Fertility Research at Women & Infants’ Fertility Center

Women & Infants’ Fertility Center is part of Women & Infants Hospital, one of the country’s most prestigious research hospitals for obstetrics, gynecology, and newborn pediatrics. All of our providers are also on staff at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University.

In addition to seeing patients, our physicians prioritize their research work. Not only are they the authors of numerous studies related to fertility, they have also played historic roles in the development of reproductive medicine, such as delivering the first baby conceived through donor embryo transplant. Many of our physicians also work across disciplines to develop useful tools based on their research, such as apps and medical devices.

About Our Physicians | Research at Women & Infants Hospital

Our research philosophy

Intelligent questions lead to better answers. We know that there can be a big difference in the perceptions of outcomes, even successful ones, and the truth. Only by critically evaluating interventions and treatments can we truly know what really happens. We use research to examine if interventions can benefit patients and, importantly, to make sure that they are not detrimental. By taking a closer look at the way we approach treatment, we can improve our own processes and the processes within our field.

The future of treatment starts with an idea. Reproductive endocrinology and infertility is a relatively new field. Rapid advancements in technology and science continually change the way we practice, but our research keeps us at the forefront. Because of research, we can also be a part of developing the next cutting edge interventions.

Research informs better patient care. We see a close link between the work we perform in the lab and the work we perform in the clinic. There is nothing more gratifying than helping a person or couple build their family, and we believe our research allows us to get closer to making sure that every one of our patients has the opportunity to have a baby.

Our work extends beyond the here and now. Our discoveries in the field of education research allow us to prepare the next generation of physicians. By working with students at the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, we have the opportunity to give back and prepare them for their future careers.

If you’re seeking an expert partner for fertility treatment, look no further. Women & Infants’ Fertility Center has the only IVF lab in Rhode Island and access to all of the resources of Women & Infants’ Hospital.

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Notable publications and presentations

Lynae M. Brayboy, MD

  • The use of technology in the sexual health education especially among minority adolescent girls in the United States. Published in Current Opinion in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2018
  • Girl Talk: A smartphone application to teach sexual health education to adolescent girls. Published in Journal of Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology, February 2017.
  • “Girl Talk: A Smartphone Application to Teach Sexual Health Education to Adolescent Girls,” NASPAG Annual Meeting, West Palm Beach FL, April 12, 2018.
  • “MDR-1loss in the ovary is associated with increased vulnerability to toxicants, oxidative stress, and metabolic dysfunction,” 21st Annual Frontiers in Reproduction Symposium, Woods Hole MA, June 8, 2018.
  • MDR-1 loss in the ovary is associated with increased vulnerability to toxicants, oxidative stress, and metabolic dysfunction, Poster Presentation (P49), Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, July 11, 2018.
  • Ethinyl Estradiol modulates multidrug resistance transporter-1 (MDR-1) expression in the ovary, Poster Presentation (P51), Society for the Study of Reproduction (SSR) Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA, July 13, 2018.
  • “P-glycoprotein loss in the ovary is associated with increased vulnerability to toxicants, oxidative stress, metabolic dysfunction,” Reproductive Scientist Development Program (RSDP) Annual Retreat, Philadelphia PA, September 8, 2018.
  • “Designing Research to Inform Clinical Practice,” The Promise of Genome Editing Tools to Advance Environmental Health Research, National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine workshop, Washington DC, January 11, 2018.
  • “P-glycoprotein loss in the ovary is associated with increased vulnerability to toxicants, oxidative stress, and metabolic dysfunction,” University of Massachusetts, Amherst MA, February 12, 2018.

Eden Cardozo, MD

Gary Frishman, MD

  • Counselling women about lubricants and intercourse. Published in BJOG, April 2018.
  • So what do cesarean section scar diverticula and intraligamental fibroids have in common? Published in Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology, August 2016.
  • “Navigating Collegial Professionalism in Fellowship Training: Frameworks for Setting Boundaries in Tight Communities,” breakout session, APGO/CREOG Annual Meeting, New Harbor MD, March 1-3, 2018.
  • “Office Hysteroscopy: Tips from Masters for a Roadmap to Success,” session leader and lecturer, Joint ACOG/AAGL Session, ACOG Annual Clinical and Scientific Meeting, Austin TX, April 28, 2018.
  • “Hysteroscopy evidence-based approach and revolving treatment options,” AAGL (American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists) 14th International Conference of Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery of AAGL/8th Global Congress of Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery of COGA (Chinese Obstetric Gynecologic Association), Beijing, China, September 16, 2018
  • “The State of the Art in Office Procedures (including Hysteroscopy),” Harvard University Generalist Course/Annual Ob/Gyn Update Course, Boston MA, March 20, 2018.
  • “Hysteroscopy: Tips and Tricks,” Harvard University Generalist Course/Annual Ob/Gyn Update Course, Boston MA, March 20, 2018.
  • Beyond Gynecologic Surgery conference, Clermont-Ferrand, France, April 4-6, 2018.
    • Scientific Program Committee
    • Co-Chair/Moderator: Teaching and simulation in surgery in 2018 session
    • Lecture: “Burnout and post-traumatic stress among surgery residents and surgeons, do we need to teach resilience?”
    • Keynote Lecture: “The Future of Surgery and of Endoscopic Surgery”
  • Led AAGL International Board of Directors Meeting, New York NY,  February 24-25, 2018
  • Presented “Show me the numbers: a guide to statistics and paper analysis,” Australasian Gynaecological Endoscopy & Surgery (AGES) Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Melbourne, Australia, March 8-10, 2018.
  • Attended APGO/CREOG Annual Meeting, New Harbor MD, March 1-3, 2018.
    • Board Member Meeting: COFTOG business meeting
    • Presenter at breakout session: “Navigating Collegial Professionalism in Fellowship Training: Frameworks for Setting Boundaries in Tight Communities”
  • Led AAGL (American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists) Executive Board Meeting, Providence RI, August 3-5, 2018 with board members from the United States, Canada, Italy, India and South America participating.
  • Co-chaired AAGL (American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists) 14th International Conference of Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery of AAGL/8th Global Congress of Gynecologic Minimally Invasive Surgery of COGA (Chinese Obstetric Gynecologic Association), Beijing, China, September 11-16, 2018.
    • Presented “Hysteroscopy evidence-based approach and revolving treatment options,” September 16, 2018.
  • IVF Clinic Websites: Buyer Beware the System Is Broken, presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 2019 Scientific Congress & Expo, Philadelphia, PA, October 12-16, 2019.

Richard Hackett, MS

  • From Fertilization To Blastocyst: A Comparative Study Of Testicular To Ejaculated Sperm In Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Treatment Cycles, presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 2019 Scientific Congress & Expo, Philadelphia, PA, October 12-16, 2019.

Warren J. Huber III, MD, PhD

Virginia Mensah, MD

May-Tal Sauerbrun-Cutler, MD

  • IVF Clinic Websites: Buyer Beware the System Is Broken, presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 2019 Scientific Congress & Expo, Philadelphia, PA, October 12-16, 2019.

Victoria Snegovskikh, MD

Shunping Wang, PhD, HCLD

  • Discordant anti-müllerian hormone (AMH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) among women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF): which one is the better predictor for live birth? Published in Journal of Ovarian Research, July 2018.
  • “Discordant AMH and FSH among women undergoing IVF: which one is the better predictor for live birth?” New England Fertility Society (NEFS) 16th Annual Meeting, Chatham MA, May 5, 2018.
  • From Fertilization To Blastocyst: A Comparative Study Of Testicular To Ejaculated Sperm In Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) Treatment Cycles, presented at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) 2019 Scientific Congress & Expo, Philadelphia, PA, October 12-16, 2019.

Carol A. Wheeler, MD