Glucocorticoids (GCs) are widely prescribed as anti-inflammatory drugs due to their well-established immunosuppressive effects.

Cardiovascular syndromes are the major cause of death in Western societies.

Promotores: Prof.dr. H.P. Spaink & Prof.dr. P.C.W. Hogendoorn Co-promotor: Dr. M.J.M. Schaaf

Promotores: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper, Prof.dr. P.H.A. Quax, Co-promotor: I. Bot

Promotor: H.P. Spaink, Co-Promotor: A.H. Meijer

One of the main challenges in the development of an effective anti-cancer vaccine is the generation of an adequate and directed cellular immune response.

Nanoparticles can be used as delivery systems for both small molecules and macromolecules such as proteins, peptides or oligonucleotides. This thesis focuses on the use of liposomes, nanometric vesicles formed by a lipid bilayer enclosing an aqueous core. Liposomes are highly versatile delivery syst…

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper

Cardiovascular diseases are the primary cause of death in the world with atherosclerosis as primary underlying cause.

Cardiovascular diseases are among the most frequent causes of death in the world. The main underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases is the development of atherosclerosis in the medium and large-sized arteries.

This thesis focuses on two processes involved in fighting infections: metabolism and immune cell motility and navigation.

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is one of the main reasons for drug attrition during pre-clinical and clinical phases of drug development as well as for drug withdrawal post-marketing.

The cellular metabolism of immune cells constitutes an important part of their proper function and activation. Using T cells as an example, this phenomenon is highlighted by the metabolic reprogramming that occurs in these cells upon activation.

Promotor: H.P. Spaink, A.H. Meijer Co-promotor: R. Marin-Juez

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.N. Kok

This work describes the use of click-to-release chemistry to get spatiotemporal control over immunocytokine activity. Until now, immunocytokines (cytokines coupled to a tumor-targeting-moiety) remained active throughout the body, being able to bind their respective receptors, causing mild to severe…

This thesis advances our understanding of lipid uptake, a vital first step in lipid metabolism, by developing innovative click chemistry-based tools to study how immune cells internalize lipids.

Promotor: C.J. ten Cate, Co-promotor: H.W. Slabbekoorn

Promotie

Promotor: B. van de Water

Acute cardiovascular syndromes, including myocardial infarction or stroke, are the principal cause of death in the Western society. The main underlying pathology of cardiovascular diseases is atherosclerosis, which is caused by the accumulation of lipids and inflammatory cells in the vessel wall, in…

Promotie

Promotor: M.L. van Hecke

Promotor: M.K. Richardson, Co-Promotor: F. Witte

New drugs for use as tuberculosis (TB) treatment are needed due to the constrains of classical antibiotics against TB and the rise of antibiotic-resistant strains, making TB a harder and harder disease to treat.

This thesis describes the synthesis and biological evaluation of TLR2/6, TLR4, TLR7/8 and TLR9 ligands, of which the activity can be conditionally controlled.

Promotie

Thirty years ago, mutations in the BRCA1 gene were first linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer, establishing a genetic basis for cancer development.

The aims of the project are to: further clarify 'inhibition by safety'; explore and describe all possible sagety factors, with a special focus on the primary human safety source: social connectedness; reviewing prolonged stress responses without stressors.

The focus of the described research in this thesis is on the oxidative stress response (Nrf2 pathway). The aim of the research presented in this thesis is to obtain more information concerning microRNAs which are involved in the Nrf2 pathway, to determine and evaluate the application of microRNAs for…

There is accumulating evidence for an increase in severe global drought events. In particular, Europe experienced several severe droughts in 2003, 2015, and 2018 (unprecedented in the past 2,110 years). Such droughts have caused serious and far-reaching impacts on terrestrial ecosystems.

This thesis focuses on important life history traits and their trade-offs using two hexapod models. Particularly, the trade-off between immune defense and embryonic developmental speed is a central theme of this study.

Deze sociaal-juridische studie richt zich op de implementatie van wetgeving en beleid op het gebied van klimaatverandering in ontwikkelingslanden met een zwakke rechtsstaat en de (onvoorziene) effecten daarvan op de landrechten van kwetsbare bevolkingsgroepen.

In summary, the collective results described in this thesis show that nanoparticulate vaccines can be delivered intradermally by coated and hollow microneedles and evoke antigen-specific immune responses.

In order to gain a better insight into the basis of the rapid jasmonic acid (JA)-mediated stress response, an integrated approach using a targeted high-resolution mass spectrometry-based (HRMS) platform, was conducted to monitor the metabolism of JA using the model system of cell suspension cultures…

Promotor: Prof.dr. P. Hooykaas, Co-promotor: R. Offringa

The power of personalized nutrition lies in being able to conduct clinical research on healthy people while capturing metabolic markers sensitive to the impact of environmental and metabolic stressors (e.g. diet, changing sex hormones and the menstrual cycle).

Despite the fact that gold nanoparticles (GNPs) are one of the most studied nanoparticles, there is still a necessity for new approaches allowing for effective protective coating to enable wider use of GNPs in biomedical applications.

In this research project, we aimed to obtain more insight in the role of mast cells in the immune driven disorders rheumatoid arthritis and atherosclerosis.

Promotie

Promotie

Bulgarije kwam relatief ongeschonden uit de eerste golf, maar in het najaar van 2020 namen het aantal infecties, ziekenhuisopnames en sterfgevallen sterk toe. Dit onderzoek analyseert hoe de Bulgaarse regering op de Covid-19 pandemie heeft gereageerd.

Promotor: Prof.dr. W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg

Stemwijzers—applicaties die kiezers helpen te bepalen welke partij of kandidaat het beste past bij hun politieke voorkeur—spelen een steeds belangrijker rol in verkiezingen. De politicologen Martin Rosema (Universeit Twente) en Tom Louwerse (Universiteit Leiden) onderzoeken of het ontwerp van deze publicaties…

Op12 promoveert Alice Ross T. Morta. Het Leiden University Centre for Linguistics feliciteert Alice!

Promotores: Prof.dr. W.J.G.M. Peijnenburg & Dr. M.G. Vijver

Cardiovascular disease is a major global burden and atherosclerosis is the main underlying pathological process.

Patients share valuable advice and experiences with their peers in online patient discussion groups.

Promotor: J. Kuiper