Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely prescribed as anti-inflammatory drugs due to their well-established immunosuppressive effects.

Control of infectious diseases poses continuous challenges for human health.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common inflammatory skin disorder characterised by various epidermal alterations. Filaggrin (FLG) mutations are a major predisposing factor for AD and much research has been focused on the FLG protein.

β-Lactamases are enzymes that can break down β-lactam substrates, such as antibiotics, preventing the use of these antibiotics for the treatment of various infectious diseases. However, some compounds, β-lactamase inhibitors, can block these enzymes allowing for possible treatments using a combination…

The molecular mechanisms that instigate a healthy cell to become malignant are fueled by (epi)genetic alterations in so-called driver genes.

Antibiotic resistance, caused by widespread use of antibiotics, leads to bacterial infections that are difficult, if not impossible, to treat and is a major worldwide health concern.

How is inflammation in tuberculosis controlled by interplay between autophagy and inflammasome signalling?

Promotor: M.A.G.J. Orrit

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the phenomenon that pathogens become insensitive to the antibiotics that we use against them. A growing number of pathogens is becoming resistant, with methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) as the most famous example. But while the threat of AMR represents a slow-moving…

LUCAS hosts a wide variety of research. Here we outline some of the most important research themes.

This summer, political scientist Thijs Vos received the Kaare Strøm prize for his paper ‘Power or Ideology? What structures legislative voting behaviour in Dutch municipal councils, ideology or coalition-opposition dynamics?' He was awarded the prize during the ECPR summer school on parliaments in F…

Lecture, Descriptive Linguistics Seminars

Eveline Crone, professor of neurocognitive developmental psychology at Leiden University, has been awarded the Dr Hendrik Muller Prize for Behavioural and Social Sciences by KNAW.

Two Leiden University science communication projects have been awarded a WECOM grant through the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA). One project is a study of the history of the deaf community in the Netherlands and the other is of a condition that causes people to lose their way.

PhD defence

You can find some tips here on how to maintain your mental health.

The Institute of Psychology is committed to play a prominent role in teaching and research at the national and international level.

The research programme Language Use in Past and Present brings together linguists within LUCL whose central focus is both on actual language data, including language use in earlier stages of the language, and, taking a variationist perspective, on language change in various aspects.

To be eligible for Creative Intelligence & Technology (previously Media Technology) at Leiden University, you must meet the following admission requirements.

Since itch and pain can be very burdensome, especially when individuals suffer from (either of) these symptoms chronically, it is important to know the factors by which these sensations are influenced. It becomes more and more clear that psychological factors play an important role in the experience…

If we want to build robots and computer systems that are not only smarter but also possess more social skills, we first need to find out more about how humans interpret information. Max van Duijn and Tessa Verhoef conduct research at the intersection of cognitive science and AI.

The International Bachelor in Psychology (IBP) offers a broad academic development, with knowledge of several subdisciplines, such as clinical (neuro)psychology, developmental psychology, social and organisational psychology, economic and consumer psychology, cognitive psychology and health psycholo…

Marie-Jeanne Holveck and Katharina Riebel from Behavioural Biology at the Institute of Biology at the Faculty of Science published their research in Proceedings B of The Royal Society.

Exclusion elicits the same response in children as in adolescents and adults. That is what psychologist Mara van der Meulen found when she studied brain activity in primary schoolchildren. ‘What is new for us is that it is the same in childhood as later in life.’ Doctoral defence on 10 December.

PhD defence

The research programme Formal Theoretical and Experimental Linguistics brings together LUCL researchers who focus mainly on formal theoretical and experimental linguistics.

Knowledge and culture subproject 2:

Knowledge and culture subproject 4:

The research carried out within the unit Health, Medical and Neuropsychology investigates the psychological factors of health and disease, and the development of innovative treatment.

Fundamental research teaches us how our brain decides to eat one more sweet, instead of doing exercise. A public information campaign about healthy lifestyle has little impact on the decision, as Professor of General Psychology Bernard Hommel is aware. However, he does know what works. But the question…

What are the most important perpetuating factors of chronic fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome, and which interventions are effective in influencing these factors?

The project concerns the nature, the usages and functions of pictographic systems in relation to writing in societies with (restricted) literacy.

Adoptees in the Netherlands generally do not use more medication than their non-adopted peers.

Some examples of AI-research done at Leiden.

Leiden psychologist Wilco van Dijk and communication scientist Jaap Ouwerkerk of VU University Amsterdam published a book about the emotion Schadenfreude. Van Dijk tells about Schadenfreude on BBC radio 4 All in the Mind.

Postdoc and linguist Evelyn Bosma receives the Keetje Hodshon Prize for her dissertation. For her research on the multilingualism of Frisian children, Bosma previously won the Klokhuis Science Prize and the Campus Fryslân Science Prize.

PhD defence

The updated E-Primer expands its proven combination of simple explanations, interesting tutorials and fun exercises, and makes even the novice student quickly confident to create their dream experiment​​​​​​ in E-Prime 3. E-Prime is the leading software suite by Psychology Software Tools for designing…

Perfect for use at advanced undergraduate and graduate level, this is the first text to offer students a unified narrative regarding the place of the body in Western thinking. The book investigates the ways in which the fact of human embodiment makes the notion of ambiguity central to all major areas…

What is the role of neuronal emotional reactivity in the intergenerational transmission of abuse?

Would you like to create an extra challenge for yourself? Leiden University gives you plenty of room to do so.

The Computer Systems, Imagery & media (CSI) research programme performs research on methods and techniques for the design, implementation and application of advanced computer systems, in particular parallel, distributed and embedded computer systems.

The group is involved in training in areas of diagnostic skills, treatment/prevention/intervention, neuropsychological assessment, behavioral observations, clinical interviewing, knowledge of intellectual disability, autism, ADHD, psychosis and aggression.

The Co-Align Conference 2023 will be held on 16 May 2023 at Leiden University.

Drawing is one of the most unique human behaviours. Like language, drawing is a mode of communication and a cognitive tool that from an early age allows us to interact with others. Is the early development of drawing skill influenced by the social environment? If so, how?

This thesis explored the question whether Scrum methodology might function as an appropriate scaffold to enhance students’ learning and to support teachers in context-based secondary chemistry education.

Dementia is widely considered a progressive condition associated with changes in cognitive capacities, which promotes the idea that people with dementia need to anticipate end-of-life care preferences. There is a growing body of interventions meant to support advance care planning (ACP) for people with…

The aim of this research is the systematic analysis of the wisdom coined by Nahua people of Mexico, based on the historical sources and archaeological evidence, but also in the knowledge developed by contemporary indigenous communities and the contributions of indigenous scholars.