Tricia Rowlison is a research specialist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Center for Species Survival. Rowlison’s research focuses on investigating sperm maturation in the domestic cat model. Specifically, she is analyzing the secretion of small vesicles within the male’s reproductive tract, termed "epididymosomes."

Through her work, she has characterized the protein content of these vesicles and identified key proteins that are transferred to the transiting sperm cell population. She has also demonstrated a beneficial effect of the epididymosomes on sperm ability to successfully complete fertilization. Rowlison continues to investigate the potential use of these vesicles to improve assisted reproductive techniques for wild felids.

Rowlison earned her bachelor’s degree in animal sciences at the University of Missouri, and her Master of Science in animal and dairy sciences at Mississippi State University. She earned her doctorate in animal and avian sciences at the University of Maryland in conjunction with SCBI. Rowlison continued as a postdoctoral researcher with SCBI in 2018 in Dr. Pierre Comizzoli’s laboratory at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

Tricia Rowlison is a research specialist at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute's Center for Species Survival. Rowlison’s research focuses on investigating sperm maturation in the domestic cat model. Specifically, she is analyzing the secretion of small vesicles within the male’s reproductive tract, termed "epididymosomes."

Article

• Rowlison, Tricia and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2023. "Transfer of Galectin-3-Binding Protein via Epididymal Extracellular Vesicles Promotes Sperm Fertilizing Ability and Developmental Potential in the Domestic Cat Model." International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24, (4). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24043077. 2023
• Rowlison, Tricia, Nagashima, Jennifer, Acker, Jason Paul, Ben, Robert, Daly, Jonathan, Hagedorn, Mary, and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2022. "First Report of Successful Laser Warming for Frozen Gonadal Tissues and Oocytes in the Domestic Cat Model." Biopreservation and Biobanking, https://doi.org/10.1089/bio.2022.0071. 2022
• Rowlison, Tricia, Ottinger, Mary Ann, and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2021. "Exposure to epididymal extracellular vesicles enhances immature sperm function and sustains vitality of cryopreserved spermatozoa in the domestic cat model." Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-021-02214-0. 2021
• Rowlison, Tricia and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2021. "The Knowns and Unknowns about Epididymal Extracellular Vesicles in Different Animal Species." Advanced Biology, https://doi.org/10.1002/adbi.202101066. 2021
• Rowlison, Tricia, Cleland, Timothy P., Ottinger, Mary Ann, and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2020. "Novel proteomic profiling of epididymal extracellular vesicles in the domestic cat reveals proteins related to sequential sperm maturation with differences observed between normospermic and teratospermic individuals." Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 19, (12) 2090–2103. https://doi.org/10.1074/mcp.RA120.002251. 2020
• Cramer, Emily, Krauss, Nicole, Rowlison, Tricia, and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2020. "Sperm Morphology and Male Age in Black-Throated Blue Warblers, an Ecological Model System." Animals, 10, (7) Article 1175. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10071175. 2020
• Cramer, Emily R. A., Rowlison, Tricia, Comizzoli, Pierre, and Ryder, T. Brandt. 2019. "Uniform Sperm Morphology in the Lek-Breeding Wire-Tailed Manakin (Pipra Filicauda)." Ornitologia Neotropical, 30 135–139. 2019
• Rowlison, Tricia M., Ottinger, Mary Ann, and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2017. "Deciphering the mechanisms involving cenexin, ninein and centriolin in sperm maturation during epididymal transit in the domestic cat." Reproduction in Domestic Animals, 52, (Supplement S2) 193–196. https://doi.org/10.1111/rda.12831. 2017
• Rowlison, Tricia M., Ottinger, Mary Ann, and Comizzoli, Pierre. 2017. "Key factors enhancing sperm fertilizing ability are transferred from the epididymis to the spermatozoa via epididymosomes in the domestic cat model." Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics, 35, (2) 221–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10815-017-1083-3. 2017