Session 166: Re-Pet

Session 166: Re-Pet

Tuesday, 16th December, 3pm EST/8pm UK

Moderators:

Dr Pierre Comizzoli
Matt Pettit

Presenters:

Tullis Matson FRAgS, HonDTech, DL: Life after Life

Professor Andrew Pask: Restoring the past to protect our future

Dr Andres Gambini: All in the Family: In Vitro Embryo Production in Horses, Donkeys, Mules and Zebras

Q and A

Synopsis

The final I3 webinar of 2025 concluded as a forward-looking reflection on the foundations and future of animal reproductive science, bringing reproductive biologists together for a timely and provocative discussion on how advancing technologies are reshaping conservation, biodiversity, and the concept of biological legacy. Held on Tuesday, 16 December, the session revisited core principles of animal physiology and reproduction while situating them firmly within the rapidly evolving landscape of assisted reproductive technologies, biobanking, cloning, de-extinction, and comparative translational research.

Moderated by Dr Pierre Comizzoli and Matt Pettit, the webinar framed reproduction not only as a biological process, but as a critical conservation tool. A central theme throughout the session was the reciprocal exchange of knowledge between human and animal reproductive medicine, highlighting how advances in human IVF have directly informed protocols in wildlife and domestic species, while innovations developed in animal models continue to refine and expand human assisted reproduction.

Tullis Matson opened the session with a compelling exploration of biobanking endangered animals, illustrating how the long-term preservation of gametes and tissues is extending reproductive potential beyond an individual’s lifespan. His presentation emphasized how cryobiology, many of its techniques refined within human fertility preservation, are now foundational to genome resource banking and biodiversity conservation, while animal biobanking initiatives are simultaneously providing valuable insights into long-term cellular viability and genetic stability.

Professor Andrew Pask followed with an in-depth examination of de-extinction science, focusing on how reproductive and developmental biology underpin efforts to restore lost species while strengthening the survival prospects of those still extant. He highlighted how methodologies originally advanced through human IVF and embryology have been adapted to non-model species, and how comparative animal research is feeding back into human reproductive science through improved understanding of early development, implantation, and epigenetic regulation.

Dr Andres Gambini concluded the formal presentations with a detailed overview of in vitro embryo production across equids, including horses, donkeys, mules, and zebras. His talk demonstrated how ART, cloning, and interspecies reproductive techniques—many derived from human IVF laboratories—are being applied within structured breeding programs to preserve endangered wildlife, while equine and wildlife models continue to drive innovation in culture systems, embryo manipulation, and cryopreservation strategies relevant to human fertility treatment.

The webinar closed with an engaged question-and-answer session that addressed technical challenges, ethical considerations, and future research directions, reinforcing the role of reproductive scientists as stewards of both innovation and responsibility. Overall, the session served as a celebration of scientific continuity and progress, showcasing how the ongoing dialogue between human and animal reproductive science is central to conservation, species resilience, and the future of life itself.

Dr Pierre Comizzoli

Pierre Comizzoli started his career more than 25 years ago as a research veterinarian South America and Africa. He then completed a PhD in 2000 on in vitro fertilization in bovine and deer species. In 2002, he joined the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Washington, DC to develop new cryo-banking projects on gametes and gonadal tissues from rare and endangered species. This also includes the coordination of reproductive monitoring and artificial inseminations in different species (including giant pandas, clouded leopards, or Eld’s deer). He is leading since 2007 a Smithsonian-wide initiative to improve the management and use of frozen biomaterial collections within the Institution.

Matt Pettit

Matt Pettit is Chief Scientific Officer at Matcher Technologies Ltd, leading the development of Matcher—a barcode-based system for electronic witnessing, labelling, scheduling, and traceability in Fertility Centres.
Matt has over three decades of experience in Assisted Reproductive Technology, including roles in lab management, R&D, and quality control in the world’s largest bovine and equine breeding facilities.

Matt serves as Trustee and scientific advisor to Nature’s Safe, a conservation initiative preserving live cells from endangered animal species in collaboration with global zoos

Tullis Matson FRAgS, HonDTech, DL

Tullis Matson FRAgS, HonDTech, has practiced Artificial Insemination (AI) in stallions and freezing semen for over 30 years.  He formed Stallion AI Services in 2000, one of the most successful stallion collection centres in Europe, offering semen collection services, fertility assessment and worldwide semen export.

It was from Stallion AI Services that Tullis set up the charity, Nature’s SAFE, in 2020, with the simple but bold ambition to transfer biotechnology from this company to the challenge of halting and reversing the decline of biodiversity. 

Nature’s SAFE is a living biobank dedicated to preventing animal extinction by indefinitely preserving live cells from endangered species. As one of the only living biobanks in Europe, it is the only facility in the UK and Europe capable of reawakening live cells.

Now in its fifth year, with cryopreserved tissue samples from over 300 species, Nature’s SAFE has been nominated for the Earthshot Prize 2025.

Prof Andrew Pask

Dr Andres Gambini: