The Systems Pharmacology group is headed by Prof. Piet Hein van der Graaf. Systems Pharmacology is the quantitative analysis of the dynamic interactions between drugs and a biological system to understand the behaviour of the system as a whole, as opposed to the behaviour of its individual constituents;…

The Quantitative Pharmacology group headed by Coen van Hasselt focusses on the application of state-of-the-art quantitative pharmacological mathematical and statistical (pharmacometrics) modeling combined with systems biology modeling approaches, to characterize biomarkers for of disease and treatment…

The aim of the research programme Systems Pharmacology lies in the development of personalised medicine strategies, and development of new systems-based approaches in translational and clinical pharmacology.

The aim of this research area is to be able to predict human drug response on the basis of mathematical models that are developed using preclinical experiments and prior knowledge.

Prof. Elizabeth de Lange is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Also, while she underscores that there is still the need for using animals in drug research, she is concerned about this use, and advocates the use…

In this research group, headed by Laura Heitman, novel receptor concepts in drug discovery are studied, aiming to increase the effectivity of medicines. Many drugs act via so-called G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and therefore our research is mainly focused on understanding and improving drug-receptor…

This research area is focused on the development and application of novel concepts and models in the emerging area of quantitative systems pharmacology (QSP).

The Quantitative Clinical Pharmacology group is led by Prof. Dr. Catherijne Knibbe. Her research group aims to define how to adjust a drug dose in special patient populations such as (prematurely born) neonates or children, obese individuals or critically ill patients. Through combining the statistical…

The two-years master’s specialisation System Biomedicine and Pharmacology at Leiden university focuses on predicting drug response with computational modelling, developing individualised therapies, and developing innovative analytical tools for personalised health strategies.

According to the amyloid cascade hypothesis, accumulation of beta-amyloid (Aβ) peptides initiates the pathological cascade in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

In this thesis, a system pharmacology approach, integrating metabolomics, pharmacology and chemical biology, was applied to understand and modulate the endocannabinoid system across different model systems (cells, zebrafish, mice and humans).

High-throughput holistic preclinical screens are increasingly used in drug discovery, to assess both drug efficacy and drug safety.

Systems pharmacology aims to apply techniques from systems biology to pharmacological models.

What are the functions of the endocannabinoid system?

An important hormone excreting gland in the human body is the pituitary

How can we implement the technique of pharmacological resting-state fMRI to improve the diagnosis of dementia?

Promotores: Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Prof.dr. D.R. Stanski

Following their application to system biological models, control theory techniques have further potential to aid in the understanding and application of quantitative systems pharmacology models.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Co-promotor: O.E. Della Pasqua

Previous research has found important inter-individual differences in the pharmacokinetics (PK) of morphine in special populations such as children, the morbidly obese or the critically ill.

We are aiming to develop novel technologies to allow better sample preparation or coupling of analytical methods to (i) analyse ultra small samples, (ii) to analyse more metabolites in a quantitative manner and/or (iii) increase the sample throughput.

We are developing biology-driven platforms to measure metabolites based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), gas chromatography-MS (GC-MS), and capillary electrophoresis-MS (CE-MS).

Mashaghi lab conducts research at the interface of physics, engineering and biomedicine. We develop and use theoretical and experimental approaches to address basic and applied research problems.

An integrated approach of physiological concepts, advanced statistical approaches and large clinical datasets.

The predication of the effect (efficiency and toxicity) of a drug in a patient is very important in (i) clinical decision support and (ii) the development of novel drug treatments.

Promotor: M. Danhof Co-promotor: O.E. Della Pasqua

After 41 years, Meindert Danhof, Professor of Pharmacology, is leaving the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research on 31 March. A symposium in his honour, prior to his farewell lecture, will show what has been achieved in this period. Danhof takes a look back on his career.

Promotores: Prof.dr. C.A.J. Knibbe, Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Prof.dr. K. Allegaert (Leuven)

Clearance is the most important pharmacokinetic parameter for drug dose selection. Pharmacokinetic information is typically first available in the adult population, and in general only limited pharmacokinetic data are available in children when drugs enter into the market. It is therefore of the utmost…

As of 1 March 2018, Elizabeth (Liesbeth) de Lange has been appointed as Professor of Predictive pharmacology at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR). She is head of the research group Predictive Pharmacology and mainly aims at developing mathematical models that can predict the effect…

The Metabolomics Facility of the University of Leiden has brought together two research groups from the Faculty of Science that are well-known for their expertise in two different fields: the Biomedical Metabolomics Facility Leiden, experts in clinical metabolomics and the Natural Products Laboratory,…

Growth and development affect the metabolism of drugs administered to neonates, infants, and children.

Krekels received both the Thesis Award and the TOP Publication Award for her thesis 'Size does matter: drug glucuronidation in children'. Her research led to a new dosage regimen of morphine for babies and toddlers. Both prizes were awarded during the scientific meeting of the NVKFB on Friday 11 Apr…

A team of five PhD students from Leiden University is in the running for first prize in the Pharmacometrics Skills Competition. In a drug development simulation, they apply their mathematical pharmacological skills to solve clinical problems. On 24 March they will compete in the finals in Orlando, F…

As of 1 November, Laura Heitman has been appointed full Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR). Heitman has been working on the understanding and improvement of drug-receptor interactions in early drug discovery. ‘My ultimate aim is to make medicines…

The overarching clinical aim of this thesis was to improve pharmacological pain management by characterizing the pharmacodynamics of analgesics.

on Friday 22nd of April, at the successful Spring Meeting of the Dutch Pharmacological Society (Nederlandse Vereniging voor Farmacologie) was held at the University Medical Center Groningen.

Oratie

Discovery and development of Central Nervous System (CNS) drugs is hampered by high attrition rates.

The cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2R) is associated with several inflammatory diseases with an unmet medical need (e.g. Alzheimers, multiple sclerosis, reumatoid arthritis). Development of new chemical biology strategies to study this protein is essential to aid future development of drugs for these…

The zebrafish is a promising vertebrate model organism in early drug discovery and development.

Promotie

The division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology focusses on personalised medicine and the development of novel systems-based approaches in translational and clinical pharmacology.

The predication of the effect (efficiency and toxicity) of a drug in a patient is very important in (i) clinical decision support and (ii) the development of novel drug treatments. We apply our technology and methods to find biomarkers for key disease pathways and toxicity in clinical studies and in…

This year, the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research ranks #21 in the QS World University Rankings by Subject. With this, the institute ranks as the best in The Netherlands for the subject Pharmacy.