Our group operates at the cross-roads of different disciplines: molecular and cellular microbiology, biochemistry, structural biology and biophysics. The group harbors expertise in a multitude of molecular and cellular approaches including:

Cathodic corrosion for producing nanoparticles was (re)discovered when trying to control the electrochemical etching of a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) tip.

We study cell-fate decision-making using embryonic stem cells as a model system. Stem cells integrate a large number of cues to direct their development into a great variety of cell types.

PhD defence

Making the most vibration-free, cryogenic scanning tunneling microscope in the world. A bold mission, but one that PhD candidate Irene Battisti successfully executed together with the Fine Mechanical Department. The new microscope might shed light on how unconventional superconductivity works. PhD Defence…

The "Van Marum Colloquia" are a collaborative lecture series between the LION and LIC institutes, focusing on fundamental and applied surface science.

Four scientists from Leiden University have each been awarded a Starting Grant by the European Research Council (ERC). This grant, worth up to two million euros, gives researchers the opportunity to head up a research team for five years.

Physical chemist Rik Mom developed a revolutionary way to investigate catalysts in action in detail. For this work he received the distinction cum laude during his PhD defence on 29 June.

On Tuesday September 11th, the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) organizes the third edition of its annual Science Day. Scientists from disciplines all across the physics spectrum will elaborate on their research during seventeen interactive talks. LION organizes the event to showcase the full range…

Leiden physicists are helping Wageningen plant researchers to study unpredictable plant embryos. For this, they are using a novel two-photon fluorescence microscope, aided by a 30 thousand euro ZonMW grant.

Vera Meester has won the annual Physics Image Award 2016, with her photo of 'smiling' colloids. The Volkskrant published the picture as Image of the Week.

Α-synuclein, a protein associated with Parkinson’s disease, proves to bind with membranes in a surprisingly efficient way. It confirms scientists’ suspicion of the protein’s leading role in the transmission of neurotransmitters between nerve cells in the brain. Publication in PLoS ONE.

Research at the THEOR group is comprised of the following research themes:

List of Support Departments at LION and the Faculty of Science

We find ourselves in an era of transition, not just towards a more computing- and data-driven society but also away from unsustainable fossil fuels as an energy source.

Protein–protein complexes are formed via transient states called encounter complexes that greatly influence the formation of the stereospecific complex.

In this dissertation, the synthesis and characterization of a series of iron complexes based on different ligand platforms are described.

Majorana meets a mermaid

Promotor: R. Gill, Co-promotor: P. Massart

Nonadiabatic energy transfer from the translational motion (T) of a molecule impinging on metal surface to the metal’s electrons may determine whether the molecule can lose enough energy to adsorb or react.

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Ubbink

Our world is shrinking, or at least our electronic devices are. From PCs to mobile phones: everything is smaller and thinner. The smaller the chip, the better it can conduct electricity and pass on information.

What physics controls the properties of quantum matter, such as how electrons flow inside high-temperature superconductors? This question has captivated the physics community and industry for decades, in part due to the great technological potential such materials have, but also because they have resisted…

Science, Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC)

Research on this theme addresses the systemic risks faced by European societies and affecting the quality of life of European citizens.

Understanding the temporal modes of digital mapping.

A theoretical project on the insights gained by human (including infant), nonhuman animal and computational studies on artificial grammar learning; identifying the critical questions for future research by developing novel experimental and computational approaches to address these issues.

Carl Li defended his thesis on 30 June 2015

On 3 and 4 June 2015 a delegation from the biotechnology and biomedicine center in Prague (BIOCEV) visited the Faculty of Science in Leiden, as well as the Netherlands Centre for Electron Microscopy (NeCEN). The delegation was interested to see the potential for collaboration in the field of cryo transmission…

In this research group, headed by Bob Van de Water, cell signaling programs that underlie adverse drug reactions as well as cancer development and progression are unraveled. Adverse drug reactions involve cell injury in critical target organ cells which leads to the activation of cellular stress response…

Life Sciences Artificial Intelligence Data Science

The goal of hit and lead optimization is to optimize suitable chemical starting points that can modulate a drug target. The methods and technologies used are similar to those in Hit Discovery, but once the compound has shown activity in an animal model, it moves from 'hit' to 'lead.'

Lecture

Research in the Daniela Kraft Lab focuses on self-assembly in biological and soft matter systems, ranging from anisotropic colloidal particles to lipid membranes, emulsions, and viruses.

The refurbished P.J. Veth Building - the first completed sub-project in the Humanities Campus project - was officially opened in the summer of 2017. The Faculty of Humanities moved in straight away. . The building was meticulously transformed into a modern teaching building with attractive areas for…

As an alternative to the diving board shaped force sensor, we are now developing a magnetically levitated small superconducting particle – or ‘Lead Zeppelin'' – as our mechanical resonator. We explore routes towards detection of gravity between small objects.

Brownian motion is the random motion of (colloidal) particles due to collisions with the atoms and molecules of the solvents, which are moving due to temperature.

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) remain one of the major reasons for patient mortality and (early) drug withdrawal. Currently, different in vivo and in vitro models are used to assess the toxic potential of drugs in the pre-clinical phase. Unfortunately, the predictive value of this model does not fit…

Promotor: M.A.G.J. Orrit

Promotor: M.T.M. Koper, Co-Promotor: L.B.F. Juurlink

Promotor: E.R. Eliel, Co-Promotor: M.J.A. de Dood

Deficiency of glucocerebrosidase (GBA) underlies Gaucher disease, a common lysosomal storage disorder. Carriership for Gaucher disease has recently been identified as major risk for parkinsonism. Presently, no method exists to visualize active GBA molecules in situ. We here report the design, synthesis…

The zebrafish is a promising vertebrate model organism in early drug discovery and development.

Promotor: J. A. Bouwstra

The main aim of this thesis was to unravel the signaling and regulatory networks that drive tumor cell migration during breast cancer metastasis.

Electrocatalysis allows for storing electricity or converting it into chemical bonds, producing chemical building blocks and fuels using renewable resources.

Some species of proteins which can form liquid-like condensates, also exhibit growth into fibers (or fibrils). One particularly interesting set of such proteins are those that are associated with neurodegeneration in which the fiber growth may be related to the pathological fibrils observed in disea…

This dissertation investigates ikat from the eastern Indonesian islands from a uniquely technical perspective, including design analysis of asymmetry and microscopy.