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2021 NAAB Research Awardee, Dr. Parrish, receiving his award from NAAB Board Chair, Paul Hunt.
Dr. John Parrish
The 2021 NAAB Research Award recipient is Dr. John Parrish. Dr. Parrish earned a B.S. in Animal Science from California State University Fresno. Parrish then went on and received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in Animal Science and Physiology. After completing his Ph.D., Dr. Parrish completed a Post-doc at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on the development of in-vitro fertilization, in-vitro capacitation of bovine sperm, and the mechanisms of capacitation. Dr. Parrish also took sabbatical leave to study at Colorado State University under Dr. James Graham looking at development of methodology for the evaluation of nuclear head shape of bovine sperm. Dr. Parrish then took a position as an Assistant Professor and has moved up the ranks to Professor in Animal and Dairy Sciences at University of Wisconsin – Madison focusing on sperm regulation and function. One of Dr. Parrish’s major contributions to the industry, is the Fourier Harmonic Analysis (FHA) lending major advances into the examination of sperm morphology.
Dr. Parrish has authored a total of over 90 peer-reviewed publications and 1 patent pending on predicting male fertility. He has received many citations as illustrated by his h-index of 44, being cited over 10,000 times. He currently has 25 articles that have been cited more than 100 times. His top two publications on the capacitation of bovine sperm by heparin and bovine in vitro fertilization with frozen thawed semen have been cited 1,743 and 1,400 times respectively. Dr. Parrish proudly credits his training under Dr. RH Foote and Dr. NL First and his many graduate students for his successes over the years.
Dr. Parrish has directly selected topics of research that relate to the A.I. industry. This is illustrated by his participation and presentations at numerous NAAB Technical Conferences. Dr. Parrish is one of the few remaining specialists trained in male andrology, applied male physiology in livestock species and laboratory methodology that understand the specifics within an A.I. organizations and the limitations of applying research. Dr. Parrish continues to be a resource to the A.I. industry in both a research and technical capacity. Many students who have worked under Dr. Parrish now work in the A.I. industry in varying capacities.
Dr. Parrish continues his research on male reproductive physiology, currently studying how heat stress impacts the male. His current study is applied in the boar however it has applications to bovine bulls and likely humans as well. This research focuses on how the experience of heat stress in the summer impacts spermatogenesis, and the detection/mitigation of these effects.
The sum of Dr. Parrish’s competencies, contributions, and service make him a leader in the industry. Due to the well-established and instrumental role in the industry he is a very worthy recipient of the 2021 NAAB Research Award.