The quest for high-yielding, eco-friendly and climate-resilient crops, Dirk Inzé

14:00 – 15:00

On the occasion of conferring the honorary degree of doctor honoris causa in biological sciences to Dirk G. Inzé, we invite you to a lecture by the laureate entitled "The quest for high-yielding, eco-friendly and climate-resilient crops," which will take place in CEITEC Atrium.

Gaining Insight Into Pre-mRNA Splicing By The Spliceosome

17:00

A Mendel lecture by Reinhard Lührmann. He has led pioneering studies to determine the composition, function and architecture of the spliceosome, the mega-Dalton RNP machine that catalyses pre-mRNA splicing.

VIZBI 2025: Cutting-Edge DataVis Advances. Inspiring Life Science Breakthroughs.

9:00 – 18:00

Want to learn how advances in data visualization are driving breakthroughs in the life sciences? Register now for VIZBI 2025, taking place 8–11 April at the University of Cambridge — and online!

The Enemy Within - How Does The Immune System Sense DNA As A Danger Signal?

17:00 – 18:00

A Mendel lecture by Zhijian ‘‘James’’ Chen. He is an Investigator of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.

Centrophilic Retrotransposons in Eukaryotic Genomes (Seminar Series, Mendel lectures]- IAN HANDERSON

16:00 – 17:00

Centromeres are critical for cell division, loading CENH3/CENPA histone variant nucleosomes, directing kinetochore formation, and allowing chromosome segregation. Despite their conserved function, centromere size and structure are diverse across species, termed the ‘centromere paradox’. However, the mechanisms of centromeric sequence change, and the evolutionary drivers are unclear. We have assembled the Arabidopsis thaliana pancentromere, which has revealed extreme intraspecies diversity, where the satellite repeats have undergone extensive recombination and concerted evolution.

Controlling transcription of coding and non-coding RNAs (Seminar series, Mendel lectures) - KAREN ADELMAN

17:00

Dr. Karen Adelman is the Edward S. Harkness Professor of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard Medical School. She is also a Member of the Gene Regulation Observatory at the Broad Institute, and the Ludwig Cancer Center at Harvard Medical School. The Adelman lab pioneered genomic studies of RNA polymerase II (RNAPII) transcription, revealing that pausing of RNAPII in early elongation is a central regulatory step in metazoan gene expression. Ongoing work probes the interplay between transcription, RNA processing and epigenetic machineries to elucidate the determinants of mature mRNA formation in health and disease.

Summer School - Multiscale Modelling Methods

9:00 – 13:00

Study cutting-edge computer simulations to solve chemical and biochemical problems ranging from supramolecular chemistry to structural biology. Explore a world beyond the reach of experimental methods, where molecular modelling plays a pivotal role in rationalising new materials, understanding the foundations of life, and designing new drugs.

Registration deadlines: 1st May 2025, 23:59 (early birds); 30th June 2025, 23:59 (final)