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Dr Rose Upton

Dr Rose Upton is a conservation and reproductive biologist in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences. Her research focusses on the development and application of assisted reproductive technologies, such as sperm cryopreservation and IVF, to the conservation of wildlife. This has led to her involvement in a number of initiatives to help advance application of these technologies to conservation programs within and outside of Australia. 

 

Rose’s PhD focused on the hormonal induction and cryopreservation of sperm from Australian tree frogs (Pelodryadidae) and included the successful production of sexually mature individuals using cryopreserved sperm and IVF in both Litoria fallax and the endangered L. aurea. This research has potential to help manage genetic diversity in both captive and wild populations and reduce the cost of captive assurance colonies.

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Following the unprecedented 2019/20 megafires in Australia, Rose was part of a team funded by Department of Agriculture, Water and Environment to monitor population size and collect sperm from ten fire-affected amphibian species in both burnt and unburnt sites along the East coast of Australia. Sperm cryopreservation was performed in the field to preserve genetic diversity. This project represents a crucial step towards applying laboratory research and developed assisted reproductive technologies across wildlife conservation. Rose has an interest in applying assisted reproductive technologies across other taxa and has collaborated on projects that focus on biobanking sperm in reptiles, assessing the cost and benefits of applying biobanking to captive breeding programs and has an interest in applying these technologies to the conservation of other Australian wildlife, such as the koala, which is currently predicted to be extinct by 2050.

 

Rose has also transferred these skills to a biomedical setting to help develop germplasm repository capabilities for the aquatic biomedical models the Mexican Axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum and the African Clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, aiding in preservation of valuable transgenic and mutant research lines developed by the National stock centers, Ambystoma Genetic Stock Center and National Xenopus Resource.

Rose with frog
Rose with frog

Current Projects

Coming soon...

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