Research at IAS
At the IAS, researchers from a wide range of fields work together on complex scientific and societal challenges. We have organised our activities into four broadly defined domains, and two cross-cutting themes under which you can find a wide array of projects and research groups.
In addition to hosting various interdisciplinary groups for workshops, brainstorm meetings or lecture series, during 2025, we also had 8 in-house research groups working regularly at IAS to address various complex challenges.
Series at IAS: fostering interdisciplinary dialogues
IAS takes pride in organising and hosting a variety of series that align with our overarching themes. These series provide a vibrant platform for interdisciplinary exploration, thought-provoking discussions, knowledge-sharing, and collaboration among experts, scholars, and practitioners from diverse fields. By fostering dialogue across disciplines, these series aim to address complex challenges and promote innovative insights.
AI, Media & Democracy Lab
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The AI, Media & Democracy Lab, which the Dutch AI Coalition has awarded ELSA status, work together with journalists, media professionals, designers, citizens, public and societal partners, and fellow researchers, to investigate the impact of AI on the democratic functions of the media. The researchers develop and test value-driven, human-centric AI applications, as well as ethical and legal frameworks for the responsible use of AI.
Centre for Urban Mental Health
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The Centre for Urban Mental Health seeks to identify new pathways to improve mental health in urban environments by addressing the complex and dynamic nature of mental health problems. Using complexity science as its core framework, the centre studies common conditions such as depression, anxiety and substance use disorders. It aims to understand why some individuals and groups thrive in cities while others are more vulnerable, developing targeted strategies to reduce risk and promote resilience in urban populations.
COMbatting CRIMes (COMCRIM)
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COMCRIM is an interdisciplinary research project conducted by an international public-private research consortium into crimes that undermine democracy and the rule of law in and via the Netherlands. Over 28 scholars from more than nine disciplines jointly examine the systemic factors of organized crime. Public and private partners collaborate to detect such crime in unconventional data sources such as banking records, follow the money and discern criminal networks, patterns, and effects.
Dutch Institute for Emergent Phenomena (DIEP)
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The Dutch Institute for Emergent Phenomena (DIEP) is an interdisciplinary research centre across fundamental sciences with the purpose of furthering the understanding of emergent phenomena. Its goal is to create an interdisciplinary research programme that covers subjects such information theory, topological phases of matter, multiscale modelling, networks, complex systems, emergence of causality, non-equilibrium systems, collective intelligence, among many others.
Personal Microbiome Health
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The Research Priority Area Personal Microbiome Health (RPA-PMH) advanced interdisciplinary microbiome research by integrating biomedical, computational and social sciences. It fostered collaboration through seminars, workshops and large-scale consortia, including MetaHealth and MicroHealth. The programme generated new datasets, innovative methodologies and high-impact publications, while building durable research networks. In 2025, the RPA-PMH formally concluded, but will stay in close collaboration with IAS to advace cutting-edge research in the complex field of microbiome science.
Platform for Large-scale Analysis of Networks (PLANET-NL)
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PLANET-NL is an academic research platform centered around infrastructure for the analysis of large-scale (social) networks. It brings together researchers, engineers, and practitioners by providing software, expertise, tools, and opportunities for research and collaboration.
POLDER
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POLDER, an UvA–IAS initiative, promotes policymaking and education grounded in complex systems thinking, co-creation and simulation modelling. It translates insights and methods from complexity science into tools for real-world policy challenges through close collaboration with policymakers. Complexity science examines coupled processes and feedback mechanisms that produce nonlinear dynamics, tipping points and unintended effects. By mapping these interactions and exploring what-if scenarios through simulations, POLDER opens new pathways for informed and resilient policy design.
Shaping Interfaces Between Science and the Public
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‘Shaping Interfaces Between Science and the Public’ is an UvA Research Priority Area (RPA) that aims to strengthen the relationship between science, citizen science, social debate and various professional practices. ‘Shaping Interfaces’ will open a methodological window to the world, clarifying how different fields of science work, how knowledge is created, and with what uncertainties it is surrounded. The RPA is a collaboration between the faculties of Humanities, Law, Science, Social and Behavioural Sciences, and the Amsterdam UMC. The researchers involved are renowned experts with extensive experience in policy-advice making and public engagement.