A partnership with the Interdisciplinary Reproduction and Health Group.
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"Pregnancy Losses in Cattle: Maternally or Paternally Driven?"
 | Speaker: Date: Thursday, November 6, 2025, 4-5 p.m. Location: Hosted by: |
In-person and virtual options. All are welcome!
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About the Speaker
Dr. Ky Pohler is an Assistant Professor and a member of the graduate faculty in the Department of Animal Science. He grew up in Shiner, TX and received a B.S. in Animal Science from Texas A&M University in 2009. He then received a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. Prior to returning to Texas A&M, Dr. Pohler was on faculty at the University of Tennessee in the Department of Animal Science.
Dr. Pohler’s research interest focus on understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms that control reproductive efficiency in cattle. More specifically his lab is interested in the mechanisms that lead to embryonic and fetal mortality in cattle and development of management strategies to overcome these losses. Embryonic mortality can be classified into early (< d 28 of gestation) or late (> d 28 of gestation) depending on the exact timing at which it occurs during gestation. Reports of high fertilization rates after a single insemination (~90%), followed by pregnancy rates of 60 to 70% on d 28 in cows indicate that early embryonic mortality may be 20 to 30% in beef cows. Documented causes of early embryonic mortality range from genetic abnormalities to uterine-embryo asynchrony to failure of maternal recognition of pregnancy and this has been an area of intense investigation. Late embryonic mortality (> d 28 of gestation) has been reported in both beef/dairy cattle and may vary from 3.2 to 42.7%. Currently, there is very little known about the causes of late embryonic mortality. However, the economic consequences of each unit of late embryonic mortality are greater than that of early mortality. Along with the increased economic consequences, late embryonic mortality is becoming more evident in both the beef and dairy industries based on the shift to early pregnancy diagnosis (~d28-35 of gestation).
His professional memberships include the Society for the Study of Reproduction, the American Society of Animal Science, and the Brazilian Society of Embryo Transfer.
About the IRHG Seminar Series
The goal of the Interdisciplinary Reproduction & Health Group (IRHG) Seminar Series is to highlight transdisciplinary precision research taking place in the reproductive health field, provide opportunities for collaboration among researchers to build their own research efforts and promote clinical/researcher activity across the University of Missouri System and our partners.
The IRHG was organized and established through a faculty-driven, grass roots effort in 2016 to develop an integrative interdisciplinary program that transcends traditional departmental, college and system boundaries to foster excellence in reproduction, health research and education at Mizzou.
View all upcoming Reproductive Health events on the IRHG Seminar Series website.
For questions about this event, please reach out to Wipawee Winuthayanon.
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