The genetic information of all living organisms is contained in their DNA. Cells modify the degree of DNA compaction by epigenetics, which largely determines what genes are read out and which genes are transcriptionally silent.

Immunotherapies for cancer are an emerging class of therapeutic strategies which aim to treat cancer via augmentation of the immune system.

Labour law experts have called on the Dutch government to review the bill for the Dutch Assessment of Employment Relationships and Legal Presumption (Clarification) Act (‘VBAR’). Experts consider this legislative proposal, which aims to clarify the criteria for assessing employment relationships, as…

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

Promotor: A.P. IJzerman

To what extent are there differences between countries in and outside the European Union and the Schengen area in the level of crimmigration, the merger between migration control and crime control, and to what extent can these differences be explained by the way in which state and non-state actors in…

This article argues that opposition to government green investments is conditional on the method of financing.

Dean prof. Willem Willems has visited Japan from 8-10 September, at the invitation of the Aomori District Council in northern Honshu. Purpose of the visit was to provide assistance in the nomination process for World Heritage Site of 15 prehistoric Jomon Culture sites in northern Honshu and Hokkaido…

The routine assumption that Upper Palaeolithic early modern humans in Europe were regular fire users who produced fire at will has never been tested against the archaeological record. Utilizing literature, database and microwear analytical approaches, this project seeks to establish the role and forms…

In this thesis, we aim to shed light on the diverse and often opposing roles of integrin α3β1 in cancer.

The Jordan Times has interviewed Peter Akkermans about the damage done to the Early Islamic archaeological site of Khirbet Al Umari, Jordan.

Scientists, including our faculty colleague Dr. Mike Field, studying an exceptionally well-preserved woolly rhinoceros have revealed details of what Britain's environment was like 42,000 years ago. The beast's remains were discovered in Staffordshire in 2002, buried alongside other preserved organisms…

Whether implicitly or explicitly, we all have ideas about how the law is supposed to function, whose interests it should represent, and what role it should play in society. This project explores the ways in which these questions are addressed in the works of the Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus…

On March 21 2018, a study was published in Nature, co-authored by Professor M. Soressi from the Faculty of Archaeology of Leiden University, announcing the sequencing of five new Neandertals, raising the number of high-coverage sequenced Neandertals from two to seven. A tooth lost by a Neandertal woman…

The main interest of this research concerns the beliefs and perceptions of Chinese and Dutch university teachers regarding the role of research in university teaching, and how these beliefs and perceptions can be explained by their cultural, institutional and individual background characteristics.

We aim to understand ion homeostasis in the model eukaryote S. cerevisiae.

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.A. Bouwstra, Co-promotor: Dr. A. El Ghalbzouri

This thesis describes the role of pollution, specifically neonicotinoid insecticides, as an actor of the ongoing biodiversity decline.

The skin protects the body from unwanted influences from the environment as well as excessive water loss. The barrier function of the skin is located in the stratum corneum (SC).

This thesis describes the functional analysis of the Arabidopsis AHL15 gene.

The research described in this thesis combines the latest insights in lysosomal function with lysosome centred cell signalling.

This project is funded by the Dutch Cancer Society. The project will be part of an ongoing research line aimed at identifying mechanisms of cancer therapy resistance and metastasis. In this project, it will be investigated how the Grainyhead family of transcription factors controls therapy response…

In this article, Makszin developed a conceptual framework for the operating mission of an independent Central Bank and traced changes in the operating mission of the Hungarian National Bank over its recent 27-year history together with Sebők and Simons. This study aims to understand the dynamics of…

This project aims to provide evidence-based knowledge on the conditions for successful anti-corruption activism in Ukraine.

The outermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), is responsible for the skin barrier function, protecting the body from pathogens, chemicals and other unwanted substances from the external environment. The SC lipid matrix provides the only continuous pathway through the SC and is considered…

Protein–protein complexes are formed via transient states called encounter complexes that greatly influence the formation of the stereospecific complex.

Together with Pepijn Tuinier and Thijs Brocades Zaalberg, Sebastiaan Rietjens researched the role of trust in an international intelligence cooperation.

This dissertation reports on the beliefs and perceptions of Chinese and Dutch university teachers regarding the role of research in university teaching and how these beliefs and perceptions can be explained by their cultural, institutional and individual background characteristics

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?

The lipids in the uppermost layer of the skin, the stratum corneum (SC), play an important role in the skin barrier function. The three main SC lipid classes are ceramides (CER), cholesterol and free fatty acids.

Source: Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Volume 134, pp. S44-S44 (2014) ISBN: 0022-202X

What is the role of cell wall-deficiency in the persistence of tuberculosis?

Atherosclerosis is the most important underlying process that drives cardiovascular disease, and is characterized by an accumulation of cholesterol which triggers an inflammatory response in the vessel wall.

Source: International Journal of Cosmetic Science, Volume 37, Number 1, pp. 148-148 (2015) ISBN: 0142-5463

A project to explore the configuration of different types of settlement and its role in the evolution of landscape, both in pre-Roman times and in the so-called Colonial landscape. We used several techniques of field survey, pottery classification and other non-invasive approaches to the archaeological…

This thesis has shed light on some of the ways in which the local electrolyte composition can differ from the bulk and how these changes in the local reaction environment can determine the activity and/or selectivity of two important electrocatalytic reactions, namely, electrochemical CO2 reduction…

Whilst government’s ability to design ‘context-specific’ regional innovation policy is generally assumed to depend on the region’s decision-making power, the aim of this study is to investigate how regional government matters. In order to open up the black box of policy design, the study develops a…

Bernard Bernards examines constraints on innovation by focusing on cognitive uncertainty as a personal state that may affect innovative work behavior.

Promotor: Prof.dr. P. Hooykaas, Co-promotor: Dr. R. Offringa

PhD defence

Somatic symptoms, such as pain, itch, and fatigue have been shown to have a bidirectional relationship with mental symptoms. Although acute somatic symptoms serve some adaptive properties, chronic symptoms can instead lead to interference in daily activities and lower quality of life.

Since 2012, thousands of individuals have traveled from Western countries to join jihadist groups in Syria and Iraq. While much has been written about these individuals, only sparse attention has been paid to the social environment of these jihadist travelers and, more specific, the role of family members…

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the lipid/protein ratio and the total dry SC mass per surface area are related with the skin barrier function of controls and AE patients.

How can the importance of the image in late medieval spirituality be understood in the context of the love mysticism inspired by the imagery of the Song of Songs?

The level of congruence between parties and their voters can vary greatly from one policy issue to another, which raises questions regarding the effectiveness of political representation. We seek to explain variation in party–voter congruence across issues and parties.

The main aim of my Ph.D. thesis is to further explore the value of using early developing zebrafish larvae (up to 5 dpf) as a model to study anxiety-like behaviour and their pharmacological modulation with drugs.

The starting hypothesis of the project is that secrecy is not always inimical to democratic governance as conventional wisdom has it.

In this article, Amandine Lerusse, investigates how the order of performance information affects local politicians’ issue prioritisation decisions.

This dissertation concerns the role of analogy in Kant’s “Critique of the Teleological Power of Judgment”, especially the role of analogy for the formation of the concept of a natural end (Naturzweck). A ‘natural end’ is a ‘regulative concept’ of the reflective power of judgment, that is, a heuristic…