Leiden Science rings in 2025 with inspiring speeches and happy winners
An impressive speech by Dean Jasper Knoester, a lecture by top researcher Mario van der Stelt about brain messengers, and the presentation of the faculty awards. 2025 begins on a hopeful and festive note, with a toast to a year of fruitful collaboration within and beyond the faculty.
‘We have achieved great things as a faculty in 2024.’ Dean Jasper Knoester reflects on the past year and looks ahead. In his speech, Knoester highlights the accomplishments of the faculty. Connection and collaboration remain central themes. ‘As a faculty, we have worked hard on our strategic plan and achieved remarkable results: we have renewed our operations, introduced a new management model, and strengthened our career policy for both academic and support staff – and much more.’
‘International students and staff are essential to our faculty’
This spirit of collaboration and connection is evident in everything, Knoester explains. In our building – with the goal of housing CML, IBL, and LION on this side of the campus – in our research themes, in our efforts to maintain a strong foundation, and in our partnerships within and beyond the faculty. Even in how we address financial challenges together.
Knoester also discusses the limitation on the intake of international students. ‘I am convinced that we cannot do without international staff and students, and I am so pleased they are here; without them, we would be a much less diverse and significantly weaker faculty.’
Tuesday Talks: secret messengers in the brain
After the Dean officially welcomed the new year, he hands the stage over to Professor of Molecular Physiology Mario van der Stelt. He kicks off a new series of Tuesday Talks: a monthly dose of research inspiration for and by the Leiden Science community. In twenty minutes, Van der Stelt takes the audience along on his mission to unravel the mysteries of the brain using chemical biology. How do small fat molecules, called lipids, influence our health? ‘With advanced tools, we can see how these fats transmit signals and what their role is in diseases. This also opens up new possibilities for treatments.’ He does not shy away from personal questions. Fortunately, the audience can answer them anonymously online.
Rob van Wijk awarded Teacher of the Year 2024
As Van der Stelt leaves the stage, the nominees seated in the front row shift slightly forward in anticipation. It is time for the presentation of the annual Faculty Awards. Vice Dean Bart de Smit and Annemiek Werkhoven, Education Assessor of study association De Leidsche Flesch, announce the Teacher of the Year 2024. Out of sixteen nominees from various bachelor’s and master’s programmes, the jury shortlisted three teachers: Joost Willemse, Rob van Wijk, and Sander van Kasteren. The trio receives high praise.
Meet the Nominees for the Teacher of the Year Award 2024
Learn more about all nominated teachersThe eventual winner stands out for his exceptional dedication and innovative teaching methods, effectively linking theoretical concepts to real-world applications. ‘Students particularly value his approachable and team-oriented teaching style, all enhanced by his infectious enthusiasm. For these reasons, the jury chooses Rob van Wijk as Teacher of the Year 2024.’
Van Wijk is not present in the lecture hall, but unpacks his certificate at his holiday address in Panama, under the watchful eye of an applauding audience. With the appointment comes a cheque worth 5,000 euros. He plans to use the prize money to improve the functionality of the R Shiny app in his course. This app allows students to simulate drug development processes, analyse data, and gain experience in pharmacology.
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Dean Jasper Knoester kicks off the afternoon and looks ahead to 2025 -
Mario van der Stelt talks enthusiastically about his research on messengers in the brain -
Rob van Wijk has been named the teacher of the year. He calls from his holiday address in Panama and is pleasantly surprised. Joost Willemse (left) and Sander van Kasteren win the second prize. -
Ronald van Luijk presents the other prizes on behalf of the C.J. Kok committee jury -
Ilze Bot accepts the best thesis award on behalf of Marie Depuydt -
Daan de Bos wins the Young Talent Award, with an incredible 9.5 for his bachelor thesis -
Annetje Ottow took a moment to wish Leiden Science colleagues a good new year -
Students nominated for the Leiden Science Young Talent Award -
All teachers nominated for Teacher of the Year -
The PhD students nominated for the C.J. Kok Jury Award for Best Thesis of the Year -
After the official programme, there was a well-attended drink in The Fusion -
The team from De Fusie that manned the bar -
... and of course there were (vegetarian) bites
Thesis Award for Marie Depuydt: research into the immune system's role in atherosclerosis
Who wrote the best dissertation of the year? Mathematics Professor and jury member Ronald van Luijk announces the winner. From seven nominated PhD candidates, this year’s honour goes to pharmaceutical scientist Marie Depuydt. In her dissertation, she revealed which cells are present in the plaques that cause vascular narrowing in atherosclerosis. The abundance of T-cells suggests an autoimmune aspect of the disease. ‘Of course, this is not the whole picture,’ says Depuydt, ‘but it opens the door to new treatments for cardiovascular diseases.’
Her supervisors praise her independence, perseverance, and team spirit. ‘This work could not have succeeded without Marie's ability to collaborate with doctors, patients, and scientists from various disciplines. You could truly call her a scientific all-rounder.’
Earlier this year, Depuydt also won the Krijn Rietveld Award and the Van Wersch Springboard Prize.
Meet the Nominees for the C.J. Kok Jury Award for Best Thesis
Learn more about all nominated PhD candidatesMachine learning in materials: Young Talent Award for Daan de Bos
Van Luijk continues with the Leiden Science Young Talent Award. The jury committee selected four finalists from seven nominations: Dione Blok, Doğukan Yilmaz, Adriaan Janssen, and Daan de Bos. Each of them presented their research to the jury, who ultimately selected a winner. It was a tough decision, as our students wrote outstanding theses on diverse topics: from cancer research to key chemical processes, and from smart materials to observations with the James Webb Space Telescope.
The Young Talent Award 2024 goes to Physics and Mathematics undergraduate Daan de Bos for his thesis on self-learning materials. During his research, he developed a theory to describe materials that can both perform calculations and learn from them simultaneously. ‘This is the first example of a model using this principle,’ the jury notes.
Daan's supervisors were particularly impressed by his choice of topic, which has the potential for significant impact given the pressing need for new forms of computational power. They note that Daan exceeded all expectations. ‘He certainly doesn’t require close supervision and is mature enough to manage his own time effectively.’
Meet the Nominees for the Leiden Science Young Talent Award
Learn more about all nominated studentsAfter the awards ceremony, celebrations continue with an informal reception, where students and staff reflect on the event and look forward to the year ahead over drinks and snacks. A wonderful and vibrant start to the new year – a promising sign for the rest of 2025!