Wageningen University and Research

Wageningen University and Research (WUR) is an internationally renowned university and research organization in the field of agriculture, healthy nutrition and quality of life, and was ranked first among the world’s best universities in agriculture and forestry (QS ranking). Its mission is “to explore the potential of nature to improve the quality of life”. WUR is a partnership between Wageningen University (WU) and Wageningen Research (WR). According to the last annual report in 2022, WUR produced 5790 publications and 320 PhD candidates obtained their degrees.

WUR Animal Breeding and Genomics (WUR-ABG) is a leading research group within WUR that is active in the fields of conservation genetics, genomics, animal breeding, cryobiology and reproduction. ABG counts on clients and collaborators such as the Dutch government, the EU, and breeding organizations for commercial and non-commercial livestock breeds or pets/horses.

Within ABG, the research group involved in the CryoStore project is the Centre for Genetic Resources (CGN). CGN carries out specific ‘statutory research tasks’ for the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. CGN develops and maintains gene bank collections, does methodological research, and participates actively in national, European and global organizations and networks, in four domains (crops, farm animals, trees and aquatic species). CGN collaborates actively with the private breeding industry and national NGO’s, and also supports the Dutch government in the field of policy development and implementation. WUR-ABG and CGN have a long track record of coordination of and participation in EU projects, resulting in a unique position in Europe with an extensive network in the area of conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources.

Dr. Julie Lamy

I started my research career in the field of reproductive biology in 2014. My main interest and motivation is the conservation of endangered wild species and endangered breeds of domestic animals. So far, I have worked with numerous species from bovine and porcine to domestic and wild felids. I have led or participated in research projects with the following focus:

  • Cyclic regulations of the oviduct and sperm-oviduct interactions in bovine.

  • Cyclic regulations of the oviductal and uterine physiology of the domestic cat.

  • Development of a laparoscopic embryo transfer technique for in vitro produced embryos in cheetahs.

  • Vitrification of bovine and porcine embryos.

  • Cryopreservation of porcine ovarian cortex.

  • Exploring embryo quality assessment techniques.

  • Vitrification of pre-pubertal sheep immature oocytes.

  • Development of an IVF laboratory for porcine.

  • Improvement of the cryopreservation procedures for rooster semen.

In the CryoStore project, I am a work package leader for WP3 “Improved cryopreservation procedures for animal germplasm” and the main supervisor of the PhD project 7: “Improved protocols for the cryopreservation of porcine germplasm”.

Dr. Sipke Joost Hiemstra

S. J. (Sipke Joost) Hiemstra obtained his MSc in Animal Sciences (Animal Breeding) at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and is currently head of the Centre for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands (CGN) of Wageningen University & Research. He is the coordinator of the Dutch national programme on genetic resources (crops, farm animals and forest species), commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, and has been active in research and policy networks for >20 years.

Sipke Joost Hiemstra is the Dutch National Coordinator on Animal Genetic Resources for the implementation of the FAO Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources. He has also been active in the European network of National Coordinators for Animal Genetic Resources (ERFP) for a long time, and initiated the development of the European Gene Bank Network for Animal Genetic Resources (EUGENA) at European level. In 2022 he was appointed as the Director of the EU Reference Centre for Endangered Animal Breeds (EURC-EAB).

Dr. Annemieke Rattink

Annemieke has more than 20 years of experience in both animal and plant breeding. She obtained her Bsc and MSc in Biology with a specialization in genetics from Wageningen University in 1997. After that she performed her PhD work in the lab of Martien Groenen (Animal Breeding and Genomics Group, Wageningen University) on the characterization of QTLs controlling fatness in pigs. She continued working on farm animals at Nutreco and Hendrix Genetics, focusing on molecular genetics applied to breeding. In 2009 she made the switch to the applied research company Genetwister working on application for vegetables and ornamentals. After several positions within that company, Annemieke joined the Centre for Genetic Resources (CGN) in June 2022 as Cluster Leader for the Animal domain of CGN. In this function she hopes to contribute to the importance of genetic diversity as a basis for conservation and development of sustainable agriculture, through collaborations within CGN, and with WUR disciplines and external partners within and outside the Netherlands.

Dr. Arjan P. Palstra

Dr. Arjan Palstra is a senior researcher and project leader in fish physiology within the Animal Breeding and Genomics department of Wageningen University & Research. He obtained his MSc degree in Biology at the Wageningen University in 2000 where he spent one year in Ethiopia studying the riverine spawning and reproductive segregation of barbs. He obtained his PhD degree in Physiology at the Leiden University in 2006 on eel migration and maturation studies and continued as post-doc at LU and the biotechnological company ZFScreens. He was then awarded with a personal Marie Curie fellowship and spent three years (2008-2011) at the University of Barcelona in Spain studying the link between swimming and reproduction in trout and creating a strong Spanish network. He returned as senior researcher at Wageningen Marine Research (then IMARES; 2011-2015), was awarded with a personal Marie Curie reintegration grant and became guest scientist at the Molecular Cell Biology group of LU. He was also awarded with a personal fellowship of the Japanese Society to visit Hokkaido University and study the link between olfaction and maturation in homing chum salmon. In 2016 he switched to his current position at Wageningen campus. Dr Palstra has published 61 peer-reviewed scientific articles (27 as main author, 9 as last author; H-index 29) and 10 book chapters (4 as main author). Dr Palstra coordinated an EU-R4SME project, chaired the EU-COST Action FITFISH and is candidate chair of the EU-COST Action EEL SUPPORT. Together with the Dutch eel sector he launched the Eel Reproduction Innovation Centre EELRIC in 2016 and acquired PPS and EFMZV projects to run EELRIC. Currently, he is principal investigator in 10 EU, PPS and B2B projects on fish reproduction (eel, trout and tuna) and swimming physiology. Dr Palstra is daily supervisor of 2 PhD students, an EngD student and MSc students, and lectures in MSc and BSc courses.