Molecular Physiology is a research group at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry dedicated to the design, synthesis and application of chemical tools to study important biological and biomedical questions. The group is headed by Prof. Dr. Mario van der Stelt and includes the research lines of Assistant…

Light can be used to apply forces on single cells. Focused lasers have been used by physicists to tweeze particles and to manipulate them. These so called “optical tweezers” can be used as mechanical phenotyping tools for characterising the mechanics of materials and living objects.

The IBL represents the core of modern biological research at Leiden and we interact closely with the other life science Partner Institutes in the faculty:

Many of the challenges of our time are too complex to be resolved within the confines of a single discipline. Leiden University is a broad-based university where an incredible number of research fields converge. That makes us the ideal breeding ground for, and practitioners of, interdisciplinary research…

How can zebrafish models be used to gain a better understanding of host-pathogen interaction mechanisms and to screen new drugs for infectious disease treatment?

Antwoord op veelgestelde vragen over onderzoek met proefdieren bij de Universiteit Leiden. FAQ

The need for novel drugs as well as innovations in their development and application is as urgent as ever. Below we present our vision , mission, and our key research areas.

There are eight institutes at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences:

Nerve pain is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy. It is therefore one of the biggest reasons for cancer patients to stop treatment early. Darcy Reynolds worked on new drug candidates against this pain during her bachelor's thesis. She developed a new series of molecules that increase…

Drugs-related violence in Mexico is similar in terms of dynamics and strategy to the IS hybrid war in the West. This is the claim made by Teun Voeten. PhD defence 20 September.

Microneedle-based vaccination has several advantages over vaccination by using conventional hypodermic needles.

In health care, artificial intelligence is quite normal: it is used, for example, as an aid in making diagnoses. However, artificial intelligence is not yet used as much in drug development. A new prestigious partnership is therefore going to investigate how artificial intelligence can contribute to…

Promotor: Prof.dr. A.P. IJzerman, Co-Promotor: L.H. Heitman

The LACDR represents the core of bio-pharmaceutical research at Leiden University, and we interact closely with our partners:

The aim of this project is to explore the use of statistical interaction models to quantify cross-omics and omics-drug interactions in large-scale clinical and experimental datasets

From nanoparticles to colliding ice planets and from biological origami to new x-ray scanner techniques: this year again, our scientists have made wonderful discoveries. From the largest numbers to the smallest molecules and from the oldest galaxies up to the latest algorithms, take a look at each institute's…

From black holes to artificial intelligence and from drug research to data science: welcome to the fascinating world of the Faculty of Science. Our researchers, students and guests regularly give public lectures about their work. You are welcome to attend.

Who benefits from CXCR/CXCL chemokine signaling during infection: host or pathogen?

Research within COI@Leiden is clustered around two themes: sustainable justice and the courtroom as a social arena. Find out more about each of these projects by clicking on the links below.

Toxys, Leiden University and Leiden University Medical Center have agreed immediately to commercialise and also develop further the ToxProfiler technology invented at the two institutions. ToxProfiler allows for rapid toxicity hazard identification of novel and existing drugs, chemicals, and other substances.…

Nature Reviews Drug Discovery volume 18, pages 82–84 (2019). The implications of target saturation for the use of drug–target residence time Wilbert de Witte, Meindert Danhof, Piet van der Graaf, and Elizabeth de Lange

LACDR, the Leiden Institute for Drug Research, developed better tolerated excipients to prevent adverse effects related to the surface of nanosized drugs such as vaccines. LADCR professor of Biopharmacy Matthias Barz and Polypeptide Therapeutic Solutions (PTS) are collaborating to develop processes…

The two-years master’s specialisation System Biomedicine and Pharmacology at Leiden university focuses on predicting drug response with computational modelling, developing individualised therapies, and developing innovative analytical tools for personalised health strategies.

On the 6th of March 2023, Santino Regilme presented his work-in-progress titled 'Global Drug Wars: Contested Normative Orders of Peace, Security, and Human Rights'. If the battle against illegal drugs is construed as a war, how is victory in such a war defined and constructed? If the oppositional…

An important hormone excreting gland in the human body is the pituitary

With cancer, a person’s body cells grow uncontrollably. Putting together a detailed picture of how this comes about makes it possible to develop efficient therapies. Researchers at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) and Leiden University are working together to gain a better understanding…

The Department of Medical Microbiology at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) is researching antiviral drugs that could treat and prevent SARS-CoV-2 in various projects. One part of the PanCoroNed project is being led by Martijn van Hemert and involves lab tests into the antiviral effect of molecules…

Do medicines arrive in the right amount at the right spot in our brain? By making a model that depicts our brain in small 'brain blocks', Esmée Vendel tries to find an answer to this question. Her new, mathematical model predicts the concentration of medicines in the brain over time and space. Vendel…

Prof. Elizabeth de Lange is concerned with the allocation of resources for the conduct of science towards the goal of best serving the public interest. Also, while she underscores that there is still the need for using animals in drug research, she is concerned about this use, and advocates the use…

The LED3 hub, consisting of researchers from the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC), the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) and the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR), is very excited to organize the “LED3 Lectures”. This lecture series brings world-leading researchers in the field of…

Promotor: Prof.dr. R. Verpoorte, , Co-Promotor: Young Hae Choi

Chemist Tobias Bauer discovered ways to improve drugs by encapsulating them. Packages with iron nanoparticles, for example, can stimulate immune cells. Bauer will receive his PhD on 9 June.

An overview of research themes and projects at ABS.

Can chemical safety assessment be improved with zebrafish embryo-based reporter assays?

Global healthcare is on the verge of an antibiotic availability crisis as bacteria have evolved resistance to nearly all known antibacterials. Identifying new antibiotics that operate via novel modes-of-action is therefore of high priority.

Promotores: A.P. IJzerman, H.W.T. van Vlijmen

International pharmaceuticals company Grünenthal is to open an innovation hub on the Leiden Bio Science Park. The hub will make it easier for scientists and drug developers to work together.

Actin and microtubules form cellular cytoskeletal network, which mediates cell shape, motility and proliferation and are key targets for cancer therapy. Changes in cytoskeletal organization correlate with proliferative capacity and invasiveness of cancer cells. These changes expectedly lead to altered…

Promotor: Prof.dr. M.K. Richardson

Developing computational algorithms for structural biology -A high resolution, three dimensional view of a molecule provides detailed information that help elucidate its function: by knowing the exact arrangement of atoms in a molecule, we can understand disease, develop drugs to combat them and improve…

In this project, we aim to develop mathematical models to mechanistically and quantitatively predict the dynamics of cellular stress pathway activation and its relation with toxic effects when cells are exposed to various toxicants.

Promotor: M. Danhof, Co-promotores: J. Freijer, A. Yassen