Overview
Background
Dr Taylor Pini is a lecturer in veterinary reproduction within the School of Veterinary Science and leads the Molecular Animal Reproductive Biology Lab (MARBL). Taylor's research focuses on understanding fundamental reproductive biology across species, in order to improve the outcomes of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) like artificial insemination for livestock and wildlife. Some recent examples of her research work include:
- Exploring sperm formation and function in kangaroos
- How cooling and freezing sperm impacts cellular 'clean up' machinery
- Why frozen ram semen fails to get ewes pregnant
- How the cellular makeup of sperm differs across the kingdom of life
Taylor graduated with a Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience (Hons) and a PhD in reproductive biology from The University of Sydney. After her PhD, Taylor undertook postdocs at the Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine (USA), and with the Gametic Epigenetics Consortium against Obesity (GECKO) at The University of Sydney, before beginning at UQ in 2021. Taylor has worked across many aspects of reproduction (from pregnancy detection to sperm freezing) in a range of species, including mice, humans, sheep, horses, koalas, kangaroos, parrots and echidnas.
Taylor is a co-host and producer of the science communication podcast Repro Radio.
Looking for a research project? Taylor is currently on parental leave, but will be taking on Summer and Winter Scholarship Students (undergraduate), Science Honours Students, Masters and PhD students in 2027.
Availability
- Dr Taylor Pini is:
- Not available for supervision
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy of Reproduction, The University of Sydney
Research interests
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Reproduction
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Sperm physiology
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Seminal plasma biology
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Sperm cryopreservation
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Proteomics
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Oxidative stress
Works
Search Professor Taylor Pini’s works on UQ eSpace
Featured
2023
Journal Article
Male reproductive traits are differentially affected by dietary macronutrient balance but unrelated to adiposity
Crean, A. J., Afrin, S., Niranjan, H., Pulpitel, T. J., Ahmad, G., Senior, A. M., Freire, T., Mackay, F., Nobrega, M. A., Barrès, R., Simpson, S. J. and Pini, T. (2023). Male reproductive traits are differentially affected by dietary macronutrient balance but unrelated to adiposity. Nature Communications, 14 (1) 2566, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38314-x
2025
Journal Article
Epidemiology of testicular tumour diagnoses in Australian dogs in primary care (1992–2022): A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
Ngo, Emily, Hawke, Elyssa, Owada, Kei, Pini, Taylor, Soares Magalhães, Ricardo and Palmieri, Chiara (2025). Epidemiology of testicular tumour diagnoses in Australian dogs in primary care (1992–2022): A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records. Research in Veterinary Science, 197 105924, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2025.105924
2025
Journal Article
Cold shock, chilling and cryopreservation impact sperm proteasome function
Voss, Grace, Crouch, Mikayla, Zigo, Michal, Epple-Farmer, Jessica, Sutovsky, Peter and Pini, Taylor (2025). Cold shock, chilling and cryopreservation impact sperm proteasome function. Reproduction, 170 (5) e250008. doi: 10.1530/rep-25-0008
2025
Journal Article
Ram sperm and seminal plasma alters immune transcriptome and cytokine secretion in ovine cervical explants ex vivo
Rickard, Jessica P., Warr, Sophie, de Graaf, Simon P. and Pini, Taylor (2025). Ram sperm and seminal plasma alters immune transcriptome and cytokine secretion in ovine cervical explants ex vivo. Reproduction, 170 (5) e250240. doi: 10.1530/rep-25-0240
2025
Journal Article
The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Prostate: a proteomic perspective on gland segmentation
Campbell, Yolande, Johnston, Stephen D, Palmieri, Chiara and Pini, Taylor (2025). The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) Prostate: a proteomic perspective on gland segmentation. Biology of Reproduction ioaf209. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioaf209
2025
Journal Article
Dynamic sperm proteome remodelling during epididymal maturation in a marsupial, Macropus giganteus
Kunkel, Sarah, Johnston, Stephen D., Nouwens, Amanda and Pini, Taylor (2025). Dynamic sperm proteome remodelling during epididymal maturation in a marsupial, Macropus giganteus. Biology of Reproduction, 113 (3) ioaf160, 581-591. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioaf160
2025
Journal Article
Use of a sperm morphology assessment standardisation training tool improves the accuracy of novice sperm morphologists
Seymour, Katherine Rose, Rickard, Jessica P., Pool, Kelsey R., Pini, Taylor and de Graaf, Simon P. (2025). Use of a sperm morphology assessment standardisation training tool improves the accuracy of novice sperm morphologists. Scientific Reports, 15 (1) 21963, 1-13. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-07515-3
2025
Conference Publication
A retrospective analysis of 351 testicular tumour diagnoses in Australian pet dogs (1992–2022)
Palmieri, C., Ngo, E., Hawke, E., Pini, T., Owada, K. and Soares-Magalhaes, R. (2025). A retrospective analysis of 351 testicular tumour diagnoses in Australian pet dogs (1992–2022). Annual congress of the European Society of Veterinary Pathology and the European College of Veterinary Pathologists, Madrid, Spain, 28 - 31 August 2024. London, United Kingdom: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2025.03.083
2025
Journal Article
Seminal plasma protects frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa from neutrophil attack: a complement mediated dynamic
Warr, Sophie, Pini, Taylor, de Graaf, Simon P. and Rickard, Jessica P. (2025). Seminal plasma protects frozen-thawed ram spermatozoa from neutrophil attack: a complement mediated dynamic. Reproduction, 170 (2) e240465. doi: 10.1530/rep-24-0465
2025
Journal Article
Towards a kingdom of reproductive life - the core sperm proteome
Pini, Taylor, Nixon, Brett, Karr, Timothy L, Teperino, Raffaele, Sanz-Moreno, Adrián, da Silva-Buttkus, Patricia, Tüttelmann, Frank, Kliesch, Sabine, Gailus-Durner, Valérie, Fuchs, Helmut, Marschall, Susan, Hrabě de Angelis, Martin and Skerrett-Byrne, David A (2025). Towards a kingdom of reproductive life - the core sperm proteome. Reproduction, 169 (6) e250105. doi: 10.1530/rep-25-0105
2025
Book Chapter
Seminal Plasma Proteomics Using Filter-Aided Sample Preparation
Pini, Taylor and de Graaf, Simon P. (2025). Seminal Plasma Proteomics Using Filter-Aided Sample Preparation. Methods in Molecular Biology. (pp. 637-645) New York, NY: Humana Press Inc.. doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4406-5_43
2025
Journal Article
Development of a sperm morphology assessment standardization training tool
Seymour, Katherine R., Rickard, Jessica P., Pool, Kelsey R., Pini, Taylor and de Graaf, Simon P. (2025). Development of a sperm morphology assessment standardization training tool. Biology Methods and Protocols, 10 (1) bpaf029, bpaf029. doi: 10.1093/biomethods/bpaf029
2024
Conference Publication
28 Successful production of kangaroo ICSI embryos
Palacios, P. D., Gurkin, R. J., Campbell, Y., Zhao, J., Pini, T., Johnston, S. and Gambini, A. (2024). 28 Successful production of kangaroo ICSI embryos. Annual Conference of the International Embryo Technology Society, Fort Worth, TX United States, 18–22 January 2025. Clayton, VIC Australia: CSIRO Publishing. doi: 10.1071/rdv37n1ab28
2024
Journal Article
Low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets reduce body weight and sperm count but increase sperm motility in mice
Crean, Angela J., Pulpitel, Tamara J., Pini, Taylor, Rickard, Jessica P., de Graaf, Simon P., Senior, Alistair M., Simpson, Stephen J. and Wali, Jibran A. (2024). Low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets reduce body weight and sperm count but increase sperm motility in mice. The Journal of Nutrition, 154 (1), 60-68. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.11.016
2022
Journal Article
Molecular insights to the sperm-cervix interaction and the consequences for cryopreserved sperm
Warr, Sophie, Pini, Taylor, de Graaf, Simon P. and Rickard, Jessica P. (2022). Molecular insights to the sperm-cervix interaction and the consequences for cryopreserved sperm. Biology of Reproduction, 108 (2), 183-196. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioac188
2022
Conference Publication
Nutritional Geometry of Male Fertility: Moving Beyond The ‘High-Fat’ Diet
PINI, Taylor, AHMAD, Gulfam, BARRES, Romain, SIMPSON, Stephen and CREAN, Angela (2022). Nutritional Geometry of Male Fertility: Moving Beyond The ‘High-Fat’ Diet. Fertility Society Of Australia And New Zealand Annual Conference, Sydney, NSW Australia, 30 July–2 August 2022. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. doi: 10.1142/s2661318222740905
2022
Journal Article
#ESHREjc report: are sperm selection techniques a panacea? Indications for the use of physiological intracytoplasmic sperm injection (PICSI) in medically assisted reproduction
Liperis, George, Sharma, Kashish, Ammar, Omar Farhan, Fraire-Zamora, Juan J., da Silva, Sarah Martins, Thomson, Andrew, Pini, Taylor and Mincheva, Mina (2022). #ESHREjc report: are sperm selection techniques a panacea? Indications for the use of physiological intracytoplasmic sperm injection (PICSI) in medically assisted reproduction. Human Reproduction, 37 (10), 2492-2496. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deac182
2022
Journal Article
Reproductive biology research down under: highlights from the Australian and New Zealand Annual Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Biology, 2021
Dunleavy, Jessica E. M., Dinh, Doan Thao, Filby, Caitlin E., Green, Ella, Hofstee, Pierre, Pini, Taylor, Rivers, Nicola, Skerrett-Byrne, David A., Wijayarathna, Rukmali, Winstanley, Yasmyn E., Zhou, Wei and Richani, Dulama (2022). Reproductive biology research down under: highlights from the Australian and New Zealand Annual Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Biology, 2021. Reproduction, Fertility and Development, 34 (13), 855-866. doi: 10.1071/rd22115
2021
Journal Article
Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry reveals an active response to DNA damage in human spermatozoa
Pini, Taylor, Haywood, Mary, McCallie, Blair, Lane, Sydney L., Schoolcraft, William B. and Katz-Jaffe, Mandy (2021). Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry reveals an active response to DNA damage in human spermatozoa. F&S Science, 2 (2), 153-163. doi: 10.1016/j.xfss.2021.03.001
2021
Journal Article
Obesity and male reproduction; placing the Western diet in context
Pini, Taylor, Raubenheimer, David, Simpson, Stephen J. and Crean, Angela J. (2021). Obesity and male reproduction; placing the Western diet in context. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 12 622292. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.622292
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Taylor Pini is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
The Development and Application of Assisted Breeding Technology for theConservation of Avian wildlife
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Steve Johnston
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Master Philosophy
Novel Techniques for Donkey and Horse Sperm and Somatic Cell Preservation
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Albert Sole Guitart, Dr Andres Gambini
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Doctor Philosophy
Comparative Anatomy and Physiology of Monotreme and Marsupial Accessory Glands
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Chiara Palmieri, Associate Professor Steve Johnston
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Doctor Philosophy
Hatching out the secrets of female monotreme reproductive biology
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Steve Johnston, Professor Chiara Palmieri
Media
Enquiries
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