Key publications of the Computational Drug Discovery group

Microbes influence and respond to other organisms. This theme explores the dynamic relationships within plant and animal microbiomes, and the immune responses that govern host defense. Using model systems such as zebrafish, insects, and plants, we investigate fundamental processes and engineer microbes…

'Frans Rodenburg is an excellent teacher who is able to convey difficult information,' say his students. In his statistics classes, he wants to make students enthusiastic for his beloved subject. 'Most students are convinced that statistics is not for them. I am here to convince them otherwise.' Rodenburg…

Asexual procreation in female wasps leads to an accumulation of genetic mutations, and the shrivelling of their sex organ. Leiden biologist Ken Kraaijeveld published this discovery in Evolution. His research is one of the first experimental studies into the consequences of asexual procreation.

China’s booming aquaculture industry is increasingly dependent on fishmeal made from wild-caught fish, a practice that depletes wild fish stocks. A new study conducted by institutions including Leiden University and Stanford offers a more sustainable path. The study appeared in the journal Science on…

Scientific director Herman Spaink brought almost all scientific staff members of our institute together in Noordwijkerhout for a two-day meeting about strategies for the future.

Many researchers of the Faculty of Science are members of a research school related to their area of expertise. Research schools aim at collaboration of researchers from different faculties in the same university (interfaculty schools) or in different universities (interuniversity schools).

The research area of this division is focused on the development of novel therapeutic modalities and novel concepts in early drug discovery, in order to better predict ligand-target interactions.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.P. Abrahams

This thesis is largely an experimental study on the formation of solid-state simple and complex organic molecules in the H2O-rich and CO-rich ice phases of dense interstellar clouds and dark cores.

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

We showed that constitutive and inducible chemical and morphological defenses against Western flower thrips differ between tomato and chrysanthemum plants.

Promotor: Erik F. Smets, Co-promotores: Barbara Gravendeel, Niels Raes

Through courses and research projects, you are trained by experts in the field.

One of the main research focuses of the Hortus botanicus Leiden is to study how the current biodiversity we see today, has originated, changed, and developed over time. The Hortus wants to study the relationship between species in specific focal taxa and see how they have diverged over time.

With an emphasis on developing novel miktoarm star polymers termed PeptoMiktoStars, this thesis leverages asymmetric polymeric polypept(o)ide frameworks to advance their effectiveness in delivering hydrophobic drugs and nucleic acids.

Within the LUMC medical research profile Translational Neuroscience innovative multidisciplinary research is performed on a number of severe disorders of the brain, nerves and muscles.

An objective of this research was to achieve direct, well-defined and non-rate-limiting electron transfer between respiratory enzymes and the electrode surface by means of 'Q-wires'.

Source: J Med Chem, Volume 57, Issue 8, pp. 3213-22 (2014)

In the past decade many population studies have been performed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to understand the bulk properties of protoplanetary disks around young stars. These population studies mostly consisted of low mass stars, with relatively few of the disks around…

There is a need for alternative methods to replace, reduce and refine (3R) animal experimentation. Combining experimental data from high-throughput in vitro studies with in silico modeling is a promising approach to unravel the effect of chemicals on living cells and to gain a better understanding of…

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink

Nonadiabatic energy transfer from the translational motion (T) of a molecule impinging on metal surface to the metal’s electrons may determine whether the molecule can lose enough energy to adsorb or react.

We report new computational and experimental evidence of an efficient and astrochemically relevant formation route to formaldehyde (H2CO). This simplest carbonylic compound is central to the formation of complex organics in cold interstellar clouds and is generally regarded to be formed by the hydrogenation…

The largest genus within the Phyllanthaceae family is a group called Phyllanthus L. Recent studies have shown, that Phyllanthus is paraphyletic with the genera Glochidion, Breynia and Synostemon nested within it.

Promotores: T.H.W. Bäck, A. Plaat, Co-promotor: F.J. Verbeek

In the research programme Drug Discovery & Safety, we are interested in the efficacy and safety of new drugs and novel means to decipher these aspects. Hence, we employ advanced imaging and high-throughput screening techniques next to computational approaches such as chem- and bioinformatics.

Oncode Investigator Mario van der Stelt and his colleagues have discovered a new potential drug that suppresses chemotherapy induced neuropathic pain.

School of pharmaceutical sciences, University of Geneva - Switzerland

Seven Leiden researchers have been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

PhD defence

PhD defence

As far as Daniël Pijnappels, Professor of Cellular Electrophysiology, is concerned, both researching and inventing are essential for a scientist.

New funding allows IBL-researcher Herman Spaink to purchase a measurement device for more studies on human diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis using zebrafish as the model system.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major problem worldwide. Molecular biologist Changsheng Wu explored innovative methods of developing new antibiotics more simply and more easily. He also discovered a new type of antibiotic.