The Minor in Teaching was introduced in 2009 as a new initiative to introduce and prepare bachelor students for teaching. Student numbers are low, however, especially of mathematics and science students.

Promotores: H.A. Udo De Haes, P.M. Brakefield

A Vici grant and a Science-GROOT: scientists from the Institute of Biology Leiden have been awarded prestigious grants from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). From investigating bacteria without cell walls to harnessing plants with the help of microorganisms.

What are the main factors associated with the stranding of the two seal species? What are the factors influencing the prevalence of disease in the two species? Which human-related factors influence the populations of the two seal species?

The research of our group is centered around dynamical systems, functional analysis and their interplay.

PhD student Robbin Bastiaansen applies mathematics to get insight in practical problems. By comparing mathematical models with developments in existing ecosystems, he hopes to demystify the process of desertification. His research has been published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…

This thesis describes biochemical investigations of glucocerebrosidase (GBA), the lysosomal β- glucosidase that is deficient in Gaucher disease (GD).

After his PhD defense on 25 September Frits Veerman will go to the University of Oxford to do research at the Centre for Mathematical Biology.

How can we develop new chemical biology tools and approaches to understand and interfere with glucosylceramide metabolism in relation to Gaucher disease?

Promotor: H.S. Overkleeft, Co-Promotor: B.I. Florea

Electrical signals travel like a wave through our neural pathways. The mathematical models for these movements could not yet properly describe all the biological properties of the nerves. PhD student Willem Schouten-Straatman changed this by improving the existing models. ‘I hope that one day we will…

Combining geometry and number theory. That is what Dr Jan Vonk of the Institute of Mathematics receives a Vidi grant for today. ‘By fusing these two disciplines we may be able to solve a century-old mathematical problem.’

Floske Spieksma will give her inaugural lecture as Professor of Mathematics of Operations Research on 1 September. A discussion about mathematical models, Venezuela, trembling knees, being the only woman, casinos, intuition and above all loving your job.

Research from weekly magazine Elsevier shows that both the Leiden bachelor Wiskunde as the master Mathematics are rated as the best educational programs of the Netherlands according to professors. The first place was achieved by up to 70% of the votes.

We will study how inoculation of former arable land with soil (including the microbiome, soil fauna and seeds/rhizomes of ground flora) from old forests along with planting targeted tree species mixtures will improve productivity and more rapidly restore forest-adapted communities and ulttimately result…

Towards a framework that integrates content-based and process-based accounts of mathematical thinking

Animal Sciences’ contributions to the Evolution & Biodiversity research theme include evo-devo research, the evolution of cognitive and behavioural traits, and the evolutionary mechanisms of stress adaptation. This research involves both indoor and outdoor studies.

Development & Disease is one of the four research themes of the Institute of Biology Leiden.

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

Can we establish a new quality control system for herbal medicines that is based on bioactivity rather than a few abundant chemicals?

Some examples of AI-research done at Leiden.

Mathematical biologists from Leiden have developed a model that helps to explain how the spine and vertebrae, among other things, form during embryonic development. The same process, the other way around, plays a key role in cancer metastasis. Publication in iScience.

On January 5, Rosa Winter will obtain her doctorate in arithmetic geometry. She researched solutions of equations that define so-called ‘del Pezzo surfaces’. ‘I like geometry because I can imagine and draw the shapes and objects,’ says Winter. ‘That makes abstract mathematics feel more tangible.’

In the ‘Imaginary’ exhibition, its curators show how society is made up of mathematics. From algorithms that save lives to ones that generate art. The exhibition is from 2 June to 25 July at Oude UB in Leiden.