IBC2 Director Ivan Đikić delivered the prestigious Mendel Lecture in Brno and received the Mendel Medal in recognition of his contributions to science. In his lecture, Ivan spoke about ubiquitin and autophagy as central quality control systems of life. These cellular processes enable cells to recognize, repair, recycle, or remove damaged components, thereby safeguarding cellular health. They are essential for maintaining cellular homeostasis and are highly relevant to many human diseases. Throughout his career, Ivan has made major contributions to understanding how ubiquitin signaling and autophagy regulate cellular stress responses, homeostasis and disease mechanisms.

The Mendel Lectures bring leading international scientists to the historic Augustinian Abbey in Old Brno – the very place where Gregor Johann Mendel laid the foundations of modern genetics. Returning to Frankfurt, Ivan was deeply impressed and described the visit as a powerful reminder of how extraordinary the impact of one individual can be. More than 150 years ago, Mendel combined careful observation, fundamental biological questions, and rigorous statistics and mathematics to uncover the principles of inheritance, discoveries that forever changed science and our understanding of life.

Since their launch in 2003, the Mendel Lectures have welcomed many outstanding researchers, including Nobel Prize laureates, and have become an important forum for scientific exchange across generations.