Mendel at 200
Two centuries ago, on 20 July 1822, Gregor Johann Mendel was born, a friar who became known as the founder of genetics. Mendel’s experiments with pea plants paved the way for much of the research that we do in the Integrative Epidemiology Unit. Our celebrations of his bicentenary include a conference that was held on 20-21 July in Bristol and online (videos of the sessions will be available soon), as well as a series of webinars and a collection of videos and blog posts reflections on Mendel's legacy published throughout the year.
The conference
On 20-21 July 2022 we held a conference in Bristol and online to discuss the co-development of Mendelism with its implementation in agriculture. We discussed the contribution of the ideas of scientists whose work influenced the reception and early development of Mendelism – including August Weismann, Hugo De Vries, Wilhelm Johannsen and Jantina Tammes. In addition, the issue that crude Mendelian notions – together with other genetic traditions – were incorporated in eugenic thinking and propaganda in the first half of the 20th century, and that there was state-mandated rejection of Mendelian genetics in favour of Lysenko’s notions in the Soviet Union, were addressed.
Videos of the sessions will be available towards the end of August.
What Mendel means to me
A collection of reflections from IEU staff and the wider scientific community about what Mendel's legacy means to them.