Meet Our Physicians and Staff

Dr. Norman Ginsberg, MD is an obstetrician and gynecologist specializing in early prenatal testing and high-risk pregnancies. With more than 30 years of practice, Dr. Ginsberg pioneered chorionic villi sampling (CVS) and is often referred to as the father of CVS in the United States. As a result of his efforts, CVS is now available throughout the world and has become the standard for early prenatal diagnosis.

Dr. Ginsberg is one of the foremost referral specialists for the management of high order multiple pregnancies (triplets, quadruples or more). Patients seek his council from all over the United States and he is a frequent lecturer on this topic worldwide.

Together with his colleagues at Reproductive Genetics Institute he has received awards for his work in ultrasound for the early detection of spina bifida and the use of 3-D ultrasound to improve early detection of Down Syndrome. Presently his research focused on the development of a non-invasive screening method for Down Syndrome as well as a method for the detection for disorders that is more sensitive than standard chromosome analysis.

Dr. Elena Trukhacheva MD, MSCI of Reproductive Medicine Institute, an RGI collaborative partner, is one of the field’s devoted female reproductive endocrinologists, and demonstrates a unique rapport and understanding of her patients. As a woman and a mother, she takes pride in providing comprehensive care and strives to bring hope and support to her patients.

Dr. Trukhacheva has devoted her professional life to academic medicine, research, and clinical practice in the field of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. She received her medical degree from the Russian State Medical University in Moscow, Russia. She graduated magna cum laude in 2000 and received multiple awards for research and academic excellence during her studies. Dr. Trukhacheva completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, consistently rated among the top medical schools in the country.

Dr. Trukhacheva is a speaker for the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She also serves as a reviewer for the Fertility and Sterility journal and is a member of the nominating committee for the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society (PGDIS). She is actively involved in teaching medical students and OBGYN residents at the Midwestern University and at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Her clinical interests include In vitro fertilization, previous IVF failures, special approaches for poor responders, prenatal genetic screening and diagnosis, as well as advanced laparoscopic and hysteroscopic gynecologic surgery.
Following her residency, Dr. Trukhacheva entered a three-year fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Northwestern University in Chicago. During her fellowship she also received a Master of Science degree in Clinical Investigation. She has formal training in biostatistics, epidemiology, and design of the clinic.

Dr. Trukhacheva is fluent in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. A native of Russia, she now calls Chicago home.

Dr. Ilan Tur-Kaspa, MD is the President and Medical Director of the Institute for Human Reproduction (IHR), and the Director of the Clinical IVF-PGD Program, at the Reproductive Genetics Institute (RGI), in Chicago, Illinois. Dr Tur-Kaspa is an internationally known Specialist in Reproductive Medicine and Infertility. He is currently one of the worlds’ most experienced Reproductive Specialists involved in advanced IVF and ICSI treatments with Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). Dr. Tur-Kaspa graduated Medicine from the Hadassah Medical School, Hebrew University, Jerusalem. He completed his residency in 1991 in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tel-Hashomer Hospital, Tel Aviv University, Israel, and at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago. He served as the Director, Division of IVF and Infertility at Barzilai Hospital, Ben-Gurion University, Israel, and as an Advisor for Infertility and Gynecology to the Surgeon General. He is a Board Certified OB/GYN in the USA who specializes in advanced Assisted Reproductive Technologies and infertility treatments. He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG), a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the Society of Reproductive Surgeons, and the PGD International Society. He served in 2002-2003 as President of the Reproductive Imaging Special Interest Group of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and he is the Chair of the International Relation Committee of the Society of Reproductive Surgeons. He served as a member of the editorial Board of the Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, and he is ad hoc Reviewer for the Journals of Fertility and Sterility, Reproductive BioMedicine Online, and Human Reproduction.

Dr. Randy Morris was born and raised in Chicago and suburbs. He attended Northwestern University in Evanston on a 4 year academic scholarship where he received a Bachelor’s of Science degree in both Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. While at Northwestern, he was named to the Alpha Lambda Delta honorary Society.

He received his M.D. degree in 1988 from the rigorous program at the University of Illinois at Chicago and in 1992 completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Lutheran General Hospital (a teaching hospital for both the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois). In 1991, Doctor Morris received an award from the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL) as the Outstanding Resident in Laparoscopic Surgery. In 1992, he was a finalist for the Ruggie Humanitarian Award and winner of a research award for his work on ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).

1992 also saw Dr. Morris accepted into the prestigious fellowship program at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. USC had garnered a reputation as the nation’s top program in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility with many of the field’s top minds on the teaching faculty. It was here that Dr. Morris gained expertise in the complicated problem known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). In 1994, The Society for Gynecologic Investigation awarded him the President’s Award for his research involving women with PCOS. In 1998, he again was awarded research honors, this time from the Pacific Coast Fertility Society.

Doctor Morris became board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology as well as Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He has been recertified every year in both areas. He balances the demands of the area’s most highly regarded private infertility practice with his continuing teaching and research activities. He has published extensively in various aspects of infertility and is the author of numerous textbook chapters.

Dr. Morris appears often in the news media and has been seen or heard on most radio and television stations and in newspaper features. He has helped pioneer some of the advances in fertility therapy used today.

Dr. Joe Leigh Simpson, MD, FACOG, FACMG is the clinical director of RGI’s PGD program. He received his undergraduate and medical education at Duke University (M.D., 1968), and postgraduate training at Cornell University Medical College. He is Past President of the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society and Past President of the American Society Reproductive Medicine. He is President Elect of International Federation Fertility Society. Prior academic positions have included Northwestern University, (Professor and Head, Section of Human Genetics), University of Tennessee Memphis, (Chairman OB/GYN), Baylor College of Medicine, (Chairman, OB/GYN) and Florida International University (Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs). He retains appointments at Florida International. He is certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics as well as the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Dr. Simpson has played leadership roles in many other professional organizations. These include, President of International Society of Prenatal Diagnosis, President of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation and President of the American College of Medical Genetics. He is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine (IOM). He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Research and Global Programs for the March of Dimes Foundation.

Dr. Simpson has written 15 major books and over 750 articles and chapters. His research has been funded by National Institutes of Health and other organizations. He remains active in many areas of prenatal genetic diagnosis and reproductive genetics, not only preimplantation genetic diagnosis but recovering cell free DNA and fetal cells from maternal blood.

Dr. Lee P. Shulman, MD is the Anna Ross Lapham Professor in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Chief of the Division of Reproductive Genetics at the Feinberg School of Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a Founding Fellow of the American College of Medical Genetics and a Founding Member of the Society of Family Planning. Dr. Shulman graduated from Cornell University as well as Cornell University Medical College. Dr. Shulman completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at North Shore University Hospital – Cornell University Medical College followed by a fellowship in Reproductive Genetics at the University of Tennessee, Memphis and then joined the Ob/Gyn faculty of the University of Tennessee, Memphis, becoming the Director of Reproductive Genetics in 1994. In 1999 he relocated to the University of Illinois at Chicago where he served as Deputy Head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of the Divisions of Reproductive Genetics and Ambulatory Care Services and as Medical Director of the Center of Excellence in Women’s Health.

Dr. Shulman is a member of numerous regional, national and international organizations that pertain to the health and care of women. He currently serves as the Immediate Past Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. His work has been recognized regionally and nationally. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Yearbook of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine, is a Contributing Editor for The Journal of Reproductive Medicine and the Executive Editor of the Journal of Gynecologic Surgery. He also serves on the editorial boards of Contraception, Prenatal Diagnosis, Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology, Menopause, and as a peer-reviewer for 31 journals. His major research interests are in reproductive and cancer genetics, contraception, botanical interventions in women’s health and menopause.

Dr. Jeffrey Dungan is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology in the division of Clinical Genetics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine where he has held this position since 2006. At Northwestern, he serves on the departmental Undergraduate Medical Education Committee, as well as Northwestern Prentice Women’s Hospital Quality Management Committee. He participates in the department’s ovarian cancer early detection and prevention program. Board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and Clinical Genetics, his clinical expertise and research interests include: prenatal diagnosis, genetic screening, and ultrasonography

Dr. Dungan is also Medical Director of the Center for Genetic Medicine’s Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling at the Feinberg School of Medicine. As medical director, he is involved in multiple areas of the graduate program, including student supervision and research, the Research Oversight Committee, the Advisory Committee, and the Admissions Committee. He also lectures in several courses.

Dr. Dungan obtained his medical degree from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska and served his Ob-Gyn residency at the University of Virginia. He completed his fellowship in Reproductive Genetics at the University of Tennessee, Memphis in 1993. Dr. Dungan then joined the faculty of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. During his tenure there, he served as Medical Director for the Master’s in Genetic Counseling training program that had recently been developed. In 1998, he joined the Ob-Gyn faculty at Baylor College of Medicine, where he served as Clerkship Director and played an active role in multiple educational activities.

Dr. Svetlana Rechitsky is a graduate of Kharkov University’s Genetics Faculty, and received her PhD in experimental molecular embryology from the second Moscow Medical Institute in 1986. She moved to the Reproductive Genetics Institute in 1989, where she heads the DNA laboratory, which has performed the largest preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) series for single gene disorders, with PGD design for the majority of them developed for the first time. She has published more than 60 papers in the field of PGD, including a key contribution to the Atlas of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis.

Dr. Anver Kuliev received his PhD in Clinical Cytogenetics in 1969. From 1979 he was head of the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Hereditary Diseases Program in Geneva, where he developed the community-based programs for prevention of genetic disorders and early approaches for prenatal diagnosis. He moved to Reproductive Genetics Institute, Chicago, in 1990, where he heads the WHO Collaborating Center for Prevention of Genetic Disorders, and scientific research in prenatal and preimplantation genetics. He is an author of 200 papers, including 11 books in the above areas, including 5 books in the field of Preimplantation Genetics.

Andria G. Besser, BEd, MS, CGC is a graduate from the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Previously, she completed her undergraduate education at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, where she received Bachelor degrees in both Medical Sciences and Education. She is an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and the Genetics Task Force of Illinois.

Christina M. Lavin, MS, CGC is a graduate of the Genetic Counseling program through the University of South Carolina. Prior to that, she studied at the University of Michigan, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She is an active member of both local and national genetic counseling groups, including the Genetics Task Force of Illinois and the National Society of Genetic Counselors. She has been employed at Reproductive Genetics Institute for over thirteen years.

Stephanie E. Miller, MGC, CGC is a graduate of the Genetic Counseling program at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Previously, she completed her undergraduate education at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. She is an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

Annie M. McRae, MS is a graduate of the Master of Science in Genetic Counseling program at Northwestern University. Previously, she completed her undergraduate education at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, where she received her Bachelor of Science in Integrative Biology with a minor in Chemistry. She is an active member of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and the Genetic Task Force of Illinois.