If mankind wants to survive into the 22nd century, we will need to change the way we live drastically. The human impact on our planet is everywhere, we are changing the atmosphere, the oceans and the land, leading to global warming, climate change, loss of biodiversity and pervasive pollution. There…

In the master’s specialisation Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology at Leiden University students are trained by experts in the areas of molecular biology, microbiology, plant genetics, cellular imaging, animal disease models, and various –omics technologies and the corresponding bioinformatics.

Is it possible to synthesize industrially relevant compounds in a sustainable manner through the use of light-capturing cyanobacteria?

In this book, Sarah Giest, Assistant Professor at the Institute of Public Administration, provides insight into the collaborative and absorptive capacities needed to provide public support to local innovation through cluster organizations.

Innovation plays an essential role in firms' competitiveness and long-term success. It varies from different types, ranging from run-of-the-mill innovation that brings incremental changes to existing technologies to radical innovation that breaks from existing trajectories.

Research to experiment with bacteria that grow like plants has been granted the NWO XS grant. These bacteria use light and carbon dioxide to grow, and will be designed especially for use in the biotechnological field. Tijn Delzenne and his supervisor Dennis Claessen can spend 50.000 euros on the exp…

How can we find novel natural products from Actinomycetes that act as growth modulators on mammalian cells? Can we harvest and develop the potential of these novel compounds for industrial and medical biotechnology?

Everything biobased: Plastic, medicine and fuel. It seems like a futuristic utopia. But for how long? A collaboration of researchers now proposes an idea to accelerate the development process. By combining machine learning and laboratory automation, this biobased ideal may become a reality rather sooner…

Biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) for natural products are widespread in microbial genomes, and they are rapidly exchanged. This research assesses the factors that control the spread of BGCs and resistance genes in nature. This includes risk assessment for the spread of engineered DNA in nature.

Which microorganisms live near and inside plant roots? How do they contribute to plant health? Can microorganisms be employed in plant protection?

In the research programme Microbial Sciences we perform state-of-the-art research in the field of biotechnology and microbial sciences.

Study information

Professor of Fungal Genetics and Biotechnology Arthur Ram explains how fungi can help us be more sustainable.

Which compounds and microorganisms that live near and inside plant roots are beneficial? Can we use this knowledge to improve the health and growth of crop plants?

Advanced biotechnology allows us to select or alter the genetic makeup of human embryos. What limits do we impose on biotechnological intervention in nature and the human body? And whose call is that?

Microbial Sciences' contribution to the Bioactive Molecules research theme is to discover new bioactive molecules and enzymes and unravel their mechanisms of action, regulatory networks, and the (bio)synthetic pathways required for their production.

Find out how to apply for Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology at Leiden University by following our step-by-step guide.

Do you have questions about the master’s specialisation Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology? Please contact us.

Promotores: Prof.dr. H.S. Overkleeft, Prof.dr. G.A. van der Marel

In our research protein translocation from Agrobacterium into yeast and plant cells is studied to obtain fundamental insights in the translocation process

The specialisation consists of 120 European Credit Transfer System (EC) points and includes courses and electives (30 - 60 EC) and and one or more research projects (60 - 90 EC).

In Microbial Sciences, we perform multidisciplinary research to understand the structure and function of microbes at all levels of biological organization, from small molecules and cellular structures at atomic resolution to multicellular communities.

An examination of academic organization at the forefront of the biotechnology revolution

Increasing the efficiency of gene targeting (GT) as a genome editing tool in plants has been an important goal in plant biotechnology.

Corporate R&D organizations and their relation to academic laboratories.

This report investigates the different approaches in the authorization process of GMOs for commercial use in the European Union and the United States of America. Three main aspects are considered and analyzed as potential causes of differences in the authorization process of GMOs for commercial use.…

Bacterial biocatalysis constitutes a sustainable alternative for high-value chemicals production by enabling the utilization of renewable feedstocks.

Do large deletions represent a risk during CRISP/CAS9-mediated genome editing in plants?

Microbial rhodopsins are photosensitive pigments implemented in the growth and adaptation of a large population of microorganisms.

We aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of eukaryotic cells by Agrobacterium.

In the Master’s programme in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences of Leiden University you are trained for a scientific career in drug research and development.

In the Master’s programme in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences of Leiden University you are trained for a scientific career in drug research and development.

In the Master’s programme in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences of Leiden University you are trained for a scientific career in drug research and development.

In the Master’s programme in Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences of Leiden University you are trained for a scientific career in drug research and development.

This project aims to assess the risk of spread of antimicrobial resistance genes in the environment derived from currently used synthetic biology approaches in the field of drug discovery.

Artificial photosynthesis aims to produce fuels from solar energy using chemical processes. In semi-artificial photosynthesis, a hybrid approach is taken using both chemical and biotechnology approaches. We aim to develop hybrid systems between light-harvesting nanoparticles and redox-enzymes (oxidoreductases)…

Synthetic cells, also known as artificial cells or protocells, have wide ranging applications from drug delivery vectors to cell models. In biotechnology they can function as micro- or nanoreactors with possible applications in biocatalysis and photocatalysis. Phospholipids are by far the most commonly…