The opening of each ICBL includes a highlight of the conference: the Van Deenen Lecture. This plenary lecture is held in memory of Laurens L.M. van Deenen (1928–1994), a worldwide highly respected Dutch pioneer of lipid research.
L.L.M. van Deenen studied chemistry at the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, and received his PhD in 1957. Combining analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, lipid biochemistry and membrane biology led to groundbreaking scientific findings which set the stage for future generations of lipidologists. L.L.M. van Deenen is the author of numerous highly ranked publications, received many awards and was very active as editor for several journals.
Each year, ICBL offers the Van Deenen Lecture to a lipid researcher for outstanding and long-term contributions to the field. These lectures are not only a tribute to the awardees, but also stimulation and motivation for all colleagues to devote their scientific efforts to lipid research.
Past Van Deenen Lecturers
2025
Elina Ikonen
Helsinki, Finland
Writers and readers of lipid fluxes between cellular membrane compartments
2024
Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz
Ashburn, VA, USA
Emerging imaging technologies to study subcellular architecture, dynamics and function
2023
Edward A. Dennis
San Diego / La Jolla, CA, USA
2022
Christine Des Rosiers
Montreal, Canada
Enhancing disease mechanism and biomarker discovery in humans using untargeted comprehensive plasma lipidomics
2021
Carsten Schultz
Portland, Oregon, USA
Chemical tools for lipid biology
2019
Keizo Inoue
Tokyo, Japan
Dynamic properties and metabolism of membrane lipids
2018
Rosalind Coleman
Chapel Hill, USA
Compartmentalization of fatty acid metabolism and lipid pathways
2017
Bart Staels
Lille, France
Circadian control of lipid metabolism and pathological consequences of clock perturbations
2016
Charles Serhan
Boston, USA
Resolving Inflammation in the 21st Century: Novel Lipid Mediators and Mechanisms
2015
Robin Irvine
Cambridge, UK
Adventures with inositides: the enigma of the phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate 4-kinases
2014
Susan Pyne
Strathclyde, Scotland, UK
Sphingosine 1-phosphate and cancer
2013
Bruce M. Spiegelman
Boston, USA
Transcriptional control of brown and beige fat: toward a new generation of therapeutics
2012
Rudolf Zechner
Graz, Austria
Lipolysis: how fat catabolism affects multiple aspects of lipid and energy metabolism
2011
Peter J. Quinn
London, UK
Lipidomics: making sense of the data lode
2010
William Dowhan
Houston, USA
Lipid-protein interactions as determinants of Membrane Protein Structure
2009
David Mangelsdorf
Dallas, USA
Nuclear receptors, FGFs and the regulation of nutrient metabolism
2008
Dennis Vance
Edmonton, Canada
Phosphatidylcholine biosynthesis: Unexpected player in metabolic disease
2007
Joachim Seelig
Basel, Switzerland
Protein meets lipid, the role of lipid in protein folding
2006
Ben de Kruijff
Utrecht, Netherlands
Membranes, where lipids and proteins meet
2005
Arthur A. Spector
Iowa City, IA, USA
Fatty acids and derivatives in cell function
2004
Sampath Parthasarathy
New Orleans, LA, USA
The Oxidation Paradox in Atherosclerosis: The narrowing gap between pro- and antioxidants
2003
Christopher J. Fielding
San Francisco, CA, USA
Membrane cholesterol and the regulation of signal transduction
2002
Christian R.H. Raetz
Durham, NC, USA
Biochemistry of endotoxins: potent lipid activators of innate immunity
2001
John A. Glomset
Seattle, WA, USA
Studies of the activity, distribution, and function of a novel phospholipase
2000
Robert Huber (Nobel Laureate)
Martinsried, Germany
Structure and function of annexins
1999
Steven D. Clarke
Austin, TX, USA
Polyunsaturated fatty acids as fuel partitioners: a transcriptional mechanism
1998
Howard Riezman
Geneva, Switzerland
Roles for ceramide synthesis in membrane traffic in yeast
1997
Fred Snyder
Oak Ridge, TN, USA
Biosynthesis of platelet-activating factor and related intermediates
1996
Michael C. Phillips
Philadelphia, PA, USA
A physico-chemical approach to the study of plasma lipids
Nominations
The Van Deenen Lecturer is selected by the Steering Committee on the basis of scientific distinction and contributions to the lipid community. Suggestions may be directed to the secretariat.
