History

Interests in animal reproduction at the University of Saskatchewan began in the late 1950s when Dr. Bill Howell (Animal and Poultry Science) introduced artificial insemination in cattle to Saskatchewan producers.

This was followed by the appointment of Dr. Bill Cates in the Department of Clinical Studies at the new Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) in 1965. Dr. Cates had a long career at the WCVM focusing on reproductive management in cattle, and in particular, reproductive management and breeding soundness evaluation in beef bulls.

With an interest in reproductive endocrinology, Dr. Jack Manns (1967, Veterinary Physiology) was one of the early pioneers and a driving force behind early cross-campus collaborations that continue to this day. Dr. Manns later became the University’s first Vice President of Research.

In 1977, Dr. Norman Rawlings joined Dr. Manns in Veterinary Physiology with a focus on the endocrinology of puberty using a sheep model; he later became Associate Dean of Research at the WCVM.

Dr. Bill Adams, who had recently discovered the corticosteroid trigger for parturition in cattle and sheep, joined the WCVM in 1970 as Head of the Department of Clinical Studies and established a line of distinguished theriogenologists at the WCVM.

With an interest in equine reproduction, Dr. Frank Bristol (1973) began studies on the characteristics and effects of equine chorionic gonadotropin and conjugated estrogens from pregnant mare urine.

In 1977, Dr. Reuben Mapletoft joined the department as Director of Clinical Research, and established himself early on as one of the foremost authorities on bovine embryo transfer and cryopreservation. Dr. Mapletoft established the Reproduction Research Trust (RRT) in 1980 which provided reproductive services, including the first “on farm” embryo transfer and embryo freezing services for breeders across Western Canada. Income from the RRT was used to support graduate student training and research; between 1980 and 1984, the RRT generated more than $500,000 for these programs.

Dr. Terry Carruthers (Herd Medicine and Theriogenology) was appointed within the RRT at that time as a Research Scientist. Dr. Albert Barth (1979) advanced the work of Dr. Cates with the establishment of the Diagnostic Spermatology Laboratory at WCVM in 1980 and more recently, the standards for the evaluation of frozen semen for the Society for Theriogenology and breeding soundness evaluations for the Western Canadian Association of Bovine Practitioners.