The way organisms develop from the initial single-cellular state to a complex final assembly like the human body, and how the final body is maintained throughout life, is one of the greatest mysteries and it’s understanding one of the biggest scientific challenges.

To be able to identify, slow down and reverse functional deterioration in the elderly to give them more years of good health.

Promotores: T.H.W. Bäck, A. Plaat, Co-promotor: F.J. Verbeek

The effective treatment of tuberculosis (TB) remains a major challenge to global health.

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is the second most common type of breast cancer.

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…

To increase clinical success rate of drugs, a better understanding of drug action mechanism and disease dynamics is required. Metabolomics, which studies small molecules involved in biochemical processes in organisms, has shown to be a useful tool for this better understanding.

The aim of this project is to develop accurate but interpretable ensemble learning methods for high-dimensional multi-domain data.

Source: Org Biomol Chem, Volume 13, Issue 8, pp. 2407-22 (2015)

On this page, you can find video's explaining the research of LUCAS members.

This project explores themes at the intersection of maritime history and environmental history by looking at the problems Dutch ships encountered in the different climates of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds, and the solutions they could provide.

Can the pink-pigmented microbe Methylobacterium extorquens be genetically engineered to convert the sustainable raw material methanol into antibiotics?

New and reemerging infectious diseases call for innovative and efficient control strategies of which fast vaccine design and development represent an important element.

This thesis explores different avenues to develop insurmountable antagonists for CC Chemokine Receptors, such as CCR1, CCR2 and CCR5.

Promotor: G.A. van der Marel, Co-promotor: D.C. Codée

Promotor: W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: A. Hawe

Within this project, PeptoMiktoStars were realized through an orthogonal protecting group strategy and should be investigated further regarding their potential as drug delivery systems in the field of drug delivery to inflamed areas in cancer, bacterial infections or autoimmune diseases.

The thesis describes the use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, in continuous wave and pulse modes, to address the interaction of α-Synuclein (αS) with membranes and the aggregation of αS.

Sepsis is a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to infection, it is associated with significant morbidity, mortality, and with a high financial burden on global healthcare systems. Bacterial infections are the primary cause of sepsis, but the growing prevalence of antimicrobial…

Viral hemorrhagic fever (VHF) is a group of acute diseases caused by highly infectious viruses including Ebola, Lassa, Dengue viruses. Its high mortality rate poses high risk to public health, however, studies on VHF have been hampered due to the non-availability of proper models and incomplete knowledge…

Autophagy is a fundamental degradative process, maintaining cellular homeostasis and functions in host defense against intracellular pathogens, including mycobacteria and Salmonella.

Bioarchaeology covers the study of all biological remains from archaeological sites.

Can we link multiple components from herbal extracts with their biological activities?

Traditional drug discovery approaches have been hampered by (in vitro) cell-culture models that poorly represent the situation in the human body.

In A History of Plague in Java, 1911–1942, Maurits Bastiaan Meerwijk demonstrates how the official response to the 1911 outbreak of plague in Malang led to one of the most invasive health interventions in Dutch colonial Indonesia.

The research connected to this topic is related to E-health.

This thesis describes the development and optimization of the first molecular tools to study the enzyme PLA2G4E.

The goal of target discovery is to identify and validate proteins and biological pathways that are involved in the disease process. Modulating these target proteins and pathways with small molecules, therapeutic proteins or other biomolecules (e.g. mRNA) could deliver an effective and safe drug or v…

Promotores: Prof.dr. E.A.L. Biessen, Prof.dr. T.J.C. van Berkel

Promotors: W. Jiskoot; G.J. Witkamp, Co-promotor: M.R. Nejadnik

In this thesis, we have studied the potential of the zebrafish larval model in studying the ECS, as a complementary model to the existing rodent models.

Although there has been an increase in the research into brain function and dysfunction in relation to stress and emotions, there are still many unanswered questions.

Macromolecular Biochemistry is a section of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry at Leiden University, comprising the PIs Marcellus Ubbink, Remus Dame, Aimee Boyle, Lars Jeuken and Anne Wentink.

How are new drugs developed? This question is central to the Minor Modern Drug Discovery (MDD), which covers the entire trajectory from disease to drug molecule and vice versa. The various research groups involved offer a complementary and interdisciplinary perspective by connecting the diverse subjects…

This multidisciplinary minor provides students with knowledge on how and why humans became the way they are. The minor focuses on the evolution of the species Homo sapiens from other hominin lineages and animal ancestors, and on the various factors shaping this process. Not only is human evolution of…

If you wish to know exactly what is going on in a healthy or sick human body, and at various levels such as molecule, cell, tissue, organ, larger systems and a person as a whole? Do you wish to learn how to do research which contributes to diagnoses, treatment and prevention of diseases? Then the bachelor…

LUC graduates have an internationally-recognised Bachelors honours degree (BA/BSc) that qualifies them to apply for competitive programmes at top research universities. Over 90% of our alumni continue their studies into a master programme.

Diacylglycerol lipases (DAGLα and DAGLβ) are responsible for the biosynthesis of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG) in the brain and peripheral tissues. Selective DAGLβ inhibitors have been proposed as a potential treatment for inflammatory diseases with reduced potential for central…

The research at The Metabolomics & Analytics Centre is centered around developing innovating analytical methods to enable metabolomics-driven systems biology in personalized health strategies.

Biotherapeutics or biologics, such as proteins, peptides, and nucleic acids, comprise an increasing share of the pharmaceutical market, whilst offering new therapies for difficult-to-treat diseases. Most notable is their contribution to the vaccination efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. In most cases,…

Metabolomics has the potential to play a pivotal role in understanding disease onset and progression, and ultimately personalized treatments. One of its major challenges is its large-scale implementation, which is necessary to deal with the high variability of the metabolome. In this work we have developed…

Natashe Lemos Dekker addresses the experiences of family members of people with dementia as they expressed their sense of gradually losing the person with dementia in the article 'Anticipatory Grief in Dementia: An Ethnographic Study of Loss and Connection' published in Culture, Medicine, and Psychi…

In the master's programme Biomedical Sciences you learn interdisciplinary approaches to address scientific and societal challenges in the field of (bio)medical sciences. The research in our programme relates to the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. You will acquire a skill set suitable…

In the master's programme Biomedical Sciences you learn interdisciplinary approaches to address scientific and societal challenges in the field of (bio)medical sciences. The research in our programme relates to the maintenance of health and prevention of disease. You will acquire a skill set suitable…

Accurate prediction of the unbound drug concentration-time profile at the CNS target site is crucial for the assessment of the right drug concentration-effect relationship. PBPK models have supported the PK prediction of the CNS target sites and the translation of PK data between species and between…

A Pointer investigation has found that more than 30 Dutch podcasts regularly spread misinformation. Assistant professor Michael Klos spoke to Pointer about preventing misinformation in the media: ‘Realistically, you’re never going to achieve 100% moderation.’

Professor of Radiology Lioe-Fee de Geus-Oei was already a professor at LUMC and the University of Twente. As Medical Delta professor, she has now also been appointed at Delft University of Technology. 'Talking with people from other disciplines always makes me immensely humble, because they look at…

In this project, we will study the genetic and environmental drivers of woodiness and stem lignification at the level of plant‐to‐gene‐to‐molecule.

The importance of a healthy lifestyle does not receive the attention it deserves, as the coronavirus pandemic made painfully clear. Twelve behavioural scientists, including Professor Behavioral Interventions in Population Health Management Marieke Adriaanse and Professor of Health Psychology Andrea…