MSU executive vice provost honored with international relaxin research Lifetime Achievement Award
Contact: Mary Pollitz
STARKVILLE, Miss.––Mississippi State University Executive Vice Provost Peter Ryan is the recipient of a prestigious international Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions to veterinary reproductive physiology and animal science.
Recognized at the 10th International Conference on Relaxin Family Peptides in Health and Disease at the University of Nottingham’s Sutton Bonington campus in the U.K. in August, Ryan was one of five scientists honored for advancing research in this field.
Research on the hormone relaxin, which was first discovered a century ago, and its related peptides and receptors has continued to increase, showing how these molecules control various physiological processes from female to male reproduction and birth. Researchers are currently testing these findings as potential cures for heart disease and organ fibrosis.
“Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Peter Ryan has made an exceptional impact on his field and on Mississippi State University. His pioneering research has earned international recognition, while his dedication to teaching, mentorship and academic leadership has strengthened our university in countless ways,” MSU President Mark E. Keenum said. “Dr. Ryan has always brought tremendous knowledge, integrity and commitment to everything he has undertaken, and I am incredibly proud to see his many contributions recognized with this well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award.”
Ryan’s research with relaxin began during his initial postdoctoral fellowship at University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College in 1989 and has continued throughout his 27 years at MSU. His contributions place relaxin physiology at the intersection of reproductive endocrinology, placental biology, ovarian function, extracellular matrix remodeling, reproductive biotechnology and veterinary medicine across multiple species, including horses, pigs and ruminants.
“I have been very fortunate in my academic career to have worked alongside some of the current leading scientists in the field of relaxin research, and Mississippi State University has given me the opportunity, facilities, support of colleagues and access to great students that has allowed me to thrive as a relaxin researcher and conduct the animal projects that enabled me to garner such high praise from my peers,” Ryan said.
In horses, Ryan’s work established relaxin as a crucial diagnostic indicator of placental function and pregnancy health in mares. In pigs, he defined relaxin as a regulator of uterine, cervical and ovarian growth while extending studies to oocytes, spermatozoa and embryos. Working alongside several MSU colleagues, Ryan’s comparative genomics research in ruminants revealed that cows have lost the gene for relaxin while retaining its cell surface receptor, leading to ongoing trials evaluating relaxin therapeutics to facilitate ease of calving in first-time heifers and improving sperm motility in male domestic species.
“This honor means the world to me. To be recognized by my peers in this way is extremely humbling and to be now part of a cohort of distinguished relaxin scientists whom I looked up to over the years,” Ryan said.
As the university’s executive vice provost, Ryan’s responsibilities include academic affairs and student services, as well as being a professor of reproductive physiology with cross appointments in the animal and dairy sciences and pathobiology and population departments. He is a Trinnity College, University of Dublin graduate who holds master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada, and completed postdoctoral work at Princeton and Rutgers University. In addition to his teaching and research, Ryan is a longtime senior member of MSU’s Office of the Provost and Executive Vice President and served as dean of the Graduate School.
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