August 22, 2005

UI Cloning Expert Vanderwall Honored by International Society

MOSCOW - The leading association of veterinary reproduction experts honored University of Idaho professor and equine cloning expert Dr. Dirk Vanderwall during its annual meeting Aug. 12 in Charleston, S.C.

Vanderwall received the Theriogenologist of the Year Award from the American College of Theriogenologists. The award is sponsored by Ft. Dodge Animal Health, a division of Wyeth, and includes an honorarium. The term theriogenology refers to the veterinary clinical practice and scientific study of animal reproduction.

Vanderwall was a key participant in the successful birth of the world's first clone born to the horse family in 2003, the mule Idaho Gem.

The scientific coup was accomplished by a team led by UI College of Agricultural and Life Sciences animal and veterinary science professors Dr. Gordon Woods and Vanderwall and Utah State University animal science professor Dr. Ken White.

The team produced three mule clones, Idaho Gem, Utah Pioneer and Idaho Star, in 2003. The clones resulted from five years of effort that began after Dolly the sheep, the world's first animal cloned from adult cells was announced in 1997.

The equine family remains resistant to modern reproductive technologies. In addition to the three UI mules, three horse clones have also been born since 2003. Time magazine published a photo of Idaho Gem last week to illustrate its report on animal cloning after a dog was cloned by South Korean scientists.

Although such methods as artificial insemination and embryo transfer are now common in horses, equine cloning remains extremely challenging, and in vitro fertilization or producing embryos in the laboratory remains nearly impossible. Only two "test tube" horse foals are known.

In addition to his work to produce the mule clones, Vanderwall focuses on embryo transfer and freezing equine embryos, which allow high-value mares to produce multiple foals a year using current techniques.

Vanderwall is also working with UI doctoral student Jessica Marquardt to identify the biochemical signal that "tells" a mare she's pregnant.

An associate professor of animal and veterinary science in the Northwest Equine Reproduction Laboratory in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Vanderwall earned his veterinary degree from Cornell University in 1986, then worked for a standardbred horse breeding farm in New York.

He earned a doctorate in animal physiology from UI in 1992 and became a diplomate of the American College of Theriogenologists in 1993. He completed a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Kentucky in 1994, then joined the faculty of the Colorado State University until returning to UI in 1999.

Vanderwall was honored in 2004 with the North Idaho Veterinary Medical Association's highest honor, the George Oakshott Award, for outstanding service to the profession. A year ago, he served as a keynote speaker at the Sixth International Symposium on Equine Embryo Transfer in Rio de Janeiro.

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CONTACTS: Dr. Dirk Vanderwall, (208) 885-7414, dirkv@uidaho.edu ; Bill Loftus, (208) 885-7694, bloftus@uidaho.edu.