Snowball the cockatoo gained world fame on social media. Millions of people saw him dance to Queen and The Backstreet Boys. In the journal Current Biology scientists study Snowball's dancing abilities and what they teach us about the origins of dance. Professor of Animal Behaviour Carel ten Cate casts…

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

Metabolomics is a powerful tool that can provide a comprehensive insight into the complexity of human biology and the pathophysiology of diseases. By analyzing the metabolome, which refers to the complete set of small (endogenous) molecules (with a mass <1500 Da) present within a given biological system,…

For information about the programme, please contact one of the following persons.

When does it rain when air is oversaturated with moisture? How does an infection spread among the population? The problems that mathematician Professor Frank den Hollander tries to solve come from physics, chemistry and biology.

How do bacteria sense and adapt to their environment? Ariane Briegel, Professor of Ultrastructural Biology, is intrigued by this question. Using new techniques, she produces three-dimensional images of bacteria that provide us with new clues about their sensory system.

Vera van Noort, professor in Computational Systems Biology at the KU Leuven (Belgium), is appointed holder of the rotating chair “Van der Klaauw Professor” for the year 2015-2016 at the Institute of Biology. Holders of the chair bring inspiring research and teaching in theoretical biology to the University.…

From educational adventures in the tropics, students building software for real customers, to bacteria that degrade plastics. Scroll through our highlights on educational innovation and the achievements of our students.

Evolution & Biodiversity is one of the four research themes of the Institute of Biology Leiden.

The maximum number of students that can be enrolled in the first year of the programme of the master Biomedical Sciences at LUMC is 100.

Maaike Kempes believes more attention should be paid to non-congenital brain injuries in suspects. This may partly explain their criminal behaviour.

Using E. coli bacteria to convert a toxic compound in the soil on Mars into oxygen to make life on the planet possible. A team of thirteen Leiden students are taking part in the annual iGEM competition with an entry based on this idea. iGEM is an international competition for students where they use…

The research master's specialisation Social and Organisational Psychology consists of five main parts: the general courses, the specialisation-specific courses, the elective courses, a research internship and a thesis.

A new technique using fluorescent imaging to track the actions of enzymes might aid drug design for new anti-cancer, inflammation and kidney disease treatments. Researchers at the University of York and Leiden University have published these findings in Nature Chemical Biology.

We should assume that animals can have feelings too. From an ethical point of view this should inform our dealings with animals, researchers from Leiden University and Utrecht University argue in an opinion article that was published in the scientific journal Affective Science on Thursday 10 March.

PhD defence

Increased molecular knowledge of the mechanisms of processes in the cell can lead to better medicines or new methods for combating diseases. Our MSc students in Life Science and Technology (LST) specifically learn to understand the molecular and structural chemical and biological aspects of disease-related…

PhD defence

In 2020, many of our staff and students have again won prestigious prizes and been awarded important research subsidies.

The Master’s Health, Ageing and Society stimulates interdisciplinary thought. Meaning that motivated students with a broad scale of Bachelor backgrounds will potentially be admitted to the programme.

Core Facilities are shared resources that provide access to instruments, technologies and services to researchers across the Institute of Biology. They are staffed by scientists with vast experience in their field, ensuring that all researchers can count not only on the latest available technology…

Pharmaceutical companies, governments and the general public have become increasingly aware that animal models used in drug testing lack vital aspects to serve as an accurate representation of human biology. As models of the human body should become more physiologically relevant, animal models no longer…

Bachelor and Master students of all chemistry related studies are more than welcome to take part in our research activities. We have projects on design and synthesis of biologically relevant compounds within an ongoing research project. Supervision, following the apprentice/teacher model, is one of…

The Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) is the basis for research and collaborations of the Leiden chemistry groups. Chemistry is the central science enabling a healthy future in a sustainable society. Chemistry researchers at Leiden University take a fundamental approach in finding tailored solutions…

PhD at Université de Picardie Jules Verne, Amiens - France

When you apply for admission, you’ll be asked to submit several documents.

The Netherlands X-omics Initiative is a new facility as part of the National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Infrastructures. It is partly funded by NWO with a total budget of 40 million euro. The project started on September 2018 and will last for ten years.

The Business Studies specialisation is for science students who consider employment opportunities in industry, and who are looking to acquire knowledge of business principles and training in managerial skills. The specialisation can be followed by students doing a two-year Masters degree in one of…

After graduation you have a lot of opportunities: the field of science communication is very broad. You can also aim for a career in industry or research.

In the last decades, activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) has emerged as a powerful chemical tool that may aid the ever-challenging drug discovery process.

When you apply for admission, you’ll be asked to submit several documents.

You’ve been accepted! Leiden University looks forward to welcoming you as a new student. Your next step is to prepare for your studies. Below you can find some tips to help you get a head start as you embark on your studies at Leiden University.

The master’s specialisation Biodiversity and Sustainability at Leiden University provides students with a much better understanding of the biological processes which are essential for creating a sustainable society.

From nanoparticles to colliding ice planets and from biological origami to new x-ray scanner techniques: this year again, our scientists have made wonderful discoveries. From the largest numbers to the smallest molecules and from the oldest galaxies up to the latest algorithms, take a look at each institute's…

Yeast, alpacas, and antibodies. They may seem unrelated, but within the project of the Leiden iGEM students, they come together perfectly. For the international synthetic biology competition iGEM, the team is working on an innovative method to produce nanobodies—a special form of antibodies—using brewer’s…

Peptides are routinely synthesized in the range of 5-80 amino acids, in an amount of 1-200 µmol (smaller and larger amounts are also possible).

Are you interested in combining your master programme with the Science Communication and Society specialisation? Learn more and watch the introduction video.

Are you interested in combining your Science master programme with the Education specialisation? Learn more and watch the introduction video.

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.

On December 4th, Flor Rhebergen received the 2015 Unilever Research prize for his study achievements at the IBL for his outstanding work in the field of Evolutionary Biology. Flor Rhebergen received the “Ovum” sculpture and was awarded €2.500.

Systems pharmacology aims to apply techniques from systems biology to pharmacological models.

On June 10, Michelle Achterberg received the prize for best dissertation from the Dutch Neurofederation, the network of Dutch neuroscientists, for her thesis 'Like me, ore else...'. Achterberg obtained her doctorate cum laude from the Gravitation Program 'Samen Uniek' of the Leiden Consortium on Individual…

Effectiveness of an early intervention program for anxiety-prone toddlers in the Netherlands

We are all aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. However, at the same time we also experience many difficulties when we are trying to change our behavior to become more healthy. For example, more often than not our good intentions to exercise more or to eat fewer unhealthy snacks fail miserably…

This research line is part of the living lab of the University’s Population Health interdisciplinary program, located at the LUMC Campus The Hague, where the Leiden University Medical Center collaborates with the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs and the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences…

Imagine scanning lion dung or a mouse dropping and instantly knowing exactly what and how much the animal has eaten. Thanks to new DNA techniques, this is becoming increasingly feasible. PhD student Kevin Groen tested how effective these techniques are at unraveling the diets of wild animals.