The mission of The Southwest Embryology Summit is to provide low-cost educational opportunities for all embryologists, with a focus on those that may not usually be able to attend national meetings.
In order to achieve this goal SWES will organize, at a minimum, one educational conference a year. Any working embryologist or professional in an associated field may attend. These meetings will provide an interactive discussion of basic biology and applied clinical science related to the fields of IVF and andrology, but there should always be some discussions for novice embryologists/andrologists. These discussions shall encourage interaction of novice embryolgists/andrologists in a cooperative, non-judgmental environment.
In order to provide a learning environment, lectures shall occur so that interaction is encouraged between the participants and the speakers. This can best be done with small conferences (<100), in small rooms, in a class room environment. Speakers should be reminded constantly of the interactive and non-didactic nature of these discussions. In addition, these conferences shall be funded mainly through vendor fees and shall provide vendors an inexpensive forum for their products via vendor tables. Small vendors shall be given the opportunity to participate and pricing should be adjusted to encourage them to participate. Vendors shall also be given the opportunity to present discussions as long as they adhere to the goals of this organization and the discussions should steer away from being purely promotional. Vendor discussions should add something unique but informative.
Meet the wonderful folks that comprise The Southwest Embryology Summit. All members are deeply passionate in the various scientific fields of embryology and fertility.
President
PhD, HCLD, Laboratory QA/QC Director for Inception Fertility LLC
Jean Popwell, PhD, HCLD, is the Laboratory QA/QC Director for Inception Fertility LLC, where she facilitates network laboratory projects and provides oversight in maintaining Prelude laboratories performance goals. After graduating with a PhD in Reproductive Physiology from NC State in 1999, she began work in 2000 as an embryologist at Pacific Fertility Center. During this period, she became certified for both a TS and HCLD, in 2002 and 2004 respectively by the American Board of Bioanalysis. An interest in expanding her experience and interests propagated involvement in other opportunities as a biopsy trainer and lecturer for Natera, Irvine Scientific and Illumina, helping embryologist learn Day 5 culture systems and trophectoderm biopsy across the US and other countries. Jean also worked as an off-site Laboratory Director for 2 years and provided IVF lab consulting to other laboratories regarding their overall quality management systems and procedures. Jean strives to remain involved in both local and national organizations that support embryologist educational and professional needs and has provided support as Vice President, President, and Past President in these organizations. Currently, she is the President of Southwest Embryology Summit (SWES). In 2021, Jean became the Laboratory QA/QC Director at Inception Fertility and strives to maintain and support laboratory directors in their efforts toward successful patient outcomes.
Vice President
PhD, HCLD, Chief Science Officer for Ivy Fertility
Dr. Pomeroy is the Chief Science Officer for Ivy Fertility in the US and oversees several IVF laboratories in the US. He has lectured at many scientific meetings and post-graduate courses and has co-authored papers dealing with Covid-19 and the IVF laboratory, best practices for nitrogen storage tanks, risks of cross-contamination of microbes during storage of tissue in liquid nitrogen, the usefulness of embryo morphology in predicting pregnancy and the source of microbial contamination during embryo culture. Kimball O. Pomeroy received a Ph.D. in Animal Physiology at Colorado State University, and then was a post-doc at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. At the Salk Institute, Dr. Pomeroy worked with Dr. Glen Evans on the Human Genome Project (chromosome 11) and did work in the production of transgenic animals. He was trained in Bristol, England as a human embryologist and has worked as a consultant for several projects in Mexico, Nepal, China, Bolivia, and the Bahamas. He has served as a member of the SART Executive Board, Chair of the Reproductive Laboratory Technician’s Group, Chair of the College of Reproductive Biology, and a founding member of both the Regulatory Task Force and the Southwest Embryologist Summit. Recently, he has focused his studies on what happens when cryotanks fail and how oocytes regulate their pH. A big thank you specially to Tuan!
Secretary
PhD, HCLD, Lab Director for Aspire San Antonio and Off-Site Director for Aspire Dallas and Pacific Fertility Center
Dr. Baker earned a Bachelor’s degree in Genetics from Texas A&M University and a PhD in Reproductive Biology from UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, TX. He honed is embryology skill set in Texas, Florida, and Colorado and now serves as the on-site lab director for Aspire San Antonio and the off-site director for Aspire Dallas and Pacific Fertility Center. Dr. Baker is a passionate advocate for embryo donation, as well as safe, efficient laboratory staffing models.
Board Officer
PhD, CLT (NYS), ELD/HCLD (ABB), Technical Supervisor, Embryology Laboratory Director (ELD) and High Complexity Laboratory Director (HCLD)
Eva Schenkman, PhD, CLT (NYS), ELD/HCLD (ABB) has been an Embryologist since 1992. She completed her undergraduate in Animal Science at Cornell University, where she trained with Robert H Foote, an early pioneer whose research led to in vitro fertilization in agricultural livestock, animal cloning and the discovery that female mammals are born with a finite inventory of eggs. She obtained her MS from Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) in Embryology and Andrology and her Phd in Reproductive Clinical Laboratory Science at EVMS. She holds an Advanced Graduate Certificate in Clinical Bioethics from Hofstra University and is licensed as a Technical Supervisor, Embryology Laboratory Director (ELD) and High Complexity Laboratory Director (HCLD) by the American Board of Bioanalysis and as a Clinical Laboratory Technologist by the NYS DOH.
Treasurer / Website Administrator
MS
Board Officer, Vendor Liaison
MS, Clinical Applications Principle at LifeAire Systems
Travel Liaison / Board Officer
MS, ALS, ELS (ABB), Lab Manager at Kindbody
