Afscheidscollege

Urbanisation is steadily increasing with estimates expecting that 68% of the global population will live in cities by 2050. To accommodate the rural to urban transition, large quantities of land are transformed from natural to urban lands.

Promotor: H.J.A. Röttgering, Co-promotor: M. Haverkorn

As a non-invasive genetic method, eDNA based approaches have become an important component of ecologists' and environmental managers' toolkits for biomonitoring in conservation and an increasingly important source of ecological knowledge.

Promotor: Prof.dr. G.R. de Snoo

At the largest scales, two ingredients dictate the distribution of matter in the Universe. The first is dark matter, acting as an invisible scaffolding held together by gravitational forces.

Bacterial chemosensory arrays are protein assemblies that are the key structural and functional component for motile bacteria to sense their internal or environmental chemical signals.

An Active Galactic Nucleus (AGN) is a highly luminous region at the center of a galaxy, powered by the accretion into a supermassive black hole and emitting energy from radio waves to gamma rays, often outshining the host galaxy.

We investigate the buildup of galaxies from various vantage points. The first two chapters focus on the stellar content of galaxies, especially the distribution of stellar masses at birth and potential variations therein in various galactic environments.

The prevalence of obesity (BMI >40 kg/m2) has increased rapidly over the recent years, not only in adults, but also in children and adolescents.

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel

Every organisms in the tree of life faces the same challenge: the length of its DNA exceeds the volume of the cell it needs to fit in. Several strategies have evolved to solve this problem, one of them being the expression of proteins that bind and organize the DNA.

Three major cosmology-focused missions are planned for the next decade: the Euclid space telescope, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.

Promotor: W.Th.F. den Hollander Co-Promotor: F.M. Spieksma

In this thesis, the focus lies on studying glucocorticoid receptor dynamics in living cells with the aim of understanding how this transcription factor finds its DNA target sites to regulate transcription.

A century ago, it was unclear whether the stars in the sky were clustered in groups, or widely spread in the universe.

Several single-stranded RNA viruses make use of Xrn1-resistant RNAs in their 3’ untranslated regions of their genome RNAs in order to increase their pathogenicity.

Promotor: G.F.A. Kersten, W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: B. Metz

We explored how to morphologically classify well-resolved jetted radio-loud active galactic nuclei (RLAGN) in the LOw Frequency Array (LOFAR) Two-metre Sky Survey (LoTSS) using machine learning.

In this thesis, we study different curved single crystals because of the diversity of surface structures across their curvature.

Trigonostemon Blume is a plant genus in the family Euphorbiaceae comprising 59 species.

Taxonomy as a science has accumulated data and knowledge for more than 250 years.

Promotor: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens

The Vallesian, 11.1-9 Ma, was a special time in the Vallès-Penedes basin near Barcelona, where a biodiversity hotspot existed. Europe had a subtropical climate, with rhinos, forest giraffes, lions, hyenas, flying squirrels and primates.

In this thesis, we present new laboratory data of interstellar dust analogues.

Promotor: Prof.dr. E. F. van Dishoeck

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

Supervisor: S.F. Portegies Zwart Co-Supervisor: A.G.A. Brown

De afdeling Environmental Biology (CML-EB) houdt zich bezig met vraagstukken rondom biodiversiteit en natuurlijke hulpbronnen op het platteland in westerse en niet-westerse gebieden.

This thesis focuses on the X-ray spectral analysis of merging galaxy clusters and the plasma code development for future high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy observations.

Promotor: A. Kros

This thesis focuses on enhancing predictions of central nervous system drug exposure using the LeiCNS-PK3.0, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model.

Promotor: C.A.J. Knibbe, Co-promotores: H.P.A. van Dongen, B. van Ramshorst

The availability of indicators based on social media has opened the possibility to track the online interactions between social media users and scholarly entities.

In astronomy, the interpration of observations and measurements plays a crucial role: we rely purely and fundamentally on the information that reaches us as observers. And 80% of all matter in the universe is undetectable directly.

Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) are mechanical waves that travel along the surface of a material and find many applications in modern technologies due to the ease of excitation on piezoelectric substrates via interdigital transducers (IDTs).

Voltammetry plays a crucial role in modern scientific research by offering valuable insights into the electrochemical properties of materials, with wide-ranging applications in fields such as materials science, energy storage, corrosion studies, and sensor development.

The high velocity tail of the total velocity distribution of stars provides essential insight into fundamental properties of the Galaxy.

This thesis presents pioneering work on the panchromatic emission of some of the most luminous galaxies in the early Universe: star forming galaxies and active galactic nuclei.

Microscopic insight on lipid-based nanomedicine in vivo remains limited to the perception of the knowledge that could be obtained: if we interpret only what we see, then we only believe to know. Although believing to know encapsulates an undefined amount of uncertainty in the exploration of lipid-based…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E Gittenberger, Co-Promotores: C.H.J.M. Fransen, B.W. Hoeksema

Particles are omnipresent in biopharmaceutical products. In protein-based therapeutics such particles are generally associated with impurities, either derived from the drug product itself (e.g. protein aggregates), or from extrinsic contaminations (e.g. cellulose fibers).

Promotoren: R. Tijdeman, A.K. Lenstra, Co-promotor: H.J.J. te Riele

For each living organism health is ensured by correct functioning of its cells. Cells therefore have elaborate methods for regulation of their proteins.

“Temminck’s Order” is the scientific biography of Coenraad Jacob Temminck (1778–1850), a Dutch naturalist and the first director of ’s Rijks Museum van Natuurlijke Historie in Leiden.

Interactive exploration of large volumes of data is increasingly common, as data scientists attempt to extract interesting information from large opaque data sets. This scenario presents a difficult challenge for traditional database systems, as (1) nothing is known about the query workload in advance,…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. Smets. Co-promotores: B. Gravendeel, F. Pupulin

This thesis is a (biased) journey through very different topics in astrophysics: quasars and new populations of active galactic nuclei, gravitational waves from merging black holes, and protoplanetary discs around young stars.

De Universiteit Leiden ontwikkelt sinds 2017 short-stay woonruimte voor buitenlandse gasten en werknemers. Bemiddeling bij de verhuur gebeurt via het Service Centre International Staff (SCIS). Het Vastgoedbedrijf Universiteit Leiden zorgt voor het onderhoud.

Promotores: B. Erez, P. Stevenhagen, Co-Promotor: B. de Smit