DR. JOHN D. KIRBY Reproductive Physiologist

Dr. John Kirby received his B.A. and M.S. degrees in Biology from the University of Nebraska, Omaha. He completed Ph.D. studies in 1990 at Oregon State University, where he received the John T. Babcoc Outstanding Ph.D. Student award and a Purina Mills Graduate Research Fellowship. Upon graduation, he undertook post-doctoral studies at Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. Following an appointment at Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, he moved to the University of Arkansas in 1993. He received young investigator awards from the American Societies of Andrology (1992) and Nephrology (1994). Dr. Kirby has also received the John W. White Outstanding Faculty Research Award and the Gamma Sigma Delta (Agricultural Honor Society) Faculty Research Award. He currently serves as Director for the Campus Cell and Molecular Biology Program and the Campus DNA Sequencing and Gene Expression Laboratory. In 2005, Kirby was given the "Outstanding Faculty" Award from the Student Alumni Board and the Associated Student Government during their faculty appreciation banquet.

Dr. Kirby's research is focused on basic and applied aspects of male reproductive biology. Current investigations are directed toward characterizing factors involved in regulating testis and accessory organ growth and differentiation. His lab uses rodent and poultry models to study these complex processes. His studies of testicular growth and development have focused on the use of transient prepubertal hypothyroidism, a unique endocrine model that results in a doubling of testis size and even greater increases in sperm production. Members of his lab also work on a genetic defect in male fowl that results in the aberrant formation of the excurrent duct system, providing an opportunity to study the differentiation and ultimate function of the male reproductive tract. Dr. Kirby also studies factors that alter the fertilizing ability of avian spermatozoa, using poultry models to better define those factors that affect fertility and to improve the analyses of fertility data. The Kirby lab uses a variety of methodologies, including cell isolation and culture, RNA and DNA analyses, image analysis, immunocytochemistry, protein biochemistry, and animal trials.

SIGNIFICANT PAPERS

• Perrault, SD and JD Kirby (1999) Internal fertilization in Birds, pp 856-866, in The Encyclopedia of Reproduction, E Knobil and JD Neill, Eds., Academic Press, NY

• Froman, DP, A Feltmann, ML Rhoads and JD Kirby (1999) Sperm mobility: A primary determinant of fertility in the domestic fowl. Biology of Reproduction 61:400-405

• Kirby, JD and DP Froman (2000) Avian Male Reproduction, in Sturkieís Avian Physiology, 5th edition, GC Whittow, ed. Academic Press, NY.

• Froman, DP and JD Kirby (2000) Poultry Reproduction- Male, in Reproduction in Farm Animals, 7th edition, ESE Hafez, ed., Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia

• Yang, JY, JLM Morgan, JD Kirby and WL Bacon (2000) Circadian Rhythm of the preovulatory surge of luteinizing hormone and its relationships to rhythms of body temperature and locomotor activity in turkey hens. Biology of Reproduction 62:1452-1458

• Janssen  SJ, JD Kirby, RA Hess, M Rhoads, D Bunick, KL Bailey, CM Parsons,  H Wang, and  JM Bahr (2000) Identification of Epididymal Stones in Diverse Rooster Populations. Poultry Science 79:568-574

• Melnychuk, VL, MA Cooper, JD Kirby, RW Rorie and NB Anthony (2002) Use of Ultrasonography to Characterize Ovarian Status in Chickens. Poultry Science 81:892-895

• Bacon, WL, JA Vizcarra, JY Yang, JLM Morgan, D Long, H-K Liu, and JD Kirby (2002) Changes in plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone, progesterone, and estradiol-17b in peripubertal turkey hens under constant or diurnal lighting. Biology of Reproduction 67:591-598

• Ali, N, LE Cornett, JD Kirby, JA Vizcarra, JC Ellison, J Thrash, PR Mayeux, SM Jones, and DA Baeyens (2002) Molecular cloning and functional characterization of a vasotocin receptor subtype expressed in the pituitary gland of the domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus): Avian homolog of the mammalian V1B-vasopressin receptor.  Regulatory Peptides (In Press)

CONTACT INFORMATION

jkirby@uark.edu

Dr. John D. Kirby
Center of Excellence for Poultry Science
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701

Telephone: 479-575-8623
FAX: 479-575-3026

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