The Symposium was organised by Masaryk University in cooperation with the Academy of Sciences of Czech Republic, the Slovak Academy of Sciences and the Czech Cardiological Society, and sponsored by the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences

  Venue - why Brno? The Brno City is well known for its industry, fairs, technological park, universities and rich cultural life. It is a place with beautiful hilly surroundings to the north and wine-producing lowlands to the south. A brief look at a map shows three capitals in close vicinity - Vienna, Bratislava and Prague. But this symposium is held in Brno for another reason. It is the birthplace of genetics. Here, in the sixties of the XIX century an Augustinian friar and later abbot, and at the same time, a mathematician, physicist and biologist, Johan Gregor Mendel, discovered the principal laws of heredity.

The abbey, the site of Mendel´s activities, has been recently restored and refurbished and is ready to summon a limited number of scientists for their meetings. Thus, the participants of the Mendel Symposium: Genes and the Heart had a unique opportunity - besides visiting a breathtaking exhibition of Mendel´s discovery - to present and discuss the results of contemporary genetics in the genuine atmosphere of its true father founder.