Research internship of a PhD student from Belgium at the Department of Reproduction of the UPWr

On June 26, 2021 - July 20, 2021, Guillaume Domain, a PhD student at the Department of Reproduction, Obstetrics and Herd Health, Ghent University (Belgium) completed an internship at Department of Reproduction and Clinic of Farm Animals of the UPWr. His research focuses on improving canine semen cryopreservation and thanks to the NAWA project, he had the opportunity to perform two experiments in Poland:

- The first one (the most important one, being a part of his PhD) aimed to evaluate the effect of addition of extracellular vesicles (EVs) to the freezing medium on post-thawed sperm quality.

- The second experiment consisted of collecting dog semen and selecting the best spermatozoa from the ejaculate via colloidal centrifugation. Selected sperm cells were frozen and will be used to inseminate bitches. This will allow to obtain in vivo results and to prove that the sperm retained its fertilization capacity after selection.

Also, Guillaume collected material (blood samples and seminal plasma) to further analyze a specific hormone in a laboratory in Belgium and to purify EVs from dogs whose semen showed very good post-thaw quality.

In between laboratory work and many fruitful discussions with prof. Niżański, the doctoral student had the opportunity to participate in the clinical work at the Department and assist during reproductive surgeries. As part of the established cooperation, joint publications will be prepared. In addition, during the next planned visit, samples of semen previously frozen will be thawed and additional detailed parameters will be assessed. Although laboratory work kept him extremely busy, there was also time to visit Wrocław and get familiar with Polish culture and cuisine.

More information about Guillaume’s experience in Wrocław can be found in the interview for ‘Głos Uczelni’: https://upwr.edu.pl/en/news/international-collaboration-belgian-student-expedites-work-on-his-phd-at-upwr-329.html