The Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility field has made remarkable strides in recent years, revolutionizing how individuals and couples approach fertility challenges. With advancements in technologies such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), egg freezing, and genetic screening, the field continues to innovate, offering new hope to those facing reproductive health issues. The importance of this industry extends beyond the scientific and medical breakthroughs, as it helps people realize their dream of parenthood while addressing significant medical concerns such as genetic disorders and fertility preservation. By continually refining techniques and expanding the understanding of reproductive health, this sector plays an integral role in improving the quality of life for many individuals.
Dr. Carolyn Alexander, Co-Medical Director and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Physician at SCRC, has demonstrated an unwavering dedication to women’s health, with a focus on fertility preservation and personalized patient care. Her leadership is marked by a commitment to scientific rigor and patient empathy, ensuring that patients receive tailored treatment that aligns with their unique medical and personal circumstances. Alongside her, Dr. Susan M. Maxwell, Clinical Director and fellow Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Physician at SCRC, is reshaping patient care with her operational insight and passion for advancing genetic screening technologies. Both leaders are deeply committed to improving patient outcomes, with Maxwell’s personal experience with infertility further fuelling her drive to help others on their fertility journey.
Under the guidance of these accomplished professionals, the Southern California Reproductive Center (SCRC) has established itself as a leader in reproductive health. SCRC continually advances treatment protocols and integrates the latest scientific discoveries to provide exceptional care. With a focus on personalized treatment and a collaborative approach across its medical teams, SCRC is evolving to meet the demands of modern reproductive health and making significant contributions to the future of fertility care.
Let’s explore Dr. Alexander and Dr. Maxwell’s roles in improving patient outcomes:
Dr. Carolyn Alexander:
Enthusiasm for Women’s Health
Dr. Carolyn Alexander’s dedication to helping cancer patients explore options like egg or embryo freezing began during her time with Dr. Lisa Kolp at Johns Hopkins. As a resident, she concentrated her research on fertility preservation under the mentorship of Drs. Edward Wallach and Theodore Baramki, deepening her commitment to this field. They explored how to educate and explain to oncologists the importance of discussing fertility preservation with both women and men in the future. Being the first doctors to perform IVF in the United States, these physicians were highly inspirational and led her to reproductive endocrinology.
Dr. Alexander has always been very enthusiastic about women’s health. However, her work in the field of IVF was greatly inspired by the pioneering efforts of Drs. Georgiana and Howard Jones. Dr. Georgiana Jones, a specialist in the endocrine aspects of reproductive endocrinology and infertility, had a profound influence on Dr. Alexander. Intrigued by the complexities of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and its impact on ovarian function, Dr. Alexander developed a special interest in this condition. Early in her career at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, she delved into the genetic aspects of PCOS, further advancing her research in the field.
Dedication to Fertility Preservation Excellence
Dr. Carolyn Alexander’s mission is to provide the most compassionate and thorough care for all patients. She feels strongly that everyone should be treated with the utmost respect and given all the options.
Dr. Alexander believes that what sets SCRC apart is that each patient is given individualized care and a specific treatment plan depending on their medical history, surgical history, and past treatments.
Dr. Alexander is also very proud of the embryology team. They work diligently to achieve the best outcomes for all patients. They have had pregnancies from eggs that have been frozen for over 14 years, which is a testament to the lab. SCRC is always eager and enthusiastic to provide patients with the best care on their fertility preservation journey.
Fascinating Advances in Vitrification
Dr. Carolyn Alexander finds the advancements in vitrification, particularly for egg and embryo freezing, to be highly fascinating. Her team is focusing on refining the specific protocols for egg freezing and improving the survival rates of the egg thaw. Through these efforts, they aim to optimize their techniques and contribute to the progress of reproductive endocrinology.
Innovations within Dr. Alexander’s team and SCRC widely are particularly exciting. Dr. Alexander has seen her colleagues performing skin fibroblasts, looking at evolving that to functional sperm for men who have no sperm in the ejaculate and don’t have obstructive azoospermia.
Dr. Alexander’s first research project was with Dr. Ellie Goldstein in Microbiology. The microbiome of the vagina and uterine cavity are being studied to better optimize embryo transfer success. There is significant potential for improving treatment outcomes in the future.
Advances in enhancing egg quality and developing early detection models for endometriosis are particularly promising. These efforts aim to protect young girls entering puberty who may be at risk of developing severe endometriosis, allowing for intervention before the condition becomes more serious.
Commitment to Scientific Rigor
As the prior Associate Residency program director at Cedars-Sinai, Dr. Carolyn Alexander taught residents and medical students about the importance of balance. She highlighted exercising, meditation, mindfulness, journaling, and leaning into the community of colleagues as avenues to maintain a personal touch with patients. In the field of infertility, there is a need for connection.
Dr. Alexander stays updated with the latest advancements by regularly reading cutting-edge research on PubMed. She shares key updates on polycystic ovary syndrome and IVF on social media, helping to inform the community. Additionally, attending the American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s annual meetings and engaging in scientific discussions further enhances her expertise.
Dr. Alexander’s commitment to staying at the top of all advances parallels her commitment to being an empathic physician. She keeps in mind that patients rely on her to help through difficult times, especially recurrent pregnancy loss. Dr. Alexander always keeps hope alive while following evidence-based medicine.
Advice to Aspiring Medical Professionals
Dr. Carolyn Alexander advises young medical professionals aspiring to enter the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility to always recognize the whole person. She highlights that each patient is an individual struggling with infertility or their desire to preserve fertility for the future.
She recommends taking a detailed history and conducting a thorough evaluation of each patient. Additionally, she encourages working collaboratively with colleagues, as combining everyone’s brainpower for complex cases leads to success.
Fellows from UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center receive on the job training at SCRC. Dr. Alexander is continually inspired by their enthusiasm and impressed by their scientific rigor. She finds their passion contagious, giving her great optimism for the future advances in reproductive medicine.
Dr. Susan M. Maxwell
Fascination with Reproductive Endocrinology
Dr. Susan Maxwell has been interested in women’s health and treating young adults since medical school. She believes that improving the health of women also improves the health of their children and, indirectly, the health of their family members and generations after them.
Dr. Maxwell first became interested in reproductive endocrinology and infertility when she participated in a research study at New York University Langone Medical Center as a resident. She was fascinated by the rapid advances in technology that were improving pregnancy rates for women with infertility. She could not imagine anything more impactful than helping couples achieve their dream of parenthood.
During her training at NYU, Dr. Maxwell struggled with infertility, and those same technological advancements contributed to the birth of her daughter. This life experience motivates her to work hard for her patients on their fertility journey.
Operational Changes for Better Patient Outcomes
When Dr. Susan Maxwell was in New York, she had the opportunity to help open a new fertility clinic in Manhattan at Northwell Health. This invaluable experience taught her about the operations side of running a fertility practice and embryology laboratory. She came to appreciate the importance of each team member in the clinic.
Dr. Maxwell recognizes that in vitro fertilization is a complex treatment requiring the coordinated effort of physicians, clinical staff, embryologists, and billing personnel. When staff work well together, IVF outcomes and the patient experience are improved.
Over the past year, as the Clinical Director of SCRC in Santa Barbara, Dr. Susan Maxwell has been able to make operational changes that will translate to improved patient outcomes over time.
Increasing Utilization of Genetic Screening
According to Dr. Susan Maxwell, advancements in genetic technologies over the past 10-15 years have greatly improved the understanding of reproductive medicine and clinical outcomes for patients undergoing IVF. Preimplantation Genetic Testing allows screening of embryos for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome.
Testing has revealed that spontaneous chromosomal abnormalities are common in embryos and are a leading cause of pregnancy failures. By identifying chromosomally normal embryos, the likelihood of a healthy pregnancy and live birth after embryo transfer increases significantly, while the risk of miscarriage is greatly reduced.
As the accuracy of these screening tests continues to improve, even smaller genetic abnormalities can be detected. These advancements make the use of such technologies increasingly beneficial and widespread.
Effective Leadership Enhances Patient Care
Dr. Susan Maxwell believes good leadership in a clinic sparks exceptional patient care. She is fortunate to work in one of their smaller clinic locations, which allows her to be hands-on with her patients while managing clinical operations. Dr. Maxwell is accessible to her patients and her staff, equally.
Importance of Work-Life Balance for Physicians
Dr. Susan Maxwell believes work-life balance is very important, and maintaining a healthy balance helps her to be a better physician to her patients and to the staff. One of the main reasons she moved from a large city to Santa Barbara was to decrease the complexity of her life.
Removing stressors such as a long commute has given her more time to spend at work and with her family. She left academia and joined a private practice so she could focus on patient care. She has found more enjoyment in her personal and professional life.
