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About FSMG
FSMG Team
Physicians
Drs. Morales and Matthews both share a passion for patient care and are advocates in their commitment to support and facilitate a couple's journey through fertility therapy. Through individualized and empathetic care, Dr. Morales and Dr. Matthews will team together to help you understand your treatment options and achieve your fertility goals.
Dr. Arlene J. Morales is the Founder and Medical Director of Fertility Specialists Medical Group and San Diego Center for Reproductive Surgery. She is nationally recognized as a leader in Reproductive Endocrinology and Bioethics and is a frequent guest speaker for radio and television programs. She has extensive experience in treating multi-faceted infertility issues. Dr. Morales possesses a strong desire and commitment to support and facilitate a couple’s journey through fertility therapy. Through individualized and empathetic care, Dr. Morales will help you learn as much as possible about your diagnosis and your treatment options.
Education: Dr. Morales graduated from the Johns Hopkins University-School of Medicine and was a resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Morales completed a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of California, San Diego, and is currently Board Certified in both Ob/Gyn and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. After fellowship, Dr. Morales was an Assistant Professor in the UCSD School of Medicine. After UCSD, she served as the Director of Reproductive Technologies as an Associate Professor at Emory University. She has authored over thirty peer reviewed journal articles, including an often cited paper introducing the effects of DHEA on aging. After 8 years in academic medicine, Dr. Morales moved back to San Diego to found Fertility Specialists Medical Group.
Awards: Dr. Morales received the Miriam Torrey Mathematics Award, the Watson Sellard Scholarship for Study Abroad, the Harold Lamport Biomedical Research Award, the Laurel and Clarence H. Koennecke Obstetrics and Gynecology Award., the Berlex Foundation Resident Education Award, the Outstanding Resident in Gynecologic Endoscopy Award from the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopy. She has appeared in San Diego Best Doctors from 1996 to 2002. Note that Fertility is no longer a reviewed category of physicians in San Diego Magazine. She appeared in Guide to Top Doctors from 2004 to 2005, and has been named to Best Doctors from 2007 to 2009.
Ethics: Dr. Morales has always had a strong commitment to the ethical practice of medicine and has given her time to many committees whose purpose has been to determine and interpret policy regarding ethics in patient care. Dr. Morales became involved while she was as an Assistant Professor at UCSD, serving on the Ethics Committee and Consultation at UCSD School of Medicine from 1994 to 1997. She then served on the Ethics Committee at Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta Georgia from 1998 to 1999, as Chairman of the Ethics Committee from 2003 to 2005 in the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecologists, and on the San Diego County Medical Society Ethics Committee from 2000 to 2003. Since her return to San Diego in 2000, Dr. Morales has been a member of the Ethics Committee at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Sharp Memorial Hospital. Her area of special interest lies at the intersection of reproduction, technology, and ethics.
Associations: Dr. Morales is a current member of the Johns Hopkins Medical and Surgical Society, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Society of Gynecologic Laparoscopists, the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (Secretary of Women’s Council Board for 2009 - 2010), the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists, the North American Menopause Society, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the California Medical Association, the American Board of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (Board Examiner 2000 - 2001), Society of Assisted Reproductive Technology (Executive Council 2007 - 2008), the Endocrine Society, and the San Diego Reproductive Society (President 1995 - 1996).
A supporter of the local community, Dr. Morales has made over one hundred presentations to the local medical community and served on eight different committees at Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Sharp Memorial Hospital. Dr. Morales is also involved in the National Charity League, fund raising for The Bishop’s School, and a participant in the 2008 and 2009 Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure.
Dr. Michelle Matthews will be joining FSMG on May 24, 2010. At FSMG, Dr. Matthews will be the Scientific Director and the Director of Third Party Reproduction. She is board-certified both in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility as well as Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Matthews met Dr. Morales during her subspecialty board examination in Reproductive Endocrinology in 2001 as Dr. Morales was her American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) oral examiner. Recognized for academic excellence in her own right, Dr. Matthews was selected to serve as an ABOG oral examiner in 2008.
Education: Dr. Matthews attended Miami University and Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine. She completed her residency training at Summa Health Systems and her fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology at Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke’s Medical Center.
Associations: Dr. Matthews is an active member of the Association of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Society of Reproductive Surgeons, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists.
Appreciating the emotional stress that can very often accompany infertility, Dr. Matthews employs a couples approach to infertility diagnosis and treatment; and counsels patients on both the emotional and physical aspects of fertility care. Believing in community outreach and service, she has been involved in the Charlotte community as the United Way Faculty Liaison, as the medical director for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, and as the speaker for “Cost-effective Fertility Treatments” at the Harris YMCA. As an author of over 30 articles, she has been published in leading reproductive journals such as Fertility and Sterility, the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the Journal of Reproductive Medicine. Dr. Matthews' research interests include the effects of environmental toxins on reproduction and clinical interests including in vitro fertilization, endometriosis, microsurgery, laparoscopy and hysteroscopy.
Embryology
Joe Conaghan, Ph.D., HCLD, joined FSMG as our Laboratory Director in 2008, while retaining his primary role as the laboratory director at Pacific Fertility Center. Known internationally for his work on improving embryo culture conditions, he comes with 19 years experience working in embryology and andrology laboratories. Dr. Conaghan did his Ph.D. in human embryology under the direction of Dr. Alan Handyside and Dr. Henry Leese at the University of London, and was trained in embryology at the Hammersmith Hospital in London, where he spent 7 years. More recently, he spent 5 years as the IVF laboratory director at the University of California San Francisco. He is currently the off-site laboratory director for Fertility Specialists of San Diego. He is board certified as a High-complexity Clinical Laboratory Director (HCLD) in the disciplines of Embryology and Andrology.
Dr. Conaghan’s interests are in developing programs for the treatment for severe male factor infertility, diagnosis of genetic disease in embryos, improved embryo culture and improving protocols for embryo freezing. As laboratory director he is responsible for maintaining the highest possible standards in the laboratory and providing superior patient care. Working with experienced embryologists in modern facilities, he ensures that all patients get the best treatment available.
Dr. Conaghan is a reproductive laboratory inspector for the College of American Pathologists and is formally involved in the training and licensure of new embryologists through his work with the American Board of Bioanalysts (ABB), the licensing agency for embryologists and andrologists in the USA. He also sits on the ABB Board of Directors and is the current Chair of the College of Reproductive Biology. He teaches Reproductive Technology at San Francisco State University where he is a faculty member. He lives just outside San Francisco in Half Moon Bay with his wife and 3 children.
Our FSMG/SDCRS embryology team is comprised of Dr. Conaghan and Kathryn Pache, MS, and Carl Ducummon, PhD. Our constantly improving pregnancy rates, increasing percentage of single blastocyst embryo transfers, and improvements in embryo and egg vitrification are the result of his collaborative efforts with our embryology team. Both Kate and Carl are responsible for day to day operations of both andrology and embryology laboratories. Our embryologists are also active members of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and The San Diego Reproductive Endocrinology Society which provides for continued education.
Clinical Staff
Our FSMG/SDCRS clinical team includes mid-level practitioners, registered nurses and medical assistants, all of whom will play important roles throughout your evaluation and treatment, while maintaining a respectful and professional environment.
Kristan Kaine, PA-C
Kristan Kaine, Physician Assistant (P.A.); Amy Hogan, R.N.; and Carol Mills, R.N. have all obtained advanced training and education in the field of women's health and reproduction. Each serves to educate and coordinate all assisted reproduction cycles. Kristan also serves as coordinator of 3rd Party Reproduction, (i.e. egg donation, surrogates, etc.). Amy holds the position of Clinical Manager for FSMG, overseeing the coordination of all clinical staffing, while Carol is nurse administrator for The San Diego Center For Reproductive Surgery.
Our Medical Assistants are a valuable component to our team. They are certified phlebotomists who will be drawing your blood, assisting the doctors with your daily ultrasounds, and helping with egg retrievals and embryo transfers.