16 January 2023
KeyGene to host Mendel Day 2023 on March 8 in Wageningen
KeyGene is honored to host Mendel Day 2023 on Wednesday, March 8, in Wageningen, The Netherlands. During this event, Dr. Jiří Mitáček, Director General of the Moravian Museum, Brno will present the Mendel Memorial Medal to KeyGene’s Mendel-expert and plant geneticist Peter van Dijk (see news item)
Mendel Day is an initiative of the Mendelianum of the Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic. Mendel Day in March appropriately complements Darwin Day in February and DNA Day in April, symbolically connecting traditional and modern science. The event features internationally prominent scientists active in genetics or studying Gregeor Mendel and his heritage.
Register here! (This is an on-site event, lectures will be broadcasted via Teams)
Mendel Day is held yearly on the date that Gregor Johann Mendel, in 1865, gave his second of two lectures. In these lectures, he communicated the results of his famous pea-crossing experiments to the world, becoming the founder of genetics.
On March 8, the Mendelianum of the Moravian Museum will present the Mendel Memorial Medal 2023 to Peter van Dijk. This medal is a unique annual appreciation of an internationally prominent personality for his/her contribution to the development of the scientific and cultural heritage of Johann Gregor Mendel and genetics. See the news item: Plant geneticist Peter van Dijk receives Mendel Memorial Medal 2023
Program of Mendel Day 2023 (13:30-18:00)
13:30
Reception, coffee & tea
14.00 h
Welcome by Dr. Arjen van Tunen, CEO of KeyGene, Wageningen
Prof. Dr. Daniel Fairbanks, Department of Biology, Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, USA:, How Gärtner’s 1849 book on plant hybrids influenced Mendel throughout his scientific career
Prof. Dr. Manfred Kayser, Head, Department of Genetic Identification; Erasmus MC University Medical Centre Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Human appearance genetics: Mendelian or not?
Presentation of the Mendel Memorial Medal
Dr. Jiří Sekerák, Head of the Mendelianum, Brno, Czech Republic: The History of the Mendel Memorial Medal
Dr. Jiří Mitáček, Director General of the Moravian Museum, Brno, Czech Republic: Laudatio, and presenting of the Mendel Medal
Mendel Lecture 2023 by the 2023 laureate of the Mendel Memorial Medal, Peter van Dijk, distinguished scientist, KeyGene, Wageningen, The Netherlands:
The shifting appreciation of Mendel’s constant hybrids: from historical misunderstanding via molecular characterization toward future agricultural application
17.00 Drinks
Register here! (This is an on-site event, lectures will be broadcasted via Teams)
Our speakers
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Register here! (This is an on-site event, lectures will be broadcasted via Teams)
Read more
- Mendel was indeed decades ahead of his time, KeyGene news item, 11 July 2022
- Mendel’s statistics are pretty good, KeyGene news item, 14 November 2019
- KeyGene paper in Genetics: Mendel was actually looking for innovative crops, KeyGene news item, 5 October 2018
- The full breadth of Mendel’s genetics, KeyGene news item, 22 December 2016
Mendel papers by Peter van Dijk et al
- Van Dijk, P.J. and T.H.N. Ellis 2016. The full breadth of Mendel’s genetics. Genetics 204: 1327-1336.
- Van Dijk, P.J., F.J. Weissing and T.H.N. Ellis 2018. How Mendel’s interest in inheritance grew out of plant improvement. Genetics 210: 347-355.
- Ellis, T.H.N., J. M. I. Hofer, M. T. Swain and P. J. van Dijk 2019. Mendel’s pea crosses: varieties, crosses and statistics. Hereditas 156: 33 https://doi.org/10.1186/s41065-019-0111-y
- Van Dijk, P.J. and T.H.N. Ellis 2020. Mendel’s Journey to Paris and London: context and significance for the origin of genetics. Folia Mendeliana 56: 5-33.
- Van Dijk, P.J. 2020. Gregor Mendel’s visit to Pope Pius IX: the truth in the story. Folia Mendeliana 56: 35-47.
- Van Dijk, P.J. and T.H.N. Ellis 2022. Mendel’s reaction to Darwin’s provisional hypothesis of pangenesis and the experiments that couldn’t wait. Heredity 129: 12-16.
- Van Dijk, P.J., Jessop, A, and T.H.N. Ellis 2022. How did Mendel arrive at his discoveries? Nature Genetics 54: 926–933.
- Van Dijk, P.J., and T.H.N. Ellis 2022. From Gregor Mendel’s 1865-lectures to his 1866-masterpiece. Folia Mendeliana 58: 77-98.