PhD candidate Hannah Broeckx provides us with an update of her first year. Insect-predator interactions in the spotlight By Hannah Broeckx I am one year into my research on the effect of artificial light at night (ALAN) on insect-predator interactions. What an interesting process it has been so far! ALAN has been shown to impact […]

PhD candidate Evelien Castrop has started a year ago on her project in which she studies plants; the base of all ecosystems. Are they affected by nocturnal artificial light? She wrote us an update: “The Luminescent Landscape: Understanding the Impact of Artificial Light on Plants” by Evelien Castrop Is ALAN changing the way our wild […]

PhD candidate Sander Buddendorf has worked for the past year on his project to understand the bats in urban environments. Are they affected by nocturnal light exposure? That is what he tries to find out in his project. An update on his first year. Understanding the urban bat By Sander Buddendorf The bat is a […]

In the fall of 2022, PhD candidates Koen Vink and Tamara Brouwers started with their BioClock project at the RIVM. Supervised by prof. Debbie van Baarle and prof. Jacco Wallinga, they investigate the interaction between the circadian clock and the immune system. More specifically, they look at the timing and dosing of vaccinations on the […]

PhD candidate Danielle Crowley started a year ago on her project in WP3.1. It is time for an update on her findings and plans. Keeping rhythm by Danielle Crowley Fish, like humans, follow light/dark (L/D) cycles of around 24 hours. These cycles or circadian rhythms as they are otherwise known, are responsible for initiating and maintaining […]

In May 2022, Francesca Borghese started her PhD project at the University of Groningen. She will study how light affects humans, in several ways. She will be supervised by prof. Roelof Hut. Who are you? Hi, my name is Francesca! I was born in Italy and grew up in different countries in Asia and Africa, […]

PhD candidate Laura Pape has started over a year ago on her project in WP1.4. It is time for an update on her findings and plans. E-health for university students by Laura Pape My project in work package 1.4 is about the effectiveness of a guided e-health intervention on improving sleep and mental in university students. […]

We are happy to announce that our BioClock researchers from different clusters are awarded with several prizes. Congratulations to all! PhD candidate Gali Albalak has won the Piet Visser poster award at the NSWO – Dutch Society for Sleep-Wake Research. Kamiel Spoelstra has won the Stairway to Impact Award from NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk […]

BioClock PhD candidate Gali Albalak and her team at the Leiden University Medical Centre have published a new study which shows that the time of preferred exercise is associated with the risk for cardiovascular health problems, as well as the risk for stroke. People who prefer to exercise in the morning showed a 16% reduced […]

On Monday, November 7th, close to 70 members of the BioClock consortium gathered at (Scheltema) Leiden for a fun and informative day; the cluster meeting. Nearly all PhD and Post doc candidates in short presented the current status of their project and discussed protocols, pilot results and future plans. In 18 short presentations, we met […]

Dear Colleagues, This Special Issue discusses the effects of healthy lifestyles, focusing on diet, sleep, and exercise, on Chronic Diseases. Health is a topic which is both long investigated, but also constantly developing. Among all the factors affecting health, lifestyle is the most controllable and influential factor. A proper diet, moderate exercise, and adequate sleep […]

PhD candidate Maaike van der Rhee has recently started her project at the Erasmus MC, supervised by dr. Heidi Lammers-van der Holst, dr. Linda van Kerkhof and prof. dr. Bert van der Horst. With millions of shiftworkers worldwide, the need for solutions and advise how to deal with shiftwork conditions is urgent. Shiftworkers risk different […]

by prof. Martina Vijver Last Sunday Sept 25th night there was the beautiful event entitled Seeing the Stars for which many streetlights, garden lights and all other types of lights were switched off from 22.00-23.30. This was to create citizens awareness for light pollution. A quote by Daan Roosegaarde – initiator together with many Leiden […]

PhD candidate Gali Albalak has started over a year ago on her project in WP1.2. It is time for an update on her findings and plans. It’s about time! By Gali Albalak In the first cluster of this consortium (‘Clocks in Society´) there is a work package that aims to uncover the timing of behavioural […]

PhD candidate Ayano Shiba has started one year ago in WP1.2. An update of her work at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN). Know your clock! by Ayano Shiba Have you ever thought about staying fit with a minimum of effort? If yes, we assure you that you will benefit from the results of our […]

Gabriel Charvalakis has recently started his PhD research at the Netherlands Institute for Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) in Wageningen and the University of Groningen. Under supervision of dr. ir. Kamiel Spoelstra and dr. Roelof Hut, he investigates all aspects of light that may have an influence on insects. The number of insects is decreasing rapidly, and one […]

Inge Snijders has recently started her PhD research at the University of Leiden. Under supervision of prof. Dr. Laura Heitman and Dr. Daan van der Es, she will look for new targets and modulators of the biological clock. Since the circadian system is involved with many diseases but also becomes more dysfunctional with age for […]

We are proud to present the BioClock Academy! On the 21st of September, 2022, we will kickoff with a monthly online seminar aiming for an introduction to basic concepts and understanding of biological rhythms. For anyone who is relatively new to the field of chronobiology, certain concepts may be challenging to grasp. With our Academy, […]

Nihal Fawzi has recently started her PhD trajectory at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. She will investigate how the topics of circadian clock, daily rhythms and its impact on health can be incorporated in the biology education at high school across the Netherlands. Together with her supervisors dr. Marco Kragten and dr. Bert Bredeweg, […]

The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences has awarded one of four Heineken Young Scientist Awards 2022 to BioClock co-leader Laura Kervezee. She is the winner in the Medical/Biomedical sciences section and receives 10.000 euros. Laura has been awarded the prize for her research after the effects of disturbance of biological rhythms on health. […]

In February, Kornelija Vitkute started her PhD project at the University of Groningen. Under supervision of dr. Peter Meerlo, dr. Robbert Havekes and dr. Roelof Hut, she investigates the effects of static artificial light on behavior, physiology and brain mechanisms. With this knowledge, from both nocturnal and diurnal species, lights can be designed that are […]

Ivanka Spruijt has started her PhD project at the Leiden University and University of Amsterdam. She investigates the effects of artificial light at night on insects, and more specifically she looks at the plant-insect interaction. If the rhythms within this interaction are disturbed, this may lead to problematic consequences for survival of species. Who are […]

In January, Oana-Georgiana started her post doc research project at the Leiden University. In collaboration with BioClock PhD candidate Emma Visser, and under supervision of dr. Niki Antypa, she will further optimize light therapy as a treatment for depressed patients. Light and chronotherapy are effective therapeutic strategies and therefore widely used but the underlying mechanisms […]

In the summer of 2021, Jorine has started her BioClock post doc research at the Erasmus MC. This project is a collaboration with BioClock PhD Demy van Gilst and under supervision of dr. Ines Chaves and dr. Marijn Vermeulen and professors Bert van der Horst and Irwin Reiss. The main goal of the project is […]

A team of honours students of the University of Amsterdam created a magazine on the disturbance of the circadian rhythm in Western society. They approached this ‘wicked challenge in health’ from different perspectives, including biological, psychological and sociological. BioClock researchers Oana-Georgiana Rus-Oswald (LU), Emma Visser (TU/e) and Tom de Boer (LUMC) were among the interviewees. […]

Are you a university student who suffers from sleep problems? Do you struggle to fall asleep or sleep through the night? Say no more… In the last couple of months, we have been collaborating with experts in the field of sleep research and clinical psychology at Leiden University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU Amsterdam) to develop the i-Sleep & […]

Last Thursday, April 21st, we celebrated the official start of BioClock with our kickoff event! After delaying the original meeting, we welcomed over 80 participants of the consortium on a great spring day. ARTIS Amsterdam Royal Zoo was the host of our event which allowed us to use great venues. In the dome of the […]

PhD candidate Hannah Broeckx recently started her PhD research at the University of Amsterdam. Under supervision of prof. Astrid Groot and dr. Emily Burdfield-Steel, she will investigate the effects of light at night in urban areas on the behavior and physiology of nocturnal insects such as moths. Since these animals are an important element in […]

A new publication in PNAS by BioClock researchers shows how the SCN responds to different colors of light. In the remarkable study, led by BioClock coordinator Joke Meijer (Leiden University Medical Center, LUMC), it was discovered that not only blue light triggers activity of the biological clock. This is a groundbreaking discovery because until now […]

Ward Vleeshouwers started last January with his BioClock project. As a PhD candidate he will investigate the interaction between the circadian clock and the immune system, with a specific focus on tumors. His project is supervised by dr. Ramon Arens and dr. Laura Kervezee. Ward works at the LUMC on the Immunology department. Tell us […]

In January, PhD candidate Demy van Gilst started her project in the Erasmus Medical Center of Rotterdam. In her project, she investigates the possibilities to induce a better day-night rhythm in neonates. The question she aims to answer whether that will lead to a faster growth and better long-term health. Under supervision of dr. Marijn […]

On January 1st, 2022, Danielle Crowley started working as a PhD candidate at the Institute of Biology Leiden. She studies fish and focusses on the effects of light at night. During her project she will be supervised by dr. Christian Tudorache and prof. Joke Meijer. Tell us a little about yourself, who are you? My […]

Emma Visser works at the Eindhoven University of Technology to study light therapy. This is a commonly used form of therapy for depressed patients, but how it exactly works or can be best applied is still under investigation. During her PhD project, Emma will study those questions under the supervision of dr. Luc Schlangen and […]

On January 1st 2022, PhD candidate Gali Albalak started her research project at the Leiden University Medical Centre and Leyden academy. She will investigate whether the time of exercise, morning or evening, matters in maintaining a healthy circadian clock and whether this helps in growing old healthy and happily. She will carry out this research […]

At the Netherlands Insititute of Ecology in Wageningen will PhD candidate Sander Buddendorf investigate the effects of artificial light at night on bat-prey interactions. Since light at night is increasing, and bat populations are decreasing, it is time to investigate this relationship and think of possible solutions. Under the supervision of dr. ir. Kamiel Spoelstra […]

Light pollution is high in The Netherlands. Many areas are very lit, and this is affecting nature, including human health. How severe this is and what to do about it, is what BioClock focuses on. RTL, a Dutch news channel, made an item about light pollution and held an interview with professor Joke Meijer and […]

PhD candidate Laura Pape has recently started her BioClock project at the Leiden University (LU). She works on the design of an e-health intervention focusing on strengthening the biological clock and improving health. It ultimately aims to improve mental health of university students which is often poor. She is supervised by dr. Niki Antypa, professor […]

Ayano Shiba is one of the first PhD BioClock candidates. She works at the Netherlands Institute of Neuroscience, under the supervision of Professor Andries Kalsbeek. She introduces herself and her project. Who are you? I am Ayano Shiba, a new PhD student in the laboratory of Professor Andries Kalsbeek at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. […]

We are happy to announce that the recruitment of BioClock PhD students and postdocs has officially started. With the biological clock as common denominator, we will be looking for a wide variety of backgrounds: from ecology and biology to psychology and immunology. You can check out the available positions here [link to vacancy page]. Some […]

Dutch researchers are joining forces to conduct research together with a series of societal partners to keep the biological clock healthy in our modern 24-hour society. The BioClock consortium will receive a research grant of no less than 9.7 million euros for this. It is one of the projects that receive funding within the program […]