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:

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

Collaborators and advisors of the Plant BioDynamics Laboratory

Whether a microbe is beneficial or harmful to a plant can now be predicted with high accuracy thanks to bacLIFE. This bioinformatic tool with an intuitive interface makes it much easier to unlock the secrets of bacterial genomes. A group of Leiden biologists presented it in Nature Communications.

The aim of this workshop is to open up the discussion of textual communities in Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, by offering a platform for PhD students from all over the world and from various disciplines to present their own research and discuss it with others. Deadline: April 23.

Wouter Moerland is on a two-year secondment as ecology adviser at the Municipality of Leiden. This biology alumnus talks animatedly about his work. ‘We’re working hard to increase nature’s chances in town.’

How the global distribution of vegetation stands dominated by arbuscular and ectomycorrhizal plants relate to principle aspects of belowground carbon accumulation processes?

Promotor: E.F. Smets Co-promotor: J. Geml

PhD at Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department, University of Malaga - Spain

Mission: The Environmental Biology department aims to increase the scientific understanding of how current and emerging anthropogenic threats affect biodiversity and ecosystem services. Through this understanding they facilitate strategic management of natural resources by addressing urgent challenges…

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

Pectin is a plant cell wall polysaccharide made of mainly D-galacturonic acid (GA) subunits. The potency of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus niger to naturally secrete high amounts of pectinases to degrade pectin has been utilized for the industrial production of pectinases.

Can zebrafish larvae be used as a behavioural model for screening natural products as potential neurotropic drugs?

Leiden has one of the most petrified inner-cities of The Netherlands. This is not beneficial for the biodiversity crisis and Leiden University, with a significant number of buildings within the Singels, should be more proactive on this matter. Currently, LUGO is taking steps with internal departments…

Leiden has one of the most petrified inner-cities of The Netherlands. This is not beneficial for the biodiversity crisis and Leiden University, with a significant number of buildings within the Singels, should be more proactive on this matter. Currently, LUGO is taking steps with internal departments…

What was the social function of the colonial civil law courts in eighteenth-century coastal Sri Lanka? Why did people choose to have their disputes settled by Dutch law courts?

Promotor: F.P. Israel, Co-Promoter: R. Meijerink

Lecture, Research Seminar

PhD defence

Botanisch filosoof Norbert Peeters vertelt over hoe mensen omgaan met planten in het algemeen, en met onkruid in het bijzonder.

The Green algae Chara as model system for intra and inter cellular transport processes.

Kirsten Leiss, at the IBL since 2001, is developing new ways of crop protection in order to decrease the use of pesticides: As a model she uses the thrip, a tiny insect which causes economic losses worldwide by silver- and growth damage and virus transmission to vegetables, fruits and flowers.

PhD at the Natural Product Laboratory, Institute of Biology, Leiden University - the Netherlands

We like to welcome you kindly to the Dutch Extract Library.

Aspergillus niger is an important industrial producer of organic acids and enzymes producing large amounts of spent fungal biomass.

The rapidly increasing commercial application of metallic nanoparticles within products will inevitably enhance the amount of NPs being released into soil.

Making public space more sustainable is considered very important in this project. The Humanities Campus will become a pleasant place to spend time, with lots of greenery. Here, people can relax and find coolness on hot summer days.

What are the differences between the trade in Chinese herbal drugs in Europe between 1800 and now? Can we see the major metabolic changes after 200 yours?

Promotor: P. J. J. Hooykaas Co-promotor: B. S de Pater

How have human-environmental entanglements changed in the Gulf of San Miguel, Darien, Panama, from the first traces human practices through to the present?

Research truly comes to life when it contributes meaningfully to society. By sharing our findings, advising policymakers or contributing to community projects – we can make a real impact. Scroll down and discover how Science and society can mutually benefit from each other.

The book 'Darwin comes to town’ by Menno Schilthuizen has been awarded the best nature book in the Netherlands. The Leiden biologist received the Jan Wolkers Prize, awarded annually by Dutch TV and radio show 'Vroege Vogels'. In his book Schilthuizen describes evolution in one of the newest and most…

Two Leiden research projects that focus on increasing the biodiversity of Dutch production systems for food and ornamental horticulture have started thanks to funding from the Dutch Research Council's KIC research programme.

The Faculty of Science has reinforced the collaboration in China during a group trip late November. Representatives from four institutes visited ten Chinese top universities and interviewed over 130 students in PhD workshops in Beijing and Shanghai.

Graig Klein, assistant professor at the Institute of Security of Global Affairs (ISGA), has been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC) for his project TERGAP. With this 1.500.000 euro grant Klein and his research team will investigate terrorist groups’ decision-making and strategic…

What do a novel anti-ageing ingredient for cosmetics and a new type of chicken feed have in common? They were both produced using a new solvent developed by Leiden biologists in 2011. The medium is neither solid nor liquid, and the industry is now starting to see it’s many possibilities.

For more than forty years Heinrich Witte was responsible for the flora in the Hortus botanicus in Leiden. The 19th-century garden manager made the Netherlands famous with plants from Japan. The Old University Library is showing an exhibition of his work (19 August to 4 November).

Lecture

During orange juice production only around a half of every orange is turned into juice. Lizah van der Aart and Blair Berger, both MSc-students at the IBL, and Ryan Bogaars from Delft University, received an NWO-scholarship to develop a novel method to extract natural products from orange residue.

Organic molecules in interstellar space are important as they influence the structure of galaxies and star formations. Studying catalytic processes in space allows us to understand how molecular species are formed and chemically evolved in the interstellar medium and solar system objects.

Promotor: G.A. Persoon, Co-promotor: H.H. de Iongh

Monday 5 September the eighth edition of the interdisciplinary Minor Sustainable Development started. With 65 students coming from more than 20 different disciplines we've a record number of students and backgrounds.

The discovery of a planet far too large for its sun defies models about the formation of solar systems and planets. In a paper in Science, researchers, including Yamila Miguel of Leiden Observatory, report the discovery of a planet more than 13 times heavier than Earth orbiting the ultracool dwarf star…

On Monday the 8th of December, the annual symposium of the IBL will be organized at the main building of the LUMC Leiden. This year’s theme is “Integrative Biology towards Healthy Communities”.

On 1 March, Lennart Schada von Borzyskowski will start on a tenure track position at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL). With a focus on the natural and synthetic biochemistry of environmental bacteria, he wants to apply their features to health and sustainability issues.

- Which metabolites could be components of NADES? - How can we prove the presence of NADES in nature? - What are the roles of NADES in nature? - How to apply NADES in life sciences?