The drug BIA 10-2474 inhibits fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), a lipase that degrades a specific endocannabinoid. On the basis of this activity, BIA 10-2474 was being developed as a potential treatment for anxiety and pain. In a phase 1 trial of the drug, one subject died, and four others suffered…

The parliamentary elections in the Netherlands, scheduled for March 2017, are likely to result in a fragmented parliament and a complicated coalition formation process, according to Dutch political scientist Hans Vollaard (Leiden University).

University ceremony

Sander Blok has won the third edition of the annual LION Image Award. He created a colorful image of gold nanoparticles with a low-energy electron microscope.

Last Wednesday February 7th, LUC The Hague celebrated the graduation of the Class of 2017 ½. Around 250 guests joined the ceremony at Leiden University’s Wijnhaven building, followed by a festive reception at LUC The Hague in honour of the 34 graduates.

Maarten Feteris, the former president of the Court of Appeal and an alumnus of Leiden University, composed the piece ‘Intermezzo’ to mark the transfer of the rectorate during the Dies Natalis on 8 February 2021.

We are very proud to announce that our alumnus Mr. Claudiu Mihai Taiatu (Adv. LL.M. student, year 2016-2017) has received the Diederiks-Verschoor Award 2017 in Melbourne, Australia for best paper, entitled ‘Space Traffic Management: Top Priority For Safety Operations’.

Last year Leiden University appointed an extra 25 female professors. With these appointments the Executive Board has increased the percentage of women in the highest academic role.

We are very proud to announce that the Geoff Masel Prize 2017 was awarded to Mr. Roberto Cassar, for his essay

With a large majority of votes, drug researcher Alireza Mashaghi Tabari was chosen Discoverer of the Year 2017 of the Faculty of Science. This was announced by Rector Carel Stolker during the faculty’s New Year's reception on 9 January. Computer scientist Kristian Rietveld became Teacher of the Year…

The Leiden Asia Year is almost here. Asia will be the key theme for the University and the city throughout 2017. If staff and students have any ideas about how to make the programme even better, we'd like to hear from you!

At the Dies Natalis Willem Otterspeer, Professor Emeritus of University History, presented the fourth and final volume of Groepsportret met Dame, his series on the history of Leiden University. De 'Strategie van de Aanpassing' covers the period 1876-1975. Otterspeer talked about his book in a podcast…

In early January, the Master of Laws: Advanced Studies in International Children’s Rights released its January Newsletter to its friends and partner networks.

In de Mare van 30 november 2017 vindt u een artikel over Juriste Lalin Kovudhikulrungsri, die onlangs promoveerde op de rechten van mensen met lichamelijke beperkingen bij vliegreizen. ‘Een hond mag mee, maar blindegeleidenpaarden mogen worden geweigerd.’

On 27 October 2017 the Netherlands Aerospace Foundation (NLF) announced the nominations for the NLF Research Award. We are proud of the nomination of our alumna Valentina Vecchio for her thesis, entitled ‘Aerospace Additive Manufacturing; Between Industrial Potential and Legal Challenges’.

With his master's thesis 'The patriot behind the pot' Wytze Stellingwerf reached second place, among 38 contestants, in the IISG Thesis Award 2017.

On 8 February 2016, Dr Jennifer Tour Chayes, Director of Microsoft Research in Boston and New York, will be presented with a Leiden honorary doctorate by Frank den Hollander, Professor of Probability Theory and Statistical Physics.

Glen Newey, Professor of Political Philosophy and Ethics at the Institute of Philosophy, suddenly passed away on 30 September 2017. He was a remarkable personality and a unique scholar, who chaired the practical philosophy cluster at Leiden University with great enthusiasm.

Lynette Janssen, PhD candidate at the Hazelhoff Centre for Financial Law, has been awarded the Bronze Medal in the competition for the International Insolvency Institute’s 2017 Prize in International Insolvency Studies.

Andrew Webb, Professor of MRI Physics at LUMC and teacher at the Physics education at Leiden University, has been awarded the 2017 NWO Simon Stevin Master Prize. The prize includes a cash award of 500,000 euros. Webb is planning to use the prize to develop new MRI techniques that allow diseases to be…

‘Praesidium Libertatis is a daily responsibility.’ These were the words of Rector Magnificus Carel Stolker on 8 February during the 443rd Dies Natalis of Leiden University. The University needs to pay continuous attention to open debate if it wants to remain a bastion of freedom.

Great news: the MOOC

From 9 – 16 July, students from all over the world will flock to The Hague to participate in The European International Model United Nations (TEIMUN). Do you have a knack for diplomacy and feel like you can add to the debates? Register now!

How can we explain that Caribbean small states have the most stable two-party systems in the world, while Pacific small states have either very weak parties or no parties at all? Matthew Louis Bishop (University of Sheffield, UK), Jack Corbett (University of Southampton, UK) and Wouter Veenendaal (Leiden…

The Dick Stufkens Prize 2017 for the best PhD thesis of the Holland Research School of Molecular Chemistry (HRSMC) is awarded to Dr Sven Askes. In his thesis

Can you talk passionately for three minutes about your science or medical research?If the answer's 'Yes', sign up for the Leiden qualifying round of the FameLab international science competition. Registration is now open.

Robbert Visser has won the Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2017. His study in the field of Political Theory is the latest milestone along Visser’s (in his words) ‘long road to the master’s title’. The jury was impressed by his work: 'Deeply engaging, providing a critical and balanced analysis,…

The Europa Institute is honoured to announce that a Leiden alumna has received an award from the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Europees Recht (NVER) for her master thesis.

Over 1,200 children from junior schools in Leiden and The Hague were taught by a real professor on the university's anniversary.

For his significant original contributions in the field of carbohydrate research, chemist Jeroen Codee will be awarded the biennial Carbohydrate Research Award for Creativity in Carbohydrate Chemistry.

LUCSoR will be represented at the upcoming American Academy of Religion (AAR) conference by Dr. Corey Williams (Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Global Christianity) and Bas van Rijn (former BA and MA student). The conference takes place from 18-21 November 2017 in Boston, USA.

American anthropologist Rosemary Joyce will be awarded an honorary doctorate from Leiden University on its Dies Natalis on 8 February. Joyce has delivered important new insights into the ancient Mayan cultures of Central America.

The thesis “De publieke prijs. Een onderzoek naar de verdeling van publiek geld via prijsvragen” (The public prize. A study of the allocation of public funds by way of competitions) was awarded the faculty Jongbloed prize 2016-2017 on 12 January.

Philosophy lecturer Victor Gijsbers has been awarded the 2017 Faculty Education Award. The Faculty Education Award is given each year to the Faculty’s most inspiring lecturer. After attending one of Gijsbers’s lectures, the jury said it was impressed by his energy and dry humour.

Throughout the coming year, all attention in Leiden will be on Asia. This special year, featuring numerous Asian events, conferences, exhibitions and concerts, celebrates the new Asian Library at Leiden University. Come and read, watch, listen, taste or dance Bollywood style.

Jaroslaw Kantorowicz examines how strategic climate litigation influences public attitudes on climate policy, using a UK experiment to explore legal cues.

Does suffering suffice? Andrei Poama, Assistant Professor at Leiden University, and Paul C. Bauer, research fellow at the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, did an experimental assessment of desert retributivism. Their resulsts were published on April 20 on PLOS ONE.

Using brain imaging to discover the area in the brain that recognizes emotion.

The celebration of Leiden's Dies Natalis on Monday 9 February in the Pieterskerk was extra special this year and was attended by many prominent guests. This was the kick-off of the special 88th Lustrum (five-year) celebrations in 2015.

The programme for the Leiden Asia Year in 2017 is now available. Rector Carel Stolker launched the new website www.leidenasiayear.nl at the opening of the Academic Year of Leiden University on 5 September.

The first ILS Lunch Seminar of 2017 will take place on Monday 30 January. During this lunch seminar series all researchers from Leiden Law School can present their research. The idea is to hear in a simple and nice way what researchers from other research programs and institutes are working on. During…

The Conference on Computers, Privacy and Data Protection (CPDP) is an annual world-leading multidisciplinary conference that takes place in January in Brussels. In January 2017, eLaw, the Centre for Law and Digital Technologies of Leiden University, participated in the CPDP conference as one of the…

Is my cap on straight? Where in the cortège will I be walking? These are some of the questions asked by professors joining the Dies Natalis procession for the first time.

A school lesson by a professor, for instance about the history of Africa, the climate or research and healthcare. A hundred Leiden professors told primary school children about their work in the Meet the Professor project.

Carel Stolker, former Rector Magnificus and President of the Executive Board of Leiden University, has been made an Officer in the Order of Orange-Nassau for his services to the city and University. Mayor Henri Lenferink awarded the royal honour to Stolker at the University’s Dies Natalis on 8 February…

Leiden University will confer an honorary doctorate on astrophysicist Sara Seager for her work on exoplanets.

An online course to teach our international students their first words in Dutch, American presidents in Leiden and how Neanderthals made the very first glue: view a selection of our most read English news in the past year.

The German professor of Information Systems and Statistics Heike Trautmann accepted the Pascal chair this month at LIACS, the computer science institute of Leiden University. Trautmann’s main research areas are evolutionary multiobjective optimisation and data science, in which LIACS is strong as we…

From Amsterdam to Tokyo: on or around 26 November Cleveringa meetings will be taking place at more than 40 locations throughout the world. The meetings are organised by the Leiden University Fund (LUF) to commemorate the protest speech given by Professor Cleveringa and to foster relations with alumni…

On Monday 25 September, Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni passed away, at the age of 79. Throughout his distinguished career, Professor M. Cherif Bassiouni has made a unique contribution to international criminal justice.