About The Embryologist
My goal is to give every person going through IVF the knowledge they need to advocate for their care and feel empowered on their journey.
Honestly, I never knew about the field of Embryology until my last year at North Carolina State University. I knew from my first semester there, that I didn’t want to go to med school or PA school. I considered graduate school, but by the time I got to my last year, I was burned out and ready to move into a job. While at NCSU, I developed a real passion for reproductive health, women’s health and comprehensive sex education, but wasn’t sure how that would translate into a career. My degrees in Genetic and Biotechnology gave me great lab experience and I wanted to utilize that while also working with patients.
I’m not going to lie, the first year or so I was in the field, I wasn’t sure it was really for me. I loved teaching while I was in school and I was missing that. I ended up exploring some other jobs, but decided I really loved Embryology and IVF and just needed a way to get my teaching fix. Over the years, I realized just how little information there is on what actually goes on behind the scenes in the lab. That is why I decided to create my Instagram, Tiktok and now this! Infertility is not an easy journey and I believe understanding what happens in the lab can help give patients peace of mind during their treatment.
So much information is thrown at you when going through IVF. Book an education course below and have an embryologist break it down for you!
I can’t speak more highly about my time at NC State. It was actually the only school I applied to (when my parents found this out, they were NOT happy lol). I graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2018 with a B.S. in Genetics and a minor in Biotechnology. I did a good bit of extracurriculars while I was there. I was an Organic Chemistry tutor, Genetics teaching assistant, Genetics club president and I did research on campus.
Frequently Asked Questions
An embryologist is a reproductive health professional that is responsible for all aspects in the IVF lab, including embryo culture, egg retrievals, insemination, egg freezing, embryo biopsy, and more.
In the US, CLIA 88′ requires all high complexity laboratory staff to have at least 24 hard science credit hours. While this is the minimum requirement, most embryologists have a B.S. in a science. This can be any science including cell biology, chemistry, genetics, animal science, etc.
Most Embryologists are trained on the job or in the animal science field. Most labs want to see that you have basic lab skills. Embryologists start in Andrology (sperm) and train their way into Embryology. There are also some training programs that get you great Embryology experience (ARTLAB, W.E.S.T, Ovatools). Some even guarantee an Embryology job after completion.
Embryologists are able to train a variety of different ways. They can train on embryos and eggs that would have otherwise been discarded, with the consent of patients. Patients can also donate their embryos, eggs or sperm for training purposes. Mouse eggs and embryos are also often utilized for training purposes!
