JASON RIZO
Hi there! My name is Jason Rizo and I am a master’s student working with Dr. Bromfield’s lab. I am from Nicaragua and I have a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy from Zamorano University (Honduras).
During my time in Zamorano, I participated in extension programs teaching producers how to manage their farms in order to increase profits; through this experience, I quickly realized that one of my main interests is to understand the biology beyond the basic line of production. Thus, I worked in two research projects, one on genetic improvement in beans and another evaluating the effects of mineral supplementation in beef heifers. In Zamorano I met friends that became family, and it definitely was an experience that changed my life.
In 2015, I did an internship at The Pennsylvania State University where I worked on a research evaluating organic trace mineral supplementation in dairy heifers; I assisted in cannulation surgeries and learned about animal behavior and welfare (in addition to know what a cold winter really looks like). I had a great time in Penn State, it was my first contact with a graduate program in the United States, and it reassured my interest to keep doing research.
I came to UF in November 2016 to do an internship with Dr. Bromfield. My research interest is to identify active molecules present in bovine seminal plasma and to evaluate their interaction with the female reproductive tract in the early stages of pregnancy. By providing a better understanding of this interaction, we could potentially improve some assisted productive techniques in cattle. I started my master’s program in May 2017.
Working with reproductive biology, I found something I feel curious and excited about. My goal is to be able to apply science in order to optimize animal production systems, it is not an easy task but as I learned in Zamorano: “Labor omnia vincit” (work conquers all).
PUBLICATIONS
JA Rizo, LA Ibrahim, PCC Molinari, B Harstine, RL Piersanti, JJ Bromfield. Effect of seminal plasma or transforming growth factor on bovine endometrial cells. Reproduction. 2019; 158(6):529-541.
Ortiz WG, Rizo JA, Carvalheira LR, Ahmed BMS, Estrada-Cortes E, Harstine BR, Bromfield JJ, Hansen PJ. Effects of intrauterine infusion of seminal plasma at artificial insemination on fertility of lactating Holstein cows. J Dairy Sci. 2019; 102(7):6587-6594.
Ibrahim LA, Rizo JA, Fontes PLP, Lamb GC, Bromfield JJ. Seminal plasma modulates expression of endometrial inflammatory meditators in the bovine. Biol Reprod. 2019; 100(3):660-671.
Bromfield JJ, Rizo JA, Ibrahim LA. Paternal priming of maternal tissues to optimise pregnancy success. Reprod Fertil Dev. 2017; 30(1):50-55.
Jason A. Rizo, Masters Thesis. 2019. Endometrial response to semen components in the bovine.