UC Davis Veterinary Assisted Reproduction Laboratory

Very proud to see our horse research featured this week by Endocrinology, one of the leading journals in the field.

Our study looked at how the fetal go**ds of horses make unusual hormones during pregnancy, and how a gene called DHCR7 helps control this process.

Horse pregnancy has some remarkable biology, and studying it can teach us much more about how hormones are made and regulated across species.

Congratulations to the whole team, and especially Katarzyna Malin for leading this work.

Davis

We had a great evening discussing OPU and ICSI in the Central Valley! Thanks to all the participants, sponsors, and speakers!

Congratulations to Dr. Kornelia Omyla (Kornelia Omyła ) for presenting her finding on the use of endotracheal tubes in pyometra cases at BEVA!

It was a bittersweet day as we said goodbye to Dr. Soledad Martin-Pelaez (Soledad Martin-Pelaez ), who is heading to Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center to start her own lab. Soledad first came to us for her residency and then stayed to complete her PhD. We are very proud of her and excited to see what she accomplishes next. Best of luck, Sole! We will miss you!

Another paper from our lab looking at how we can improve equine OPU-ICSI outcomes! 🐴

More and more evidence suggests that better OPU results may come from targeting the right time in the follicular wave. But how do we identify that time?

Our new study shows that follicle size alone may not tell the whole story. Follicles of the same size can have very different hormonal environments, reflecting different physiological stages and developmental trajectories.

The next step is moving beyond simply asking “How big is the follicle?” and better understanding where that follicle is in its life cycle.

🐴 CENTRAL VALLEY BREEDERS, WANT TO LEARN ABOUT THE NEWEST ADVANCES IN EQUINE BREEDING? 🧬✨

Have a valuable mare you didn’t get settled this year?
Interested in producing foals from a mare without carrying the pregnancy herself?
Curious about OPU, ICSI, and Embryo Transfer and whether these technologies could be right for your breeding program?

Valley Veterinary Services has your solution!

We’re excited to partner with UC Davis for a FREE Equine Reproduction Seminar designed specifically for horse owners and breeders!

Join Dr. Kayla S. McCrone and the UC Davis embryology and advanced equine reproduction team as we discuss:

🐴 OPU (O**m Pick-Up) — collecting oocytes directly from your mare
🧬 ICSI — using advanced laboratory techniques to create embryos
🐎 Embryo Transfer — utilizing recipient mares to carry your valuable pregnancies
💡 How these technologies can open new opportunities for mares that didn’t settle this breeding season, performance mares, older mares, and valuable genetics

Come learn how these advanced reproductive technologies work, what to expect, and how they may fit into your breeding program!

🍽️ Dinner & refreshments provided
🎁 Giveaways
💰 Exclusive attendee coupons and discounts worth nearly $1,000 to help horse owners give these advanced breeding options a try!

❗ SEATING IS LIMITED! ❗

If you’re planning to attend, PLEASE RSVP using the QR code on the flyer so we can reserve your seat and plan accordingly.

We’re looking forward to an educational and fun evening talking about the future of equine reproduction! 🐴🧬❤️

Valley Veterinary Services × UC Davis
Bringing advanced equine reproduction within reach for horse owners and breeders.

Registration Link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScb-KuzbRUG2ReykqRXVLIuejNjw8AUUvRtavGLCbzcoUOJAg/viewform

Check this paper out showing that perspectives on OPU–ICSI differ primarily according to familiarity with the procedure. Veterinarians and breeders who are not currently using OPU–ICSI are more likely to express concerns about it. Congratulations to all the authors!

We had a great time at ISEET in Lexington! It was a wonderful opportunity to share our research, learn about exciting work from others, and catch up with colleagues and friends.

It is finally out!

In this new study, we found that the horse fetus naturally undergoes a change in cholesterol-related metabolism that looks surprisingly similar to what occurs in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS) in people. This makes the horse a potential model to better understand the disease and may help guide future research and treatment development. Congratulations to Kate and all the co-authors. Very proud of this work and grateful to everyone who contributed.

DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqag083

Today we say goodbye to our outstanding resident, Dr. Thadeu de Castro, on his final day with the UC Davis Equine Reproduction Service.

We are also proud to celebrate his recent achievement of becoming a Diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists (ACT), earning board certification as a specialist in animal reproduction.

Congratulations, Thadeu! We are proud of you and wish you all the best in this next chapter. 🎉🐴

Only in a theriogenology group could a cake with an “oocyte” and “sperm” be the highlight of the farewell party. Thanks, Dr. Babiche Heil, for the perfect send-off!