PhD defence

Data science is of vital importance in preventing future outbreaks of viruses, Professor of Data Science Aske Plaat argues. Inaugural lecture entitled ‘Data Science and Ebola’ on 13 April.

Today, everybody and everything produces data. People produce large amounts of data in social networks and in commercial transactions. Medical, corporate, and government databases continue to grow. Sensors continue to get cheaper and are increasingly connected, creating an Internet of Things, and generating…

A job thanks to COVID—something not many people can claim. But PhD candidate Vera Arntzen can. Over the past four years, she has mapped two crucial characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Thanks to her research, experts can now make well-informed decisions on matters like quarantine duration, which…

Many dangerous diseases such as COVID-19, Ebola and Q fever have jumped from animals to humans. But it is not only because of these diseases that we should include animals in our health policy, but also because of their right to health, writes PhD candidate Joachim Nieuwland. PhD defence on 13 May.

Assistant Professor Christopher Green was interviewed on ABC Australia about the recent COVID-19 outbreak in North Korea. Green says that the statistics the isolated country has given are ‘essentially nonsense’.

For thousands of years bloodlines have been held as virtually unassailable credentials for leadership, with supreme political power perceived as a family affair across the globe and throughout history.

How can we ensure that young people vape less? How do we prevent the spread of scabies among students? And how can we encourage physical activity at work? Students from Health and Medical Psychology recently presented their answers to these questions to professionals in the field.

The genetic code of the new coronavirus has been found: it is closely related to the SARS virus from 2003. Professor of Molecular Virology, Eric Snijder, has been researching coronaviruses for years. We asked him a few questions about the outbreak. ‘It’s still unclear whether this new virus is more…

'The chance of a pandemic is small, but not zero,' according to Nikki Ikani, assistant professor of intelligence and security. She warns in various media outlets about the ignored signals and the facilitated mutations, calling it 'alarming that mammals can also contract it.'

In this thesis, we use low-frequency and high-frequency radio observations to address the following questions regarding quasars: is the radio loud/quiet quasar dichotomy real?

Goede en actuele data zijn cruciaal om infectieziekten effectief te bestrijden en de volksgezondheid te beschermen. Bijzonder hoogleraar Susan van den Hof en haar team zetten zich in voor betere data-methoden, zodat infectieziekten vroeg worden opgespoord en doeltreffend worden aangepakt.

The aim of the REACT Study is to examine whether baseline inflammation, and/or neuro-immune responses to stress in a sample of adolescents with experiences of childhood adversity predicts: the perception of stress, social behaviour and general mental and physical health during and after the COVID-19…

VODAN Africa started as a platform to enable access to critical data needed from Africa to fight the novel COVID-19. The initiative was inspired by the experience from the Liberia Ebola Virus outbreak in 2014: early detection requires contact tracing. Inclusion of the most vulnerable is critical to…

Anthropogenic change is reshaping ecological systems, raising concerns about increasing transmission of infectious diseases. Among these, mosquito-borne diseases may be particularly sensitive to environmental change, as their transmission depends on vector populations.

This study aims to explore the use of a behavioral-design-based approach in simulating patient flow through EMTs. It provides a dynamic behavioral simulation model to assess the interactions between patients, staff members, and the related dynamic movements/interactions with the health care facility,…

This study looks at population response to government containment strategies during initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in four high-trust Northern European countries–Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden–with special emphasis on expressions of governmental trust.

The Statistics group is responsible for research and teaching in statistics and data science.

The unit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology offers eduction and conducts research on related fields of Health, Medical and Neuropsychology.

The Covid-19 'infodemic' and conflict resolution by internet platforms.

This thesis describes the development of improved formulations and alternative delivery strategies for polio vaccination.

We know that armed conflict breeds conflict. We also know the political, economic and demographic factors that inform this repetition of conflict. But we do not understand why accumulated conflict risk factors sometimes do and other times do not pay out in more violence. What if we go beyond macro structural…

Drawing on insights from past and contemporary scholars and world leaders, the report explores the concepts of a new social contract, a new global deal, and networked and inclusive multilateralism introduced recently by Secretary-General António Guterres to help the United Nations better grapple with…

This dissertation aims to provide insight in ethnic prejudice in Chinese-Dutch children and the ethnic socialization context they are exposed to through three social-contextual factors, i.e., parents, children’s books, and the COVID pandemic.

The discovery in 2001 of the importance of microRNAs turned the world of molecular biology upside down. The small particles of RNA also attracted the attention of university lecturer Erno Vreugdenhil. Vreugdenhil: ‘Within five to ten years the first microRNA-directed medicines will come onto the mar…

Particularly during this time of social distancing and remote learning, it is important to carry on meeting new people – even if you don’t always feel like it after another day staring at your screen, says Wessel van Dam. In his role as assessor at the Honours Academy, Wessel represents the interests…

What Accounts for the Variety of National Policy Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Europe?

Although the world has made tremendous progress in health, education, sanitation and hygiene, global public health challenges still exist. Disparities in health exist between and within nations as evidenced by inequalities in disease burden, mortality, nutrition and environmental well-being. How does…

If you'll soon be getting a COVID-19 vaccine, you might just get the Johnson & Johnson (Janssen) one. This vaccine was developed for the most part in Leiden – and this is no coincidence. Watch the animation below about the development of one of the vaccines in the fight against COVID-19.

Martina Vijver has been nominated as Teacher of the Year of the Faculty of Science. She gets this nomination for the course Ecotoxicology she taught in 2022. The 52 students who took the course were hugely enthusiastic, as can be read in their positive reviews. What is so great about this course then?…

The Risk and Regulation Lab from organises events and workshops in Leiden and The Hague. On this page you can read reports of the events that already took place.

The devastating war in Gaza and the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine have caused widespread grief and deepened global divisions. With recent escalations in the Middle East further inflaming tensions, our students and staff are understandably worried and concerned. The university shares…

The Netherlands has a long history of mosquito-borne diseases, particularly malaria, until 1970 when it was declared malaria-free.

From mandrill teeth to the microstructure of bones: archaeology alumna Simone Lemmers (31) is determined to reveal the past by studying old remains. Her curiosity has led to a very international career, also in the UK, where she witnessed the Brexit referendum.

Almost 3,000 students from the Faculty of Humanities completed the National Student Survey (NSE) in the spring of 2022. With a response rate of 38%, the Faculty scored slightly above the national average.

Shell, our country's largest company, is constructing a vast plastics plant in the United States. And it is doing so at a time when the European Union, led by the Netherlands, is launching a major pact to combat use of plastic.

Last year the research program Teaching and Teacher Learning of ICLON Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching had its recurrent external review.

As Professor of African Linguistics, Nancy Kula increases our knowledge of variation across languages. Her inaugural lecture is on Monday 23 March.

University lecturer Laurie Cosmo, having grown up in New York, came to the Hague from Rome, Italy, where she fell under the spell of the Kunstmuseum. ‘I loved the building even before I worked at Leiden University.’

The plan was to research the years surrounding the creation of the signature H.P. Berlage building of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, but due to the lockdown, University Lecturer Laurie Kalb Cosmo has hardly been able to visit museums. Yet she succeeds in continuing her research for the Museums, Collections…

The safety of students is a priority and hence an ever recurring issue at the NVIC. NVIC not only attaches great importance to the safety of its students, but also that its students feel safe.

‘The Oscars of the natural sciences’, is what they are called: the Breakthrough Prizes awarded annually in America by the Breakthrough Foundation. Part of this are the New Horizons prizes for early-stage researchers. Sebastiaan Haffert, researcher at the Observatory, is this year's winner.

Even though more than 4000 extra-solar planets are known today, only a small fraction of these has been captured in an image. To better understand the planet formation mechanisms in solar-like environments we started the Young Suns Exoplanet Survey (YSES).

Leiden alumnus Makoto Yoshida from Japan studied Dutch history and politics from 1996 to 1997. Now he is back in Leiden with his wife who is currently a student at the Faculty of Humanities. Some things still surprise him. 'Everyone at university uses first names, which was - and still is - unacceptable…

The recently opened ICPA (International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine) in The Hague will be responsible for coordinating the prosecution of Russia for the crime of aggression and possibly also the prosecution of Vladimir Putin. The ICPA aims to close the gaps…

Shell, our country's largest company, is constructing a vast plastics plant in the United States. And it is doing so at a time when the European Union, led by the Netherlands, is launching a major pact to combat use of plastic.

How can the Netherlands be better prepared for infectious diseases transmitted by mosquitoes. The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded almost 9 million euros for this research. Maarten Schrama from the Institute of Environmental Sciences CML coordinates the input of Leiden University within the…

Every year in the Netherlands, thousands of children are placed in out-of-home care because their parents are unable to look after them properly or because the children are at risk.

The Food citizens? team has included two post-docs, three Ph.D. candidates and two research assistants working with the Principal Investigator. The Winter School involved nine Masters and Ph.D. candidates from the universities of Bologna, Gothenburg, Kaunas, Leiden, Louvain, Tromsø, Turin and Utrech…