Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research

About LACDR

LACDR aims to be one of the leading academic centers in the world in learning, in teaching, and in advancing innovative drug research, developing knowledge and expertise crucial for drug discovery, evaluation and (clinical) application. This also involves fundamental understanding of drug action as the basis for efficacy and safety of drugs.

Aims:

* state-of-the-art multidisciplinary drug research, including the discovery of new mechanisms of drug action, the design and (bio)synthesis of new biologically active molecules, the in vitro and in vivo evaluation of drug activity and disposition (efficacy, safety, dosage regimen) and the development of new strategies for drug delivery and targeting;

* training of (under)graduate students, to become highly skilled and independent in experimental drug research through a specific 4-year' project, leading to publications in the international scientific literature and the PhD degree;

* collaboration with the (pharmaceutical) industry, in joint research projects and consultancies and by offering specialized courses and symposia in relevant areas of drug research.

About the speaker
Roel de Rijk (1962), studied Biology with Chemistry in Leiden, followed by a dissertation (Free University, Amsterdam, 1992) on interactions between the immune system and the brain. He did a post-doc at the NIMH, which focussed on effects of corticosteroids on immune function in healthy humans and patients with autoimmune diseases such as Rheumatoid Arthirtis and Multiple Sclerosis. In 1998 he became head of the laboratory of the psychiatric hospital Endegeest in Oegstgeest. In 2004 he returned to the University Leiden – LACDR and is currently working on the consequences of genetic variability in the corticosteroid ”stress” receptors for depression and anxiety disorders.