The overarching goal of this thesis is to set the foundations, but also make the first essential steps towards establishing a comprehensive, mesoscopic, hydrodynamic theory of epithelial tissues. The stage is set by an exhaustive study of topological defects in passive p-atic liquid crystals, singularities…

Almost all languages of Europe and of a large part of western Asia belong to a single language family, which is called Indo-European, and which includes modern languages like English, Dutch, Russian, Farsi, but also ancient ones like Ancient Greek, Latin, Hittite and Sanskrit.

In recent years, the question why citizens (do not) support democratic innovations has attracted increasing academic attention. In this research note, Van Der Does & Kantorowicz for the first time empirically verify what drives citizens’ instrumental considerations in their evaluation of a DI.

The master’s specialisation Evolutionary Biology at Leiden University investigates biology at all levels. The specialisation includes genomics, functional developmental genetics, paleobiology, behavioral biology and evolutionary ecology.

On Friday 7 March 2025 Adam Knight successfully defended a doctoral thesis and graduated.

Inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis can severely impact both the physical and social aspect of a patient’s life. Aberrant inflammatory responses are thought to be a major causative factor in these disorders, but an abundance of different factors contribute to the development…

The aim of this research is to define the relationship between sources of articulation for different kinds of instrument in the period between the beginning of XVI century (first extant indications) and the end of XVIII century.

Thirty years ago, mutations in the BRCA1 gene were first linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, establishing a genetic basis for cancer development.

The recent terrorist attacks in Europe are presumably not just acts committed by individuals, but acts facilitated by larger jihadist networks. But how do such networks operate? Understanding their modus operandi can be useful knowledge to counter terrorist threats.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting millions of people world-wide.

The human body consists of hundreds, perhaps thousands of different types of cells, each with different morphologies and functions, despite having the same genome.

State utilization of 'hukum adat' and its implication for the Indonesian rule of law

Up to 50% of all children and adolescents growing up worldwide are exposed to at least one form of childhood adversity (CA), which is one of the strongest predictors for later-life psychopathology.

The programme structure of the specialization International Criminal Law can be found on this page. The programme consists of several courses.

The studies presented in the work show the potential of the integrative use of biophysical data in defining the structural basis of protein interactions.

Neurobiological, cognitive and behavioural measurements of normal and abnormal child development.

This thesis investigates opinion dynamics on random graphs through the lens of the voter model, a classical interacting particle system used to describe how consensus emerges in networks.

Ruobin Han defended her thesis on 21 March 2017

Metabolomics is a powerful tool that can provide a comprehensive insight into the complexity of human biology and the pathophysiology of diseases. By analyzing the metabolome, which refers to the complete set of small (endogenous) molecules (with a mass <1500 Da) present within a given biological system,…

This project aims to explore, in general, what explains civil servants’ attitudes and behavior, and, in particular, why some civil servants are more committed to professional norms and public service values – such as impartiality, equity, efficiency, and innovation – than others.

You will develop an understanding of the interconnectedness between the world economy, international law, justice, war and how peace might become more prevalent.

On 22 June, Chalermwut Sriporm defended the thesis 'Franchising legal frameworks: a comparative study of the DCFR, US law and Australian law regarding franchise contracts'. The doctoral research was supervised by Jacob Hijma and Iris Houben.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper, Co-promotor: Saskia C.A. de Jager

Large areas of space are filled by molecular clouds that consist of gas and dust grains that are the remnants of dead stars. When these clouds start collapsing, the decreasing temperature and increasing density cause gas particles to start accreting onto dust grain surfaces.

This thesis describes the Multi-site All-Sky CAmeRA (MASCARA), which consists of two small robotic telescope designed to detect exoplanets around the brightest stars in the sky.

How do humans control their thoughts and actions, and what can high-field brain scanning reveal about the underlying processes?

On the 16th of December, Ruixue Wu successfully defended a doctoral thesis. Leiden University Centre for Linguistics congratulates Ruixue on this achievement!

Medical technology has become an essential part of healthcare. Innovative treatment methods therefore require a new type of medical professional. Someone with medical and technical knowledge, who builds a bridge between technology and patient.

This research cluster is a part of the Institute of Political Science’s research programme ‘Institutions, Decisions and Collective Behaviour’. Its members study phenomena such as migration, immigration, citizenship, integration, ethnic parties, minority and caste-based politics, borders and migration,…

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

This thesis investigates Open-world Continual Learning (OWCL), a learning paradigm designed for intelligent systems operating in non-stationary environments with persistent exposure to unknown data.

Promotores: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Prof.dr. C.P. Dullemond

The thesis is about how auxin and AGC kinases regulate male fertility. The main AGC kinases studied in this thesis is PDK1, PDK2 and AGC1.5, AGC1.7.

This ecological community has long been known to affect host biology, and their diverse roles have been further clarified in recent years following numerous studies of animal:microbiota interactions in diverse systems.

Animal Sciences’ contribution to the Bioactive Molecules research theme includes research on molecules from natural sources, such as plants, insects, and snake venom, with the aim to identify novel anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, and anti-diabetic agents.

Animal Sciences’ contributions to the Biodiversity & Evolution research theme include evo-devo research, the evolution of cognitive and behavioural traits, and the evolutionary mechanisms of stress adaptation. This research involves both indoor and outdoor studies.

How do mycobacteria subvert the defenses of host immune cells?

Preterm birth is a major contributor to neonatal morbidity and mortality and is associated with both acute complications and long-term health consequences.

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) have enabled the success of mRNA vaccines but remain limited in broader therapeutic use by challenges in delivery efficiency, targeting, and mechanistic understanding.

Gaucher disease is a rare metabolic disorder, in which a mutation of the enzyme glucocerebrosidase (GBA1) causes buildup of its substrate glucosylceramide and the deacylated counterpart glucosylsphingosine in lysosomes.

This thesis investigates innovative and classical strategies in glycoconjugate vaccine development to address the growing threat of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections.

In this research we have studied how teaching graphing formulas by hand (i.e. sketching a graph of a formula) could promote grade 11- and 12-students’ symbol sense.

This thesis examines strategies to address the global threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antimicrobial resistance poses an increasing global health risk, highlighting the need for new treatments against Gram-negative pathogens.

Stefano Pollas master thesis 'Quantum Digital Cooling' has been awarded the Lorentz Master thesis award. The award, 3000 euros and a certificate, has been awarded on 25 November at the Koninklijke Hollandse Maatschappij van Wetenschappen (KHMW) society in Haarlem.

Julia Cramer is the winner of NWO's Minerva Prize for 2017. Cramer will receive the prize for her research in the field of quantum science and technology.

In Leiden, light particles march into Wolfgang Löffler’s experiments one by one. His research focuses on acquiring the fundamental knowledge needed to develop quantum computers and networks.

Leiden physicists and international colleagues from Geneva and Barcelona have confirmed the mechanism that makes magic-angle graphene superconducting. This is a key step in elucidating high-temperature superconductivity, a decades-old mystery central to physics, which may lead to technological break…

PhD defence

PhD defence