Rate My Professor Jason Ross

Jason Ross serves as Chair of the Department of Animal Science and Lloyd L. Anderson Endowed Professor in Physiology at Iowa State University of Science and Technology. Hailing from Iowa with a family background in agriculture, he obtained his B.S. in Animal Science from Iowa State University in 2000, M.S. in Animal Science from Oklahoma State University in 2003, and Ph.D. in Reproductive Physiology with a minor in Biochemistry from Oklahoma State University in 2006. After completing his doctorate, Ross worked as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist in the Division of Animal Sciences at the University of Missouri from 2006 to 2008. He joined the Iowa State University Department of Animal Science in 2008 as Assistant Professor of Reproductive Physiology and Biotechnology, was promoted to Associate Professor in 2014, and became the inaugural holder of the Lloyd L. Anderson Professorship that year. Ross directed the Iowa Pork Industry Center from 2015 to 2022, leading interdisciplinary efforts to aid pork producers, before taking on the department chair role in August 2022.

Ross maintains an extensive research portfolio in swine reproductive physiology and biotechnology, encompassing conceptus-uterine interactions, maternal recognition of pregnancy, implantation processes, microRNA regulation in oocyte maturation and embryo development, heat stress impacts on reproduction, ovarian signaling, and genetic modifications of pigs for agriculture and biomedicine. His scholarship exceeds 8,000 Google Scholar citations and over 240 publications. Notable works include "The effects of heat stress and plane of nutrition on metabolism in growing pigs" (Journal of Animal Science, 2013), "Heat stress reduces intestinal barrier integrity and favors intestinal glucose transport in growing pigs" (PLoS ONE, 2013), "Significant improvement in cloning efficiency of an inbred miniature pig by histone deacetylase inhibitor treatment after somatic cell nuclear transfer" (Biology of Reproduction, 2009), and "Physiological consequences of heat stress in pigs" (Animal Production Science, 2015). Among his honors are the Iowa State University Award for Early Achievement in Departmental Leadership (2024), American Society of Animal Science Extension Award (2024), Iowa State University Early Achievement in Research Award (2015), and American Society of Animal Science Early Career Achievement Award (2014). Ross has obtained nearly $20 million in grants as PI or co-investigator, served as associate editor for Molecular Reproduction and Development, chaired multistate committees on swine reproduction, and delivered extension lectures at events such as World Pork Expo.