Epithelial-mesenchymal plasticity (EMP) and tumor cell migration play an important role in cancer progression, and an improved understanding of the mechanisms underlying these concepts is essential for developing new targeted approaches.

Promotor: Prof.dr. B. van de Water

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. Metastasis, the process by which cancer cells spread to other parts of the body, makes treatments less effective. It is important to unravel the mechanism of metastasis.

Immunotherapies for cancer are an emerging class of therapeutic strategies which aim to treat cancer via augmentation of the immune system.

Growth hormone profiles are pulsatile and highly variable between individuals, limiting the implementation of mathemathical models to quantify an individual's secretion.

Adenosine is an endogenous ligand which exerts its action by activating adenosine receptors (ARs), while its circulating levels are controlled via a variety of mechanism and proteins, amongst others the equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENTs).

Promotores: Prof.dr. C.A.J. Knibbe, Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Prof.dr. K. Allegaert (Leuven)

Promotor: B. van de Water

Promotores: Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Prof.dr. D.R. Stanski

Traditionally, vaccines are administered intramuscularly using conventional hypodermic needles, which cause pain and distress. Microneedles are very short needles (smaller than 1 mm) that are practically invisible to the naked eye.

Promotor: J. van der Greef, T. Hankemeier; Co-promotor: H.A. van Wietmarschen

Prematurely born neonates require, amongst others, pharmaceutical therapy. Dosing guidelines for these therapies are often based on data from term born neonates or older infants, while these are not necessarily similar to prematurely born neonates.

Promotor: Prof.dr. T. Hankemeier, Co-promotor: Theo Reijmers

Promotor: Prof.dr. J. Kuiper

Promotor: Prof.dr. A. P. IJzerman, Co-Promotor: L.H. Heitman

De juiste student op de juiste plek

In this thesis, the role of mast cells in atherosclerosis and novel therapeutic strategies to inhibit atherosclerosis progression are discussed. The first part of the thesis specifically focuses on the relation between mast cells and advanced human atherosclerotic plaque characteristics.

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.

Heart failure is a major health care problem with high mortality.

Europese burgers worden geconfronteerd met uitdagingen op het gebied van globalisering, migratie, technologische ontwikkelingen en klimaatverandering. Deze uitdagingen vergen het uiterste van onderlinge internationale en intergenerationele solidariteit, wat rechtstreeks betrekking heeft op de grondslagen…

The research described in this thesis shows that hypercholesterolemia, a well-established risk factor for atherosclerosis, can impact skin lipid pool and barrier function already at young age. In the field of atherosclerosis, we showed that the small peptide Lyp-1 can be used as a targeting molecule…

The CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), a member of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, is widely involved in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. However, no drugs for this receptor have made it to the pharmaceutical market yet.

Healthy aging is one of the prime goals in today's society and atherosclerosis is among the greatest causes of morbidity in elderly. Cardiovascular disease patients receiving treatment are often of advanced aged and have an aged immune system, which limits translating experimental findings to the pa…

Promotor: Prof.dr. J.A. Bouwstra, Co-promotor: A. El Ghalbzouri

Promotores: B. van de Water; P. Hogendoorn; J. Bovée Co-Promotor: E.H.J. Danen

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

Tsolin Nalbantian wil studenten leren hun kennis te vertalen naar een breed publiek.

Promotor: M. Danhof Co-promotor: O.E. Della Pasqua

The chemical and structural heterogeneity of toxoid vaccines makes their analysis challenging. However, detailed insights on a molecular level can be obtained by mass spectrometry.

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…

Cancer is considered the silent pandemic of the 21st century and the second leading cause of death worldwide.

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

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

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death worldwide. The most important risk factor for developing this disease is high cholesterol levels in the blood.

Neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), are increasing in prevalence due to the aging population. Despite extensive study, these diseases are still not fully understood and the lack of personalised treatment options that can target the cause of the diseases, rather than the symptoms,…

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Danhof

Promotor: W. Jiskoot, Co-promotor: H.A. Every

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death worldwide, and better models are urgently needed for disease progression studies and drug development.

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

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Danhof, Co-Promotor: J. de Jongh

De Faculteit der Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen is gevestigd op verschillende locaties in het Bio Science Park Leiden.

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

Promotor: J. Kuiper

The investigation into the bidirectional communication between the gut and its host is a rapidly growing area of research, attracting considerable attention for its potential to provide crucial insights into health and disease.

Promotors: C.A.J. Knibbe, Anthonius de Boer, Co-promotor: M.M.J. van der Vorst

Dissolving microneedles are a subgroup of microneedle types that completely dissolve within the skin. During this dissolving process the vaccine, stored in the needle matrix, is released into the skin.

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

This thesis tackles the difficulty of predicting the liver’s clinical response to novel therapies, a challenge arising from interspecies differences and limitations of existing in vitro models.

Inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis and atopic dermatitis can severely impact both the physical and social aspect of a patient’s life. Aberrant inflammatory responses are thought to be a major causative factor in these disorders, but an abundance of different factors contribute to the development…

This thesis investigates a pharmacological challenge model induced by Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) activation, focusing on skin inflammation and its implications for early drug development.