Four promising young researchers will be able to conduct two years of research at a university abroad thanks to a Rubicon grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The Leiden laureates are Renske Janssen, Girija Josh, Anne van der Meij and Yana van der Weegen.
Thinking about law in Rome
Dr Renske Janssen
Going to: University of Edinburgh, Centre for Legal History (United Kingdom)
What is the purpose of the law, and whose interests does it serve? This project uses the works of the Roman author Tacitus, who frequently dealt with these questions, to study how people in the Roman imperial period could talk and think about the role of law in society.
Splintered Pasts: Narratives of Rightful Rule from an Imperial Fringe
Dr Girija Joshi
Going to: Centre d'Études de l'Inde et de l'Asie du Sud (France)
This project studies the production of vernacular historical knowledge in colonial North India. It illustrates the tenacity of local historiographical traditions and the trans-local networks of knowledge exchange that sustained these. These histories put forth distinct political visions that also implicitly contradict the colonial narrative of their past.
INSECT: Investigating Streptomyces Ecology and Chitin Turnover
Dr Anne van der Meij
Going to: University of Toronto (Canada)
Our soils have gotten out of balance, which is a threat to our food supply. Proper recycling of dead plants and animals is of utmost importance to keep the soil healthy. Van der Meij will investigate the role of the soil bacterium Streptomyces in the recycling of dead insects.
How is the activation of p53 regulated?
Yana van der Weegen (LUMC)
Going to: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School (United States) The p53 protein is activated in response to cellular stress, including DNA damage. p53 stimulates DNA repair, but if the damage cannot be repair then p53 will induce cell death. This function of p53 is important to prevent cancer development. This project investigates how the activation of p53 is regulated.
22 researchers who have recently received their PhDs can do their research at foreign research institutes thanks to a Rubicon grant from NWO. The Rubicon programme gives young, highly promising researchers the opportunity to gain international research experience.
