2017 was the Leiden Asia Year. Leiden has had connections with Asia and built up extensive knowledge of the continent over many centuries. This Leiden-Asia link has been in the spotlight for the past year.

Leiden professor of Cellular Immunology of Parasitic Infections Maria Yazdanbakhsh receives the prestigious NWO Spinoza Prize this year. This, in many ways, border-crossing scientist contributes with her research to more effective vaccines against parasitic infections and better medication for inflammatory…

For an assignment for the course Medical Anthropology, students were asked to choose a theme related to the Covid-19 pandemic, find information and present their work in a creative way. The results are impressive.

A new challenge for Felix Ameka. The senior lecturer at the Centre for Linguistics has been appointed professor by special appointment of Ethnolinguistic Vitality and Diversity in the World. ‘I am looking forward to promoting ethnolinguistic diversity and vitality.’

Ad IJzerman, Emeritus Professor of Pharmacochemistry, was made a Knight of the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands on 26 April. He was presented with the royal honour by Mayor Elbert Roest in the town hall in Bloemendaal.

In the sixteenth century, many Protestants fled to the Northern Netherlands to avoid Spanish oppression in the south. This exodus included tapestry makers from Oudenaarde who eventually settled in Gouda. Professor by Special Appointment Yvonne Bleyerveld and researcher Jos Beerens have been awarded…

If you look at the postwar cartoonists of Dutch origin, Bernhard Willem Holtrop is certainly the most interesting, according to Frenk Driessen. He wrote his PhD thesis on Holtrop - who drew for HP/De Tijd and Charlie Hebdo, among others - and then also published it as a book.

After studying Life Science and Technology, David Louwrier conducted his PhD research at LUCAS about bioart and societal debates around biotechnology. Now that his PhD thesis has been submitted, David is developing educational material about the societal aspects of the biobased economy.

The toe bone of a prehistoric deer carved with lines by Neanderthals 51,000 years ago is one of the oldest works of art ever found, according to a study released Monday. Leiden archaeologist Dr Andrew Sorensen, not involved in the study, reacts on the find in a news article by NBC News.

On Friday 19 April, Netspar (Network for Studies on Pensions, Aging and Retirement) and Network Vrouwen FNV held a knowledge event at Madurodam in The Hague on the topic of the gender pension gap. Suzanne Kali, lecturer and researcher at the Labour Law and Social Security department, was a speaker and…

There are frequent calls from society for heavier prison sentences, but the question is whether longer sentences result in a safer society. Judges are seeing more and more offenders with social and psychological problems and they therefore often prescribe a programme of treatment and monitoring for…

Health psychologist Andrea Evers has won the Stevin Prize – alongside the Spinoza Prize, the highest scientific award in the Netherlands. Evers: 'It’s also a prize for our whole team and our many contacts within and outside the University.’

The Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law has published an article by Christa Tobler, entitled ‚One of Many Challenges After ‚Brexit’. The Institutional Framework of an Alternative Agreement – Lessons from Switzerland and Elsewhere?’ (Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law 23…

Our childhood years largely determine how we will fare later in life. In the first two decades of our life, our brain is still developing, which is clearly reflected in our behaviour. By studying how the young brain develops and how children behave, researchers can learn important information about…

Following news reports about racist comments made by Rotterdam police officers in a WhatsApp group, racism within the police force is back in the spotlight. ‘Dealing with this issue is a matter of urgency’, says Professor of Immigration Law Peter Rodrigues.

Is the possibility of computers making decisions for us in the future realistic? Holger Hoos, professor of Machine Learning, gives his opinion about the future of artificial intelligence in the television show ‘The future is fantastic’ on NPO3.

Moritz Jesse, Associate Professor at the Europa Institute in Leiden, provided the key-note lecture at this year’s annual conference of the German-Dutch Lawyers Association. The lecture was titled “The other’s amongst us – Third-Country Nationals and Brits in the EU”.

Home workers experience less time pressure and feel better as a result. This appears from PhD research conducted by Maral Darouei, who defends her dissertation from home on 9 June.

In the future top Dutch speed skaters may skate even faster thanks to a skate full of electronics. This ‘measuring skate’ gives top skaters and coaches information about the skater’s technique and motion. It can measure the dynamics at play between the foot, the ice and the skate.

Research has shown that terrorist attacks in the US are more often committed by right-wing extremists than by islamitic extremists. However, news about attacks by right-wing extremists hardly ever reach the media. Jelle van Buuren tells the Dutch newspaper Trouw that right-wing extremists are at least…

Using positional data to determine which tactics lead to a successful attack? Rens Meerhoff, researcher at the Sports Data Center of the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), has been using data-mining to analyse football tactics for several years. In Friesch Dagblad he explains the…

Laura Heitman of the Leiden Academic Center for Drug Research (LACDR) has been nominated for the Prix Galien Research Award. This important pharmaceutical prize honors young, prominent researchers whose scientific research is of great importance for fundamental or clinical drug research.

By carrying out fundamental research and providing excellent education, universities become a breeding ground for innovation and entrepreneurship.

Listening and Looking with dr. Janneke Wesseling and dr. Marcel Cobussen

In July, Leiden will be hosting the EuroScience Open Forum conference. Humanities scholars from Leiden will make use of the opportunity to stress the importance of art in science. ‘Artists have the ability to show the consequences of science.’

The Journal of the LUCAS Graduate Conference was founded in 2013 to publish a selection of the best papers presented at the biennial LUCAS Graduate Conference, an international and interdisciplinary humanities conference organized by the Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS). The…

On this page you will find more information about the selected projects of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) Fund for 2023.

The quantum computer is on its way, but is society ready for it? Quantum computers have a reputation of being difficult to grasp because of their complexity. This limits society’s ability to envision future applications creating a gap between society and quantum computers. A consortium of 14 knowledge…

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