Lecture ‘Why so Many Ways to Die’ - 19 March 2026

The Departments of Biomedical Molecular Biology and Internal Medicine and Pediatrics jointly organize a symposium on the occasion of the UGent honorary doctorate of Prof. Vishva Dixit.

Vishva Mitra Dixit is a Kenyan American physician and renowned biomedical researcher. He earned his medical degree from the University of Nairobi in 1980 and later conducted research at Washington University in St. Louis, studying thrombospondin biochemistry under Prof. William Frazier. In 1986, Vishva Dixit joined the University of Michigan Medical School, where he became a full professor and shifted his research toward the mechanisms of cell death and inflammation. He moved to Genentech in 1997 as Director of Molecular Oncology, later becoming Head of Physiological Chemistry (2009) and Vice President of Discovery Research (2016). He also led Genentech’s global postdoctoral program, mentoring numerous researchers in fundamental studies of cell death and inflammation. Vishva Dixit’s team has made landmark contributions to understanding TNF and LPS signaling, NF‑κB regulation, and key molecules such as A20, caspases, and RIPK1. Their work has also advanced the biology of canonical and non‑canonical inflammasomes and pore‑forming proteins including gasdermins and NINJ1. His research has strong and ongoing connections to cell death and inflammation studies at UGent.

Practical information

• Honory doctorate - Faculty of Sciences: Professor Vishva Dixit (Vice President and Senior Fellow, Physiological Chemistry, Research Biology - Genentech)
• Other guest speakers: Katia Cosentino (Osnabr?ck University), Nieves Peltzer (University of Stuttgart), Tom vanden Berghe (Antwerp University) and many more
• Hosts: Prof. Peter Vandenabeele, Prof. Mohamed Lamkanfi and Prof. Debby Laukens
• When: Thursday 19 March 2026
• Where: Tech Lane Ghent Science Park – Campus Ardoyen or livestream via MS Teams

Find out more about the mini-symposium and sign up

Feb. 22, 2026, 11:03 a.m.