The professional team at the Nevada Center for Reproductive Medicine is committed to assisting patients to achieve their ultimate goal – the birth of a child.
CLINICAL STAFF
Russell A. Foulk, M.D.
Dr. Foulk has a passion for helping couples to overcome infertility. Despite being an internationally recognized expert on infertility, he takes great pride in developing personal relationships with each of his patients. He firmly believes that one of the greatest joys in life is helping a couple to find hope and eventually overcome the devastating disease of infertility. To read his full bio-sketch CLICK HERE.
Dr. Scott Whitten, MD
Dr. Whitten has committed his life to helping couples achieve their goals of parenthood. It brings him great joy to see his patients overcome their infertility and celebrate the gift of life with them. He enjoys the lifelong relationships he builds with his patients. He is a board certified subspecialist in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. Raised in northern Nevada, Dr. Whitten obtained his Bachelor of Science from the University of Nevada Reno. He continued his education in Nevada and obtained his Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Nevada School of Medicine. His training took him to Phoenix, Arizona where he performed a four year residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center. During residency he received multiple awards for clinical excellence in patient care and teaching. He then moved his family to Alabama for a three year fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. While in fellowship Dr. Whitten presented his research at multiple scientific meetings. At the completion of his training he was fortunate to be able to return to northern Nevada to practice at NCRM. He enjoys spending time with his family and frequenting Lake Tahoe on his days off. To read his full bio-sketch CLICK HERE.
Jonna Collins, PA, MPH, MS
Jonna is a Physician Assistant. She attended Oregon State University, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Science and continued her education there with a Master’s of Science in Reproductive Physiology. She then worked at Oregon Health Sciences University in a genetics lab before returning to school to pursue a degree as a Physician Assistant, as well as a Master’s of Public Health. She is a member of the Association of Physician Assistants in Obstetrics and Gynecology. In her free time she enjoys every outdoor sport Reno and the Sierra mountains have to offer.
Megan Jacklin, RN, BSN – IVF Coordinator
Megan graduated from University of California, Irvine with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing Science. For the last seven years, Megan has worked exclusively in acute obstetrics and maternal-child healthcare settings including: labor and delivery, antepartum, postpartum, and newborn care. In 2015, she helped implement the Newborn Transition Program at Renown Regional Medical Center to keep newborns with their mothers after delivery to promote maternal/infant bonding. As your IVF Coordinator, Megan will help you throughout the IVF process by providing medication instruction, scheduling necessary appointments, cycle management, and assisting with medical procedures in the office. In addition to reproductive medicine, Megan’s interests are also based in holistic wellness. She is certified through the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork and holds certifications in pre-natal, pediatric, and infant massage. Megan also holds a Reiki Master certification from the California Academy for the Healing Arts. Megan is a published author and enjoys playing with her young son and dog in her home in Reno, NV.
Debbie Stevenson, RN – FET coordinator
Debbie is a nurse coordinator for NCRM’s Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) program. She assists with patient teaching and coordination of schedules, cycle management, and phlebotomy. Debbie received her degree in nursing from El Camino College in Torrance, CA. She has a background in labor and delivery and maternal/new born infant care. She strives to provide compassionate patient care. Debbie loves reading, baking and spending time with her children and grandsons. She also enjoys visiting tropical destinations whenever she has the chance.
Aida Lizarraga – Surgery Scheduler, Medical Assistant
Aida has worked in the field of Reproductive Medicine for over 20 years. She has always been interested in fertility medicine ever since she discovered that she also needed help to create her own family. Aida assists the physicians and practitioners in daily patient care as well as translating for our Spanish speaking patients. She believes that teaching for understanding is the main path to success. She is also responsible for coordinating a smooth surgery schedule and keeps in close contact with hospital and surgical centers. Aida was born in Peru and has been married to her Peruvian husband for 27 years and has two college kids that are ready to graduate. She enjoys traveling and has a long bucket list to complete.
Michelle Henderson – Medical Assistant, Non-ART coordinator
Michelle Henderson has over twenty years experience in the healthcare industry. She comes to us with vast understanding of emergency medicine as she worked as a paramedic and medical assistant instructor. She graduated with her Associate degree in Medical Assisting from Carrington College in Reno, NV. She is a certified Medical Assistant and Phlebotomy Technician. As a medical assistant, Michelle assists all of the providers and patients with procedures, patient education, and Non-Assisted Reproductive Technology schedule coordination. Michelle strives to provide compassionate care to all of her patients ensuring a consoling journey into parenthood. Michelle enjoys spending her time off with her family, friends and her beautiful grandkids.
Candie Bova – Medical Assistant
Candie Bova is a certified Medical Assistant and registered Phlebotomy Technician. Candie started her career as a Medical Assistant in both urgent and family care. Candie assists all of our providers with various procedures, she reviews all Non-ART treatment cycles with patients and is trained in giving fertility injection and injection training for home use. Candie’s warm and comforting demeanor is an asset to both our patients and the NCRM family. Candie enjoys spending time with her family, grandbaby and has a hidden talent as a super shopper. She can extreme coupon like nobody’s business.
LABORATORY STAFF
Patty Julian, M.S. – Sr. Embryologist, Laboratory Manager
Patty has been in the field of human embryology, specializing in all ART procedures for more than 30 years. Patty manages, monitors and performs all laboratory procedures, as well as maintains all records and compliance with certifying organizations such as JCAHO, FDA, and CLIA. Patty is responsible for the annual reporting of our statistics to the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology. She is a member of ASRM, AAB, and the Donor Egg Bank USA embryology team, performing oocyte vitrification and thawing procedures. When she isn’t working, you can find Patty working on her ranch in Fallon. She loves riding her many horses, spending time with her daughters and is expecting her first grandbaby soon.
Gnanaratnam Giritharan (Giri), PhD., HCLD (ABB)., Sr. Embryologist
Dr. Giritharan has extensive experience in all aspects of human ART procedures with excellent skills in embryo biopsy for preimplantation genetic screening and diagnosis (PGS/PGD). Giri is a member of the Donor Egg Bank USA embryology team, performing oocyte vitrification and thawing procedures. Giri graduated with a bachelor’s degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Peradeniya, Srilanka. He earned his MSc and PhD degrees, specializing in reproductive physiology, from the University of British Columbia, Canada. He received his postdoctoral research training in reproductive biology at the Center for Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco. Giri is actively involved in cutting-edge reproductive and stem cell research, has given numerous conference presentations, and has published many research articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is also an ad-hoc reviewer for many scientific journals such as PLoS One, Reproductive Sciences, Human Reproduction, and Fertility and Sterility. He is a member of ASRM, ISSCR, and AAB.
Kristin Yenick, M.S. – Embryologist / Andrologist
Kristin aka Kristy is a clinical embryologist and andrologist here at NCRM. She received her Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Nevada, Reno, and continued on to gain her Master’s of Science from Washington State University. While at WSU, Kristy worked with transgenic mice studying genes and proteins in reproductive and cellular biology. She completed her thesis, “Conditional deletion of PGRMC1 disrupts Spermatogenesis” and presented her work at the 45th annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Reproduction as well as Washington’s Center for Reproductive Biology annual retreat. Her passion for research continued as she serves as coordinator of a recent clinical research trial here at NCRM. She is certified in the State of Nevada as a general supervisor of a licensed laboratory, certified in reproductive biology, andrology, and is a member of ASRM, SSR, and PCRS. This extroverted embryologist enjoys organizing National Infertility Awareness Week for our patients, as well as our annual Thanksgiving Turkey Basket Drive and is our in house Facebook guru. In her free time, she loves to travel and as a proud Reno native, you can find her with her friends and family enjoying the great Northern Nevada outdoors.
ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Anita Emmrich – Office Manager / Administrator
Anita has been working in the field of reproductive medicine for over 25 years. She manages credentialing, contracts, payroll, human resources, accounts payable, and the front office and administrative staff. She takes great pride in keeping the office running smoothly. Anita is a member of the Nevada Medical Group Association. In her spare time, Anita enjoys reading, gardening, and spending time with her family.
Wendi Wilson – Billing Supervisor
Wendi has been with NCRM since 1999. She handles all aspects of our billing office. She works closely with the physicians, patients, insurance companies and staff members. Her outstanding attention to detail makes her a vital component of our team. In her free time Wendi enjoys being in the outdoors and spending time with her friends and family.
Marsha Espindola – Patient Services
Marsha joined our team in 2010, bringing with her over 26 years of medical office expertise. Marsha is our primary patient check-out contact, she assists with appointment scheduling, answering phones, financial services, medical records, patient inquiries, coordinating the cryopreservation program,and she helps keep the front office of NCRM run smoothly. In her free time she enjoys exploring the country on her Harley and spending time with her family, grandkids and her 3 doggies.
Tammy Gregg – Financial Counselor
Tammy was born in Santa Cruz, California, and is a graduate of Galena High School here in Reno. She graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. After witnessing the incredible miracle that was the birth of her daughter, Tammy decided to become involved in women’s health care here at NCRM. She enjoys working in such a rewarding environment, and looks forward to helping couples regain hope in building their families. Tammy has been with NCRM since January of 2013 and is our Financial Counselor. If you have any questions regarding the financial portion of your fertility treatments, Tammy would be happy to discuss your options with you. In her free time, Tammy enjoys spending time with her family and her pugs.
Kitty McDivitt – Patient Services
Kitty was born in Kingfisher, Oklahoma and joined our team in 2003. Her duties include check-in, check-out, verifying insurance benefits, scheduling appointments, answering phones and helping keep the front office running smoothly. She enjoys spending her free time at her church activities, with friends and her five cats. We now know why she was named Kitty!
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