of Malaga - Spain

This paper describes two synthetic lipid models designed to replace human stratum corneum (SC) in studies of the impact of volatile organic chemicals on the molecular organization of the skin barrier lipids.

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Co-promotor: S. Bruderer

The cannabinoid CB2 receptor (CB2R) represents a promising therapeutic target for various forms of tissue injury and inflammatory diseases. Although numerous compounds have been developed and widely used to target CB2R, their selectivity, molecular mode of action and pharmacokinetic properties have…

What are the phylogenetic relationships among the members of speciation bursts?

Light-Harvesting Complex II (LHCII) is responsible for light absorption and excitation energy transfer in plants and photosynthetic algae, while in high light it undergoes conformational changes by which it quenches excitations to prevent photodamage.

Biomolecular X-ray structures typically provide a static, time- and ensemble-averaged view of molecular ensembles in crystals. In the absence of rigid-body motions and lattice defects, B-factors are thought to accurately reflect the structural heterogeneity of such ensembles.

Do understudied animals contain hidden species?

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

The research aim of the Catalysis and Surface Chemistry group headed by Prof. Marc Koper is to probe and understand chemical reactions on well-defined, mostly single crystalline, surfaces at the molecular level.

Host-Microbe Interactions is one of the four research themes of the Institute of Biology Leiden.

Open online education has become a highly popular method of education. The current project aims to further our knowledge of how open online courses can be best designed to be consistent with human learning mechanics and facilitate meaningful learning.

Due to their central physiological roles in living organisms, retaining beta-glycosidases have been the subject of tremendous research efforts to examine their structure/function relation using numerous biophysical and biochemical approaches.

Our group explores the larger domain of quantum measurement. In particular we investigate two themes that are closely connected: The detection of specially prepared quantum states of light and understanding and characterizing quantum photon detectors.

The elderly accept may minor discomforts like stiffer muscles and getting tired more quickly, but they do want to go to their children's birthdays independently. Preventive elderly care helps people with that. The goal is to let people grow old while maintaining their self-reliance and independence…

Lecture

The C.J. Kok Jury award has been awarded to over a hundred talented young scientists, many of whom continued to become very successful in their profession.

The Biology programme offers 4 research-oriented specialisations corresponding with the research themes within the three institutes involved. You can choose a more practical-oriented specialisation if you would like to combine Biology with education, management business, or science communication.

The lipid matrix of the skin's stratum corneum plays a key role in the barrier function, which protects the body from desiccation. The lipids that make up this matrix consist of ceramides, cholesterol, and free fatty acids, and can form two coexisting crystalline lamellar phases: the long periodicity…

How can we make make accurate predictions for reactions of molecules on metal surfaces?

How are the building blocks of life formed?

On Thursday 9 november, Reijer Passchier defended his dissertation 'Informal constitutional change'. His supervisor is Professor Wim Voermans.

Is there a causal mechanism underlying the decision to attack another country when on the brink of war? If so, does this mechanism differ between regime-types? Political scientist Femke Bakker (Leiden University) addresses this question from a political psychological and comparative perspective and…

A full overview of CASC PhD theses.

Promotor: H.J.M. de Groot