The explanation from physicist Scott Waitukaitis for the screaming and bouncing gel balls in a hot pan has been covered in several media, including the Washington Post.

Political scientist Gisela Hirschmann (Leiden University) has been awarded a fellowship at Harvard University. During the 2020 Spring semester she will join the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs to further her research on multilateralism.

There is an opening for a postdoc position at the University of Bern. The Swiss National Science Foundation has granted Prof. Dr Michael Stolz funding for four years for research on the library of the 15th century humanist Sigmund Gossembrot. The deadline for submission has been extended to 14 Novem…

On 10 December 2021, the GTGC Conflict, Peace and Security thematic group organized a research seminar. In this seminar, Tahir Abbas, from the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs, presented a draft on ERC grant application on the inter-generational…

Prof. dr. Roberta D'Alessandro has written an article on the increasing difficulties that researchers encounter when they apply for a research grant in the Netherlands.

The Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) invites applications for a PhD Position in the ERC Starting Grant project Pages of Prayer: The Ecosystem of Vernacular Prayer Books in the Late Medieval Low Countries, c. 1380-1550. Deadline: 30 November 2022.

On 8 April 2022, researchers of the seed grant project on 'How to Finance Climate Change Policies' presented their work to the Leiden Political Economy Group (L-PEG) and GTGC's Economy and Ecology thematic areas during a research seminar. The title of the presentation was 'How to Finance Green Investments?…

Stefan de Jong is Knowledge Broker at Luris. But what does Luris actually do? And what is a Knowledge Broker? This week we take a closer look at Stefan’s work.

We are pleased to announce a groundbreaking research study delving into crucial aspects of safety and responsibility in the domain of personal care robots, explicitly focusing on robotic lower-limb exoskeletons.

Next generation immunodermatology (NGID) is a nationwide, large-scale project, funded by a large grant of the Dutch NWO to unravel novel biomarkers for six different skin diseases. These biomarkers will drive a high-tech, patient-centric approach in clinical practice. Health psychologist Sylvia van…

Research to experiment with bacteria that grow like plants has been granted the NWO XS grant. These bacteria use light and carbon dioxide to grow, and will be designed especially for use in the biotechnological field. Tijn Delzenne and his supervisor Dennis Claessen can spend 50.000 euros on the exp…

In the Netherlands, anyone who loses their passport or ID card too often can be added to the Passport Alerts Register. As a result, a passport application may be denied or the passport must be surrendered. Rowie Stolk, PhD candidate at the Department of Constitutional and Administrative Law, spoke on…

What is the effect of training children to exercise self-control? Niko Steinbeis has been awarded a major European subsidy to find the answer to this question. The innovative aspects of this research are the target group, an individual approach to the training and examining the child brain the scann…

Psychologists Marieke Tollenaar, Anne Miers and Esther van den Bos received donations from the Leiden University Fund and Stichting Praesidium Libertatis to take crucial first steps in research projects that may eventually contribute to the well-being of vulnerable youth.

The Leiden Observatory has appointed a new professor. Selena Viti will hold a chair in Molecular Astrophysics. Viti will build a research group that combines different research techniques to unravel the secrets of local and external galaxies. ‘My main ambition is to change the way scientists interpret…

The Citizen Science Netherlands (CS-NL) network was officially launched this month with the aid of an Open Science NL grant. The new vision for this network was presented on 28 May.

The National Roadmap for Large-Scale Research Facilities programme of NWO enables the building or renovation of research facilities with international allure. Leiden NMR groups take part in the uNMR-NL consortium coordinated by Marc Baldus (Utrecht University) that has been awarded almost 18 million…

Soil ecologist Emilia Hannula has been awarded a Vidi grant by NWO to examine how soil could become a promising ally in combating climate change and improving biodiversity. ‘Soil creatures might be invisible’, she says, ‘but they play a huge role in creating a healthy environment.’

Sebastian Pomplun manages to reach proteins with drugs even where this was thought impossible. That is why he and his research group have been allowed to join Oncode Institute. With nine others, he had been selected from 72 applicants to contribute to Oncode Institute's mission: to accelerate breakthroughs…

In January 2020, Dr Min Jung Cho and Dr Annie Trevenen-Jones of LUC The Hague applied for the LUF - SVM (Stichting Verpakking en Milieu/ Foundation for Packaging and the Environment) grant. In June 2020 they were awarded a grant amounting to the sum of €75,000.

Pieter Houten is a PhD student in the ERC granted research project 'An Empire of 2000 Cities: urban networks and economic integration in the Roman empire', directed by Luuk De Ligt and John Bintliff (Archaeology).

Have you considered including the Leiden University Fund in your will?

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has awarded the Heineken Young Scientist Award 2020 in the Social Sciences to developmental psychologist Anna van Duijvenvoorde for her research on the development of the brain and behaviour in adolescents.

Within her research, Janna Marie Bas-Hoogendam covers multiple fields of study, like psychology and psychiatry. For this interdisciplinary work she will receive a major private science prize from the Foundation for Interdisciplinary Behavioural Research (SIGO). Why does the Leiden neuroscientist think…

Criminals? They are always men. At least, that’s what we tend to think. Historian Manon van der Heijden wants to show, however, that between 1600 and 1900 in Europe, women were responsible for a substantial share of the criminal activity. She has been granted a VICI award for her research.

Mysterious protein fibers show up in the brain cells of people suffering from Alzheimer’s' disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Leiden physicist Louise Jawerth has been awarded a Vidi grant to find out how these fibers form in the first place.

Depression has traditionally been linked to increased inflammation. Innovative research by psychologist Eiko Fried refutes this popular assumption. He shows that specific depression symptoms such as sleeping problems explain this relationship. Publication in Psychological Medicine .

With the help of a LUF grant, archaeology student Anne Wagemakers investigated an archaeological assemblage in Spain. Now her research report has won the annual LISF prize.

De crèche en het klaslokaal zijn misschien wel de meest gunstige plekken voor ziekteverwekkers. Toch is er relatief weinig bekend over hoe kinderen reageren op virussen en bacteriën en hoe het komt dat sommige kinderen veel beter beschermd zijn dan anderen. Simon Jochems, onderzoeker aan het Leids Universitair…

We catched up with Annette Righolt, Honours College coordinator at FGGA, about a grant, a new course and the new year.

Political scientist Wouter Veenendaal received an NWO Veni grant for his research on the political stability of small states. 'I find small states fascinating, they are almost always excluded from comparative research, while in fact they often challenge existing theories in political science.'

An international research team consisting of Katharina Riebel as leading PI and two international collaborators were awarded a Human Frontier Science Program grant for their proposal ‘Seeing voices’: the role of multimodal cues in vocal learning.

Who will be affected by certain chronic diseases, and who will not? For 30 percent that depends on heredity factors, whereas no less than seventy percent is explained by external factors. A Dutch research consortium receives 18 million euros from the prestigious Zwaartekrachtsubsidies to study these…

The University of Lille offers four postdoc positions in the ERC Advanced Grant 2020 AGRELITA Project, « The reception of ancient Greece in pre-modern French literature and illustrations of manuscripts and printed books (1320-1550): how invented memories shaped the identity of European communities »,…

A temporary position of Senior Researcher (SKO 1109) in Medieval Studies is available at the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History, University of Oslo. The position will be linked to the ERC Advanced Grant project 101018645 MINiTEXTS “Minuscule Texts: Marginalized Voices in Early Medieval…

Evelyn Bosma, researcher at the Fryske Akademy and LUCL, is the winner of the first science prize Campus Fryslân.

Announcement

Utrecht University is looking for two researchers (1 PhD candidate and 1 Postdoc) to form the team of the VIDI project Lettercraft and Epistolary Performance in Early Medieval Europe, 476–751 CE, granted to dr. Robert Flierman and running from 2023-2027. As a PhD candidate, you will conduct a case study…

On 7 and 8 October 2016 Leiden Law School received a visit from the external review committee, led by Mr Fred Hammerstein. This review committee reports on the results of research performed at the faculty and provides advice on how these results can be improved in the future. The assessment of the research…

A consortium of international researchers comes with a unique solution to the energy problem. By mimicking photosynthesis, they aim to produce sustainable fuels out of sunlight, water, and CO2. Their secret? ‘Soap bubbles’, says Leiden chemist Sylvestre Bonnet, who is part of the consortium.

Political scientist Corinna Jentzsch received an NWO Veni grant for her research on the conditions of collaboration between militias and state forces and its consequences for safety and political order.

What starts off gently may end dramatically. Many young people these days fall victim to sexual exploitation. How can we prevent this suffering? Ieke de Vries points to the living environment of (potential) victims.

Marike van Aerde was at the brink of traveling to India for fieldwork when that country closed its borders, three weeks ago. Only a few days later, Leiden University followed suit in temporarily banning all fieldwork trips. With her research team scattered across different continents, she does her best…

To what extent do nanoparticles accumulate in plants and animals, and what properties of the particles play a part in this? Willie Peijnenburg, professor of Environmental toxicology and biodiversity was awarded a Marie Curie grant to conduct research on the environmental effects of nanoparticles.

Nine talented Leiden researchers have been awarded a Vidi subsidy by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Vidis are intended for researchers with several years of research experience who want to set up or expand their own line of research.

The Municipality of The Hague called on researchers to come up with a proposal for an innovative research project on problems big cities face such as energy transition. Four of the five projects that have been granted funding come from researchers from Leiden University.

Psychologist Ellen de Bruijn studies the effects of hormonal fluctuations on behaviour and on the brain over a woman's life course. With an ERC Consolidator grant, she and 3 PhDs and a postdoc will further her EEG research on the different stages at which girls and women experience strong hormonal f…

Acute stress seems to have a surprisingly positive effect on our health. Researcher Erin Faught received an NWO veni grant to find out why that is and how we can use that knowledge to our advantage. For her lab research, she uses a remarkable small animal to learn more about our own stress levels.

Back in 2008, Jason Laffoon moved from Chicago to Leiden. He came to join the Faculty of Archaeology’s Caribbean research group as a PhD candidate. Now he is an assistant professor, bridging departments through his innovative research methods. ‘I focus both on the archaeology of the Americas, as well…

Fish populations in lakes and rivers have declined in recent decades. This is probably due to light and noise pollution. The Horizon Europe grant enables ecologist Hans Slabbekoorn to investigate this and improve the situation for migrating fish. In order to do so, a seven-metre-long swimming tunnel…