Research in Chemistry

Specialisation of: Chemistry
Degree: Master of Science in Chemistry
Mode of Study: Full-time
Duration: 2 years
Start date: Flexible, for international students preferably September or January
Language of instruction: English
Location: Leiden
Croho/isat code: 66857
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The research track offers the student the opportunity to spend two full years on training and specialisation to become an independent and creative scientist. The MSc students will become a member and colleague in one of the research groups in the LIC. The student will develop her/his individual MSc programme together with the mentor. The majority of the students with an MSc in Chemistry research will continue their career in a PhD position.

Programme

Research Internship

The research internship may be split into a major internship (60-40 ec) and a minor internship (at least 20 ec). The minor and major internship project may be related and this may be reflected in a combined master’s thesis. In consent with the mentor the minor internship can be carried out in another research area, another institute (within the Netherlands or abroad), or in a company.

Compulsory Courses

The compulsory theoretical component comprises of a selection of four core courses and a literature essay with colloquium. Three of the courses are selected within the chosen research area and one is chosen from the core courses offered by the other research areas.

Elective Courses

The elective component consists of a free choice of theoretical courses. Alternatively, a maximum of 20 EC can be used to extend the research internships. The mentor may limit the choice of elective courses by the need to adapt the programme to the current knowledge of the individual student, depending on his or her background.
You can choose your electives from the list of core courses within or outside your chosen research area, from the MSc courses offered in the Science Faculty, or courses from the BSc MST and LS&T programmes provided that these were not part of the student’s earlier studies. All other electives have to be approved by the Board of Examiners.

e-Prospectus Chemistry

Prof. Noteborn

“In Leiden we introduce small peaces of DNA in bacteria and in human cells.”

“May 20, 2010, U.S. Scientist Craig Venter announced his team succeed in producing bacterial DNA in their laboratory and introducing this DNA into a bacteria whose own DNA had been removed.

With the aid of the synthetic DNA the scientists were able to revive a bacteria that had nearly died and get it to breed an bacteria colony. You can compare this to a computer. When you take out a software pack and replace it with a new one, the computer will retain new characteristics and start working again. To this “empty bacteria” the synthetic DNA was a new software pack.

The synthetic DNA the scientists introduced is a replica of natural bacterial DNA. The synthetic DNA resembled the original DNA of the bacteria. Does this make the discovery less important? No. Creating such a large bacterial genome in a laboratory still is a large technological challenge. Have these US scientists created new life? No, absolutely not. The scientists used a natural mechanism. This discovery may be used for a great number of applications: advancements in the production of proteins used to produce medications, combating oil pollution more effectively and improved methods for capturing CO2.

It’s not surprising that the entire would wanted to know more about this discovery. Friday the 21 of May reporters from the RTL4 asked me to explain about this new discovery in their seven thirty news bulletin, and they also asked whether it would be possible to film the interview in our brand new Cell Observatory. A large number of scientists of the LIC and other institutes at Leiden University have been introducing smaller DNA pieces into bacteria and human cells, similar to what to Craig Venter did, but much more small scale in terms of the size of the DNA involved. By doing this we are for example trying to find out which DNA particles deter the development of growing cancer cells. My colleague Dr Claude Barckendorf and a number of students Life Sience and Technology were working on these experiments on May 21st.”