'We can uncover new, non-pharmacological strategies to help individuals, especially those struggling with weight loss', reveals psychologist Aleksandrina Skvortsova about her LUF grant for the project 'Mind Over Meal'. We spoke to Dr. Skvortsova and asked her three questions about her research.

Job seekers are increasingly likely to undergo pre-employment screening such as a criminal record check. The big question is what tools are used and how is the information acquired assessed?

A huge shiny aluminium object stands in the middle of the Polderlab in Oud Ade. Are the researchers trying to make contact with extraterrestrial life? Certainly not; they are using the 'moon landers' to measure whether innovative forms of agriculture reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Fleur van Duin works as a PhD student in the Polderlab and is excited about the arrival of the instruments.

To cover up their deportation plans which targeted Polish Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, the Nazis re-opened schools. In her inaugural lecture, historian Sarah Cramsey demonstrates with examples how care was used ‘as a weapon’ during the Holocaust. She also stresses that care is a unifying cement in society and calls for more historical research.

One discovered that arteriosclerosis resembles an autoimmune disease, while the other developed a system to aid in the search for new medications. For these achievements, Marie Depuydt and Jurren de Groot were awarded the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award on the evening of Tuesday 4 June.

The Leiden University Fund (LUF) Committee for Academic Expenditure (CWB) has an annual project grant round in March for teaching and research projects up to 35,000 euros. This is made possible by the donors of the LUF, the Praesidium Libertatis I Foundation and the collaboration of the LUF with the Gratama-Stichting and the Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds.

Scared to read aloud, put your hand up, answer a question or make a mistake at all: many primary school children suffer from anxiety and their numbers are increasing. Psychologists from the Knowledge Center Anxiety & Stress (KAS) are therefore developing and researching preventive training.

Riet Groenen was able to spend almost a year in Fiji for her thesis research on fertility and family planning thanks to donations from funds. Her studies, research experience and focus earned her a job at the United Nations. Groenen dedicated her career to women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, and to ending violence against women.

Invasive aquatic plants are finding their way to the Netherlands with increasing ease. The same is true for mosquito species. This can endanger public health, for instance through mosquito-borne disease, and biodiversity. Ecologists Emily Strange and Michiel Veldhuis are researching whether there is a link between the increase in invasive floating aquatic plants and mosquitoes. With support from LUF, the researchers hope to implement their programme on an international scale.

In a packed Grotius Hall, family and friends came together to pay tribute to young talent at Leiden University. The celebration was part of the annual Dies Natalis Festival for Alumni and gave dozens of visitors the chance to get to know a new generation of academics.