Hong Fellowship Awarded to Darya Tourzani

The Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program is pleased to announce that Darya Tourzani has been selected as the 2021 recipient of the Frances and Chou-Chu Hong, DVM, PhD Graduate Fellowship in Veterinary and Animal Sciences.

Darya Tourzani, this year’s recipient of the Hong Award, was an undergraduate in the Veterinary and Animal Sciences Department graduating in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in Animal Science. Darya began her research experience in the lab of Dr. Pablo Visconti in April of 2014 as an upcoming junior undergraduate student. During her undergraduate studies, Darya focused on understanding the mechanisms and characteristics that were involved in mammalian reproduction. During the summer of 2014, she went to Alto Pucara, Peru with Stephen Purdy, DVM, as a part of the Nuñoa Project to work alongside alpaca farmers in order to aid in improving their breeding strategies and herd quality. This experience, along with her initial experience working in the research lab of Dr. Visconti established a passion towards becoming a reproductive scientist and embryologist. Continuing her research interests, Darya entered the Animal Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences graduate program, maintaining her passion for reproduction in the Visconti lab.

While pursuing her graduate studies, Darya first focused on the initial passage through the male epididymis where sperm acquire their ability to become capable of fertilization. This process known as sperm maturation, allowed her to identify key changes in post-translational modification that are established into order for the sperm to become fully mature. Her current research interests are focusing on the sperm’s contribution to pre-implantation development. Once mature, sperm undergo a series of molecular changes that allow them to fertilize the oocyte. It has been known for many years that the male contribution is activation of the oocyte and paternal DNA. However, more recently it has been proposed that the sperm could be influencing the success of pre-implantation development and implantation. In the last few years, the Visconti lab developed a novel treatment known as the SER treatment (Sperm Energy-restriction and Recovery) in combination with in vitro fertilization to further enhance mouse populations with reduced-fertilization. Using the SER treatment, Darya has been investigating the relationship between changes to the sperm’s incubation prior to fertilization and the success of development. In addition to understanding the significant role the male gamete plays in development, Darya hopes to demonstrate the robust success the SER treatment has in infertile/sub-fertile strains, as well as in animals with significant economic value.

The Frances and Chou-Chu Hong, DVM, PhD Graduate Fellowship in Veterinary and Animal Sciences was established by two brothers, Jerry C. Hong (’93 Isenberg School of Management), and Jason I. Hong to recognize the education and training at UMass Amherst of their father, Chou-Chu Hong DVM, PhD, who recently stepped down as President of Taiwan’s Level Biotechnology, Inc. Dr. Hong, who earned his PhD at UMass Amherst in veterinary and animal sciences in 1973, has brought international distinction to his alma mater. A former faculty member at Medical University of South Carolina, he was invited by Taiwan’s National Science Council to help establish its Center for Toxicity and Preclinical Sciences and to serve as the director of Taiwan’s National Laboratory Animal Breeding and Research Center. A faculty member of National Taiwan University and the Academia Sinica, he has served as President of the Chinese Society of Laboratory Animal Sciences and a member of Taiwan’s Development Center for Biotechnology.