John O. Almquist Research Center

History of the Center

Dedicated in 1949, the Dairy Breeding Research Center was established to study artificial insemination and dairy cattle fertility. It was renamed the John O. Almquist Research Center in 1999 after the dairy scientist who spearheaded Penn State's dairy cattle breeding research program.

The center is a major force for change in the industry, through research in bull management, nutrition and behavior, sperm harvesting, semen preservation, repeat breeding syndrome and subfertility, sperm metabolism, spermatogenesis, male endocrinology, estrous behavior, use of radiography to evaluate artificial insemination techniques, and characterization of oviductal environment, as well as male fertility factors.

Other contributions include the development of classical images of normal and subfertile reproductive tracts and gross genital abnormalities, the role of progesterone in maintenance of pregnancy, documentation of fertilization rate and embryonic mortality in normal and repeat-breeding cattle, characterization of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium, methods of quantifying sperm production rates and male endocrinology.

Along with Almquist, notable researchers at the center include dairy scientists TY Tanabe, Rupert Amann, Robert Flipse, Phil Senger, Dan Deaver, and Gary Killian.

The faculty, staff and students at the Almquist Research Center have had a long-standing working relationship with the artificial insemination industry. Research at the Almquist Center has led to development of many of the techniques for semen processing and cryopreservation currently used by the industry. In 1981, the research contributions made by the Almquist Research Center were credited with industry savings and increased food production valued worldwide at more than $600 million.

For more information about the John O. Almquist Center, see the History of Dairy and Animal Science.

Current Research Projects

Current research at the John O. Almquist Center is focused on developing a better understanding of male and female fertility. Studies on the male are directed at defining what factors are responsible for differences seen in fertility among bulls. Recently it was discovered that osteopontin and prostaglandin D synthase were proteins in semen that were associated with higher fertility. Much of the work on the cow is focused on understanding how oviduct secretions influence gamete maturation, fertilization and early embryo development.

Additional efforts are directed at developing methods for contraception of white-tailed deer. Both fundamental and applied approaches are used in studies that involve molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, as well as whole animal research. Technological developments from these studies may lead to improved fertility of cattle and contraceptives for over-populated wildlife species. Information derived from these studies may also improve reproductive technologies and have applications in correcting human infertility and contraceptive development.

The Almquist Research Center also is used as a teaching laboratory for "hands on" experience with cattle and current reproductive technologies. Students gain proficiency in the technique of artificial insemination in cattle and obtain experience with the methods of in vitro fertilization and in vitro embryo production. In addition, numerous graduate students and foreign visitors have received training at the Center and have gone on to become leaders in industry, academia, medicine and government.

Research and teaching programs involving domestic animals are expensive. The College of Agricultural Sciences and the Department of Dairy and Animal Science provide funds for the basic operation of the Almquist Research Center. However, the research programs also are supported by about $350,000 per year in government and industry grants and contracts.