Fertility company Kindbody has appointed Dean Morbeck, Ph.D. as its first Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Morbeck is a leading researcher in the area of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and brings more than 25 years of experience in the field to the company. He will apply his scientific expertise and highly specialized areas of research to support Kindbody’s full-service family-building service offering as the company continues its expansion.
“I am delighted to join Kindbody and look forward to working with this amazing team as we seek to further improve the delivery of care to our patients,” said Dr. Morbeck. “Kindbody is fully embracing technology and research as a means to improve outcomes and make IVF more effective, but what stands out to me the most is its all-encompassing emphasis on improving the patient experience, something I am very passionate about. I’m thrilled to be joining such an innovative organization that has the potential to transform the IVF experience for patients.”
“We are thrilled to add an experienced scientist like Dean to help further our mission of using data-driven research to deliver exceptional care,” said Annbeth Eschbach, President of Kindbody. “Dean has a wealth of experience in this field and is passionate about delivering the highest quality care to patients. We have no doubt that under his leadership, Kindbody will continue to provide outstanding results to our patients.”
Under Dr. Morbeck’s leadership, Kindbody will conduct research focused on making IVF more successful, ultimately leading to improved pregnancy rates. By leveraging the latest technology, including new medical devices and artificial intelligence (AI), and placing a heavy emphasis on scientific research, Dr. Morbeck and his team will focus on improving embryo culture quality control and embryo selection, factors that directly impact IVF success rates. This unique research capability further establishes Kindbody as a differentiated provider of the highest quality end-to-end care to patients seeking family building and fertility assistance.
Dr. Morbeck most recently served as the Scientific Director for Fertility Associates, New Zealand’s leading provider of fertility diagnosis, support, and treatment, as well as an Honorary Lecturer in Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Auckland and as an adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Monash University in Melbourne. Prior to his role at Fertility Associates, he was an Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the Mayo Clinic, where he spent 10 years. Prior to that, he spent over 10 years as a laboratory director in private practice. He received his Ph.D. in physiology from North Carolina State University and completed his post-doc fellowship at the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He also holds an MBA.
Dr. Morbeck’s research focuses on in vitro stress during embryo culture, specifically, identifying sources of stress and developing improved methods for detection and prevention of factors that cause stress during preimplantation embryo culture. He has also conducted research to explore the benefits of time-lapse imaging for improving conditions and providing better embryo selection.
As an embryologist, academic and scientific consultant, Dr. Morbeck has been actively involved in all aspects of fertility care ranging from the patient experience and clinical procedures to improving the quality of the embryo culture environment and decision-making by embryologists. He is passionate about providing the highest quality care to patients experiencing infertility, and has authored numerous publications on quality control, media composition and laboratory KPIs.
Morbeck joins a team of other industry veterans at Kindbody, including Founder and CEO Gina Bartasi, a seasoned entrepreneur with 20+ years’ experience in healthtech and the founder of Progyny, President Annbeth Eschbach, previously the Founder and CEO of Exhale Spa, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Lynn Westphal, previously at Stanford Fertility, and Founding OB/GYN, Dr. Fahimeh Sasan, previously of Mount Sinai Health System in New York.
