Barry A. Ball, professor and John P. Hughes Endowed Chair in Equine Reproduction at the University of California-Davis, has accepted the position of the Albert G. Clay Endowed Chair in Equine Reproduction at the University of Kentucky’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center. Ball will join the UK Department of Veterinary Science as a faculty member in December.
He received his doctor of veterinary medicine degree from the University of Georgia and his doctor of philosophy degree in veterinary medicine from Cornell University. In 1987, he received his board certification as a diplomate in the American College of Theriogenologists, a branch of veterinary medicine concerned with reproduction. He holds veterinary licenses in North Carolina and California. Ball has been a faculty member at UC Davis since 1996.
At UC Davis, Ball’s research in equine reproduction emphasizes gamete biology, fertilization, embryonic development, embryonic loss and endocrinology. Ball also served as the vice-chair in the department of population health and reproduction from 2005-2006.
The Clay Chair, established in 1999, focused on developing a research program that leads to the advancement of knowledge and understanding of equine reproduction as related to biology, physiology, endocrinology, pathology or immunology.