Overview research groups
The Cell Observatory is a facility in which research groups from different disciplines work side by side. At this moment seven research groups from five different institutes of Universiteit Leiden have placed equipment or installed software in the Cell Observatory. In this way participants make their facilities available for each other, as well as their knowledge and expertise.
The Molecular Genetics group is involved in fundamental research related to the structure, regulation and maintenance of the genetic material in various organisms ranging from the bacterium Escherichia coli and the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to human cells. Both DNA and RNA related processes are studied.
Intrigued by the way cells autonomously regulate their fait we strive to understand and visualize processes that are at the basis of life. Although extensive knowledge exists about the molecular players, their structure, and their respective interactions, in many cellular processes the spatio-temporal organization of all the players plays an essential role.
We study signal transduction mechanisms in the context of development and disease. The zebrafish, with its optically transparent embryos and suitability for genetic research, is used as the major test organism and compared with the human system. We focus on the function of signal molecules and receptors that play a role in innate immunity, cancer cell migration and embryonic development. Our major objectives are to study how cells can distinguish between different signals (self and non-self) and to investigate how the recognition of these signals dynamically alters cellular polarity.
Research within our group revolves around the atomic structures of large bio-molecules and their complexes. Autonomous research within BSC is focused on fundamental aspects of macromolecular structure determination. Collaborative research with other groups is aimed at understanding macromolecular structure with the biological, functional context. Applied research is spun out into commercial ventures to generate new facilities for fundamental research.
The Division of Toxicology is part of the Center for Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences that belongs to the research school Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research (LACDR). The division falls under the faculty of science of the University of Leiden. The division is involved in teaching basic toxicology to undergraduate and graduate students and has advanced courses in ‘molecular mechanisms of apoptosis’ and ‘cellular signal transduction’.
The research of this group is on the interface of Imaging and BioInformatics. The research focus of this group is on bio imaging and relation the analysis of image information to other bio-molecular information resources. At present the bio imaging has its emphasis on microscopy modalities.
The analysis requires that a large number of images be processed. To overcome the limitations of standard storage formats, innovative approaches for image databases in experimental settings are probed.
Our goal is to understand the mechanisms underlying vulnerability and resilience to stress-related psychiatric disorders, and to identify targets for treatment of such disorders. Our research, which ranges from molecular biology and cell biology to human psychopathology, focuses on the effects of glucocorticoid hormones.
Last Modified: 24-11-2010
