The Mendelianum Committee of the Moravian Museum
will award the 2024 Mendel Memorial Medal
to Daniel L. Hartl for his contribution to the development of Gregor Mendel's legacy and the interpretation of his scientific work.
The medal, which is awarded annually, recognizes significant contributions to the advancement of Mendel’s scientific and cultural legacy.
Daniel L. Hartl (born 1943) is the Higgins Professor of Biology in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. He also is a Past President of the Genetics Society of America and the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution, and very well known as a population geneticist. He has authored more than 400 scientific articles and more than 35 books in various aspects of genetics and evolution.
Daniel L. Hartl worked extensively with Vítězslav Orel (former head of the Mendelianum in 1965-1989) on countering some of the revisionist history of Mendel in the 1990s, especially in response to R. C. Olby’s publications. He recently published an article on Mendel in 2022, and published others in previous years. The awarding of the Mendel Memorial Medal is a tribute to his dedication and achievements in this field. Here is a selection of some of his key publications on Mendel:
- Hartl D. L. (2022). Gregor Johann Mendel: From peasant to priest, pedagogue, and prelate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(30), e2121953119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121953119
- Franklin, A., Edwards, A. W. F., Fairbanks, D. J., Hartl, D, L. & Seidenfeld, T. (2008). Ending the Mendel-Fisher Controversy. University of Pittsburgh Press. https://upittpress.org/books/9780822959861/
- Hartl, D. L., & Fairbanks, D. J. (2007). Mud sticks: on the alleged falsification of Mendel's data. Genetics, 175(3), 975–979. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/175.3.975
- Orel, V., & Hartl, D. L. (1994). Controversies in the Interpretation of Mendel’s Discovery. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences, 16(3), 423–464. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23331700
- Hartl, D. L., & Orel, V. (1992). What did Gregor Mendel think he discovered? Genetics, 131(2), 245–253. https://doi.org/10.1093/genetics/131.2.245
The Mendel Memorial Medal is a unique annual award given to an internationally recognized figure for his or her contribution to the scientific and cultural legacy of Gregor Mendel and genetics. Past recipients of this award have included Nobel prize winners, outstanding researchers, pioneers in genetics, molecular biology, and the history of biology and genetics, as well as other eminent scientists. Last year saw the thirtieth anniversary of the start of the award. Its origin, however, goes back much deeper and is firmly linked to the tradition of developing Mendel’s scientific legacy at the Mendelianum of the Moravian Museum in Brno.
Recipients of the Mendel Memorial Medal:
2023 P. van Dijk, KeyGene, Wageningen
2022 U. Hoßfeld, Friedrich Schiller University, Jena
2021 T. Nagata, University of Tokyo, Hosei University
2020 J. Sölkner, BOKU, Vienna
2019 C. Laukaitis, University of Arizona Cancer Center, Tucson
2018 W. Wackernagel, Carl von Ossietzky University, Oldenburg
2017 D. J. Fairbanks, Utah Valley University, Orem
2016 J. Vollmann, BOKU, Vienna
2015 A. Matalová, Mendelianum, Brno
2014 H. Lesot, University of Strasbourg
2013 F. Di Trocchio, Sapienza University of Rome
2012 R. C. Karn, University of Arizona
2011 S. Zadražil, Charles University, Prague
2010 W. Mann, Theresia Mendel’s descendant, Darmstadt
2008 J. D. Watson, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Long Island
2007 D. Lane, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Singapore
2006 M. W. Nirenberg, Lab. of Biochem. Genetics, NIH, Bethesda
2005 J. Lužný, Mendel University, Brno
2004 J. Šmarda, Masaryk University, Brno
2003 P. T. Sharpe, Guy’s Hospital, London
2002 J. Klein, Max-Planck-Institut für Biologie, Tübingen
2001 L. Lojda, Univ. of Veterinary and Pharm. Sciences, Brno
2000 C. Kovář, Mendel’s Beehouse, Brno
1999 F. W. Anders, Institute of Genetics, Giessen
1998 F. Brückner, Crop Research Institute, Kroměříž
1995 V. N. Soyfer, George Mason University, Fairfax
1994 F. J. Ayala, University of California, Irvine
1993 F. Weiling, University of Agriculture, Bonn
1992 B. Jennings, Hastings Centre, Briarcliff Manor, New York
1992 T. Hirano, Japan Mendel Society, Tokyo
1992 H. Galjaard, Erasmus University, Rotterdam
