Animal Reproduction & Health Research

The Future of Animal Reproduction Research at Lyons Farm

The future of animal reproduction research at Lyons Farm is defined by innovation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. As agriculture adapts to global challenges, including climate change, resource efficiency, and animal health, UCD is pioneering research that integrates reproductive biology, genetics, nutrition, and data science.

Emerging technologies such as genomic selection, precision breeding, reproductive biotechnologies, and advanced data analytics are transforming how fertility and herd performance are understood and managed. UCD Lyons Farm provides a unique platform where cutting-edge laboratory science meets practical on-farm application.

Through strategic partnerships with industry collaborators, government agencies, and international research centres, Lyons Farm will continue to translate scientific discovery into tangible solutions that improve the sustainability and profitability of livestock systems.

A new generation of researchers and alumni will carry this mission forward, ensuring that UCD remains a leader in reproductive science, shaping the future of farming both in Ireland and around the world.

Establishing UCD as a Centre of Excellence

In 1963, Professor Gordon joined UCD as a Senior Lecturer and was quickly promoted to Professor of Animal Husbandry. This appointment marked a turning point, with Professor Gordon channelling his energies into developing and refining controlled reproduction procedures for a range of farm animals, including sheep, cattle, pigs, and horses. His early studies at UCD focused on refining oestrus synchronisation in sheep, but his attention soon turned entirely to embryo transfer procedures in cattle.

The late sixties saw his focus shift to the technical frontiers of reproduction: in vitro maturation of oocytes and the hormonal induction of superovulation. A key innovation was his demonstration that the rabbit oviduct could serve as a short-term culture system for cow embryos before in vitro success was achievable. His most significant breakthrough for the industry was establishing a simple, non-surgical procedure for transferring embryos in the cow with high success rates. This transcervical procedure was almost universally adopted by the embryo transfer industry, demonstrating that normal pregnancy and high twinning rates could be achieved through simple means.

The Advent of Commercial In Vitro Production

In the mid-1980s, Professor Gordon pioneered the development of procedures for the large-scale in vitro production of bovine embryos as an alternative to superovulation. This research laid the foundation for commercial application, culminating in the establishment of Ovamass Ltd in 1987. This was the first company to commercialise the production of embryos in vitro, cementing Professor Gordon’s, and UCD’s, role as an incubator of industry-changing technology.

Beyond his research, Professor Gordon was an outstanding teacher and mentor, supervising approximately 80 full-time postgraduate research students (Masters and PhD) at UCD’s Lyons Farm. His deep, encyclopaedic knowledge and experience enriched the learning experience of his students. A prolific writer, he authored some 280 scientific articles and published six books after 1983, including the four-volume series Controlled Reproduction in Farm Animals and Laboratory Production of Cattle Embryos (first published 1994).

Professor Gordon’s profound impact was recognised by his peers, as he received the prestigious Pioneer Awards from both the Association of Embryo Technology in Europe (AETE, 1995) and the International Embryo Technology Society (IETS, 1998). His legacy is one of a true academic pioneer who steered UCD to the forefront of animal reproduction research, initiating many firsts for the industry and permanently advancing global knowledge.   

Several of Professor Gordon’s graduates went on to have their own illustrious careers in animal reproduction.

Maurice Boland graduated from the then UCD Faculty of Agriculture in 1970 and immediately began a postgraduate research career under the supervision of Professor Gordon leading to a PhD in 1973. Much of his PhD was concerned with developing embryo transfer in sheep as a means of breed propagation. As a post-doc, Maurice worked extensively on embryo transfer in cattle and was one of the first to achieve success with non surgical embryo transfer techniques. The establishment of a simple non-surgical technique for transferring embryos in cattle led to the almost universal adoption of the technique by the embryo transfer industry as it was demonstrated that normal pregnancies and high twinning rates could be established using these simple transcervical procedures.

Over his career, Maurice's main areas of interest included 1) production and transfer of embryos produced both in vivo and in vitro, 2) factors affecting follicular growth and atresia in cattle and sheep, 3) fertility in the high fertility dairy cow, and 4) the link between nutrition and reproduction. In recognition of his contributions, Maurice was awarded the AETE Pioneer Award in 2011.

Within UCD, Maurice rose swiftly through the academic ranks from his appointment as College Lecturer from in 1976 to Chair and Professor of Animal Husbandry in 1994. During his career in UCD he served as Head of the Department of Animal Science and Production (1992-2001), Associate Dean for Research (2001-2004), Dean of the Faculty of Agri-Food and the Environment (2004-XXX). Following a major re-structuring exercise in the University in 2005, he then became the Head of the new School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine and in 2008, was appointed as Principal, College of Life Sciences. 

During his research career Maurice worked extensively with Professor Jim Roche, also a graduate of the Faculty of Agriculture, who went on to spend his career as Professor of Animal Husbandry in the then Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Professor Roche was a pioneer of our understanding of follicle development and turnover in cattle and together with successive postgraduate students they published numerous key landmark papers on follicle turnover and postpartum follicular dynamics in cattle.

Jim graduated from UCD with a B.Agr.Sc. Degree in 1965. He pursued a postgraduate research career under the supervision of Professor Gordon, obtaining a M.Agr.Sc. Degree in 1966. He then went to the University of Illinois to complete a Ph.D. under the supervision of Phil Dzuik. Much of his Ph.D. was concerned with LH secretion in ewes in different physiological states. Jim returned to Ireland to a 2-year post doc position in the Agricultural Institute (now Teagasc) at Dunsinea, Dublin, following which he was appointed a Senior and, subsequently, Principal Research Officer with the Agricultural Institute Animal Management Department in Dunsany, Co. Meath. While with the Agricultural Institute, Jim commenced working on the use of prostaglandin and progesterone for synchronisation of oestrus in cattle; indeed, it was he who developed the early PRID coil device for progesterone synchronisation. He also developed an interest in studying follicle dynamics in cattle and in collaboration with Jim Ireland (Michigan State University), developed the dominant follicle hypothesis in cattle based on follicular dynamics through the oestrous cycle. 

In 1980, Jim joined the UCD Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1981 as Professor and Head of Department of Animal Husbandry and Production. In UCD, Jim continued his illustrious scientific career focusing on follicle dynamics and oestrous synchronisation in cattle, reproductive seasonality in sheep while also dabbling in mare and pig reproduction and aspects of sperm preservation in sheep and horses. He led a very active research team in reproductive biology alongside his colleague Maurice Boland in the then UCD Faculty of Agriculture to bring about substantial disruptive changes in the areas of bovine follicle dynamics, oestrous synchronisation and embryo transfer.

From 2000 to 2002 Jim took on the significant role as Director of Research for Teagasc. He returned to the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 2002 as Professor of Animal Husbandry and Production where he became Director of Research in the newly combined School of Agriculture, Food Science and Veterinary Medicine from 2005 until his retirement in 2008.

In recognition of their individual and joint achievements, both Maurice and Jim were awarded the Pioneer Award at the 11th International Ruminant Reproduction Symposium held in Galway in May 2023.

Environmental threats

Climate change: The most significant direct impact of climate change on livestock production comes from heat stress, which reduces livestock productivity and animal health. Heat stress compromises oocyte growth and quality in cows, by altering hormonal and ovarian dynamics during the oestrous cycle, resulting in drops of up to 30% in conception rates of dairy cows in summer. This problem is not limited to animals near ovulation but also affects follicles and oocytes at early developmental stages, with lasting effects even after the hot season. Furthermore, heat stress during gestation, particularly in the second and third trimesters, can adversely affect the fertility of future generations by damaging the formation of ovarian follicles in the developing foetus.

Nutrition: Projected rising global temperatures have the potential to deleteriously impact forage production, which will have major consequences for human and animal nutrition. Inadequate nutrition delays puberty and sexual maturity in heifers and resumption of ovarian activity and oestrus in postpartum cows. Under nutrition detrimentally affects oocyte quality. Paradoxically, over-nutrition is also a major concern in Europe and North America, where obesity is an increasingly prevalent human health burden. Obesity impairs fertility through an effect upon the mechanisms regulating oocyte development, ovulation, embryo development, uterine function, implantation and pregnancy loss. 

Contaminants: Micro and nanoplastics (MNPs) represent another growing environmental threat to reproductive health. MNPs, which result from the breakdown of larger plastics or from synthetic production, are pervasive in the environment and have been detected in both human and animal tissues. In particular, MNPs have been shown to disrupt oocyte function, including inhibiting meiosis and impairing protein expression vital for oocyte maturation. Studies have found MNPs in the follicular fluid of both humans and cows, suggesting that these pollutants can permeate reproductive tissues and compromise fertility. The potential reproductive harm from MNPs is gaining international attention, the UN Environment Program (UNEP, 2022) recently issued a statement warning that plastic leaking into fields may endanger food security(opens in a new window)[3].

Assisted reproductive technologies

Several generations of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have been applied to livestock breeding. ARTs such as artificial insemination (AI), multiple ovulation embryo transfer (MOET), in vitro embryo production (IVP), regulation of the timing oestrus and ovulation to facilitate timed AI and timed embryo transfer, and sex-sorting of sperm to produce offspring of the desired sex are already well established in the toolbox accessible to farmers. These ARTs are employed to overcome infertility, enhance reproductive efficiency in livestock and help in the conservation of endangered breeds/species. Unfortunately, the efficiency of oocyte-based ART remains relatively low, with only about 20% of oocytes resulting in a live birth. Much research is focused on improving the efficiency of ARTs and also expanding them to include oocyte and ovarian cortex cryopreservation, techniques which involve extensive oocyte or follicle culture in vitro and are associated with low rates of embryo development. In vitro follicle culture (IVFC), recapitulates in vivo oocyte and follicle growth and development. While IVFC systems have been successfully developed in laboratory mice, progress in livestock species like cattle has been slower due to challenges like slower follicle growth and difficulties in isolating follicles. Given the potential long-term and transgenerational effects of environmental stressors, the IVFC system holds promise not only for advancing assisted reproduction but also as a valuable research tool to help study environmental influences on fertility and develop  strategies for preserving oocyte quality in the face of growing environmental challenges.