How can we organize the food system in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region in a more sustainable and democratic way? Prof. Cristina Grasseni gave a presentation of her work at the Food Council Metropolitan Region Amsterdam.

A new biophysical technique enables scientists to study the behavior of Aβ-peptide. This protein is known to play a role in Alzheimer’s, but for effective medication we need to know exactly what it does. Publication in Journal of Biological Physics on March 16th.

On 8 December, Friday afternoon, the second year students of the Honours College track ‘Tackling Global Challenges’ presented their final assignment for the Competences Lab course. The goal was to set up an impact project and organize an event about it. The diverse groups listened and shared their ideas…

Two Leiden researchers of the Institute of Psychology have been given the opportunity to realise their research plans for the coming three years thanks to a Veni grant from the Netherlands organisation for scientific research. Hanneke Hendriks is researcher in the field of Social and organisational…

What started as a student project in the Media Technology program, became a successful internationally operating company offering therapeutic virtual bike rides. Meet alumni Ella Keijzer and Job de Reus, founders and owners of Bike Labyrinth.

Changing your diet can improve both your health and the environment. A new study shows that the national dietary recommendations on reducing animal products can reduce environmental impacts in most high-income nations. Publication in PNAS journal.

As of April 1, 2018, Erik Danen has been appointed as Professor of Cancer drug target discovery at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR). His discipline is cell biology of cancer, in which he focuses on the mechanisms underlying metastasis and therapy resistance.

Soil ecologists Emilia Hannula (Leiden) and Elly Morriën (UvA) received the Golden Medal of Teylers Tweede Genootschap on 5 November. They received the prize for their submission to a competition on sustainable soil management.

To relieve a patient's pain, it can be effective to induce expectations. This finding is promising for optimising the effectiveness of treatments, conclude Kaya Peerdeman and colleagues in their article in PAIN.

Andrea Evers has received an NWO research talent grant with Jelle van Leusden as the PhD candidate. This grant enables them to start a research project to examine whether automatically regulated responses, such as the circadian rhythm, can be conditioned during sleep.

Latin America matters! With its rich history, culture, its impressive resilience and creative innovation in the face of such a diverse array of challenges, Latin America can indeed show the way forward inspiring for positive change. Working together with Latin American institutions, our researchers…

Start-up ambassador Neelie Kroes launched the new investment fund on 20 June. Erasmus Medical Centre, TU Delft, Leiden University and the regional development agency InnovationQuarter are working together on this initiative.

Marcel Cobussen is professor of Auditory Culture at ACPA. Recently he has published a report (in Dutch) commissioned by the city government of Leiden (NL) on the sonic redesigning of a public space (the Garenmarkt) in Leiden. He is also one of the founders of The Journal of Sonic Studies, an Open Access…

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. This makes fundamental research on the precise cause of the illness of vital importance. One of the possible suspects is a certain protein filled with iron. Leiden physicist Lucia Bossoni (LION/LUMC) has now developed a new way of investigating…

For many years, scientists have observed a correlation between Alzheimer’s disease and a surplus of iron in the brain. However, a causal link between the two has not been proven yet. We lack knowledge concerning the specific form of iron that is involved in the development of neurodegenerative diseases.…

The combination of data science and sports is a hot topic. In a talk during the opening of the Academic Year at the Faculty of Science, Professor Joost Kok explained what data analytics can teach us about sports.

Andrew Webb, Professor of MRI Physics at LUMC and teacher at the Physics education at Leiden University, has been awarded the 2017 NWO Simon Stevin Master Prize. The prize includes a cash award of 500,000 euros. Webb is planning to use the prize to develop new MRI techniques that allow diseases to be…

Now the introduction weeks can go ahead as usual, the new students’ enthusiasm is overwhelming. It’s back to normal for the student associations too, having had a hard time of it during the pandemic.

Candidates are invited to submit their ‘own proposals for doctoral projects, which can come from the following eleven subjects: Ancient History, Old Testament, Ancient Oriental Studies, Christian Archaeology and Byzantine Art History, Greek Studies, Historical-Comparative Linguistics, Classical Archaeology,…

Eight major scientific consortia are to receive research investment funding from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO. Leiden University is involved in all these project and is the lead applicant for four of the awards.

Workshop, 21-22 June On 21-22 June, Dr. C.V. Weeda (Leiden University) and Marie-Louise Leonard (University Ca’ Foscari Venezia) organize a workshop on Worker's health and material environment in Port Cities. The workshop focuses on interdisciplinary discussion. ReMA-students are given the opportunity…

To give a better idea of the research at Leiden University, a new website has been launched that lists the University’s institutes together with the disciplines that they cover. But the institutes also work together intensively.

At the annual World Computer Chess Championship, chess computers from all over the world compete with each other. This year, Leiden University hosted the event.

On Friday 9 and Saturday 10 September 2022, the annual reunion of the European Public Law Organization (EPLO) took place in Legrena, Greece.

Global problems such as diseases of affluence or microplastics in the sea are too complex to be dealt with from a single scientific discipline or by just one country. Leiden University has the expertise to bring solutions to these enormous problems a step closer. Read more in the research dossier on…

Like last year, Leiden University is the third Dutch university in the 2016 Shanghai ranking. Leiden is ranked 93rd among the world's 500 best universities.

For the first time, Leiden University has made it to the top 10 of the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Of the 780 participating universities, Leiden has taken seventh place.

Several Dutch universities have said they do not want foreign student numbers to grow any more in some of their degree programmes. They are reaching maximum capacity. We are also alert to this in Leiden, but I see many positive aspects to the intake of international students.

Beryl ter Haar is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Warsaw, Poland. The Law School is the oldest part of the university (founded in 1808), followed by the School of Medicine (founded one year later). The two schools became the heart of Warsaw University which was founded in 1816 by…

Leiden University has taken eighth place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Over 900 universities from all round the world participated in the ranking.

If we need funding for a project, equipment or research at the university, we automatically think of the Dutch Research Council or other grant providers. But more and more researchers are managing to connect with people who care about the university.

More than 30 members of Programme Committees, Faculty Councils and the University Council met online on 27 November with a mission: how can university co-participation work towards a more sustainable university in terms of education, research, and operations? The Leiden University Green Office and the…

One of the good things about my job is that I come into contact with so many different alumni. It’s incredibly important that we build good relationships with our alumni from a young age already. We can help our graduates develop skills and grow their network, and they in turn can help our organisation…

When foreign matter enters our body, our immune system has to make a choice whether or not to go on the attack. There are times when the system goes wrong, and we end up with an illness or an allergic reaction. Researchers at LUMC are trying to steer the immune system. The dossier on Immunity, Infection…

Dutch universities involved in lingusitics research and teaching have been asked through the VSNU to provide financial guarantees for the transition of linguistics research to open access. The universities, including Leiden, have agreed.

Does the university invest into fossil fuels? ⠀

Leiden University needs to become the sustainability frontrunner of the Dutch universities, the co-participation and the Leiden University Green Office (LUGO) call for. This means that sustainability needs to be further integrated into education and research, as well as the university’s business ope…

A call to join an exploration into new ways of publishing

Leiden University has the highest percentage of female professors of all the Dutch Universities. At 24 per cent, Leiden is well ahead of the other universities in the Netherlands.

Leiden University has taken 18th place in the SustainaBul, the sustainability ranking of universities and universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands. A total of 32 institutions took part in this the tenth edition of SustainaBul. Although Leiden University is two places higher than last year,…

ChatGPT, the text-generating chatbot, has recently become available for anyone to use. Is this artificial intelligence (AI) tool a threat to our teaching?

The intake of bachelor’s students from classic immigration countries whose prior education was in the Netherlands does not reflect the growing diversity in society. This is according to data from Statistics Netherlands.

Alumnus Ruurt Hazewinkel (90) has presented Leiden University with a special gift: a historic house on Leiden’s Rapenburg canal. He handed over the key to Rector Carel Stolker on Monday 25 January.

Humanities Faculty Leiden occupies a 49th place in the field of Arts & Humanities in the QS World University Ranking. Especially the subject areas Linguistics and History & Archeology rank high, with respectively a 26th and 28th place. Leiden University has fallen by one place in the annual QS World…

On 11 November, Leiden University and the '3 October Vereeniging' confirmed their special relationship and collaboration in a covenant. This document lays down the way in which the two partners will be involved in the future celebration and commemoration of the Relief of Leiden.

Leiden University has received a positive assessment in the Institutional Quality Assessment audit (ITK). This is the second time that quality assurance at Leiden University has been assessed positively.

A functional study of chert artefacts from preceramic sites in Colombia (2002)

The neolithization of the southern Netherlands in an antropological and geographical perspective

ASLU 14

The meaning of the Swifterbant Culture for the process of neolithisation in the western part of the North European Plain (4900-3400 BC)