Sonja B. Kristiansen, MD

Sonja B. Kristiansen, MD, board certified Reproductive Endocrinologist Infertility (REI) specialist, has practiced infertility in the Houston area since 1995. A native Texan, Dr. Kristiansen began her pursuit of becoming a REI specialist when she received her medical degree from Texas Tech University School of Medicine in Lubbock, Texas. Next, she completed a residency program in Obstetrics & Gynecology at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas. This is also where she met and married her husband. Not only did Dr. Kristiansen fall in love with her husband during their OB/GYN residency, she also fell in love with the challenges of infertility, both the surgical and technical aspects. "Seeing the smile on the face of my patient when we conquered the problem was addicting," said Dr. Kristiansen. She quickly decided to continue her training with a fellowship in the division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Dr. Kristiansen delayed her own children to pursue her career, having her first son toward the end of her REI fellowship. Four long years later she had a second son. She personally understands the struggles and choices some women make regarding their careers and childbearing.

In 1996 she realized her dream of starting her own infertility center by founding Houston Infertility Clinic (HIC) where she serves as the Medical Director. Her goal in establishing HIC and her own private practice "Where Women Specialize in the Care of Women" was to provide couples complete and comprehensive infertility treatment in a compassionate, private environment that was easily accessible and affordable. Recognizing most couples work and therefore have demanding schedules, she offers early morning appointments (7:00 am) for patients undergoing treatment. This allows most patients to be at work anywhere in Houston by 9:00 am. Having completed more than 700 IVF cycles with pregnancy rates that compare well nationally, HIC is now utilized by several other Reproductive Endocrinologists in the Houston area.

Specializing in surgical and in-vitro fertilization procedures, Dr. Kristiansen has advanced training in hysteroscopy, laparoscopy, and micro-tubal reconstruction. She also works with female endocrine abnormalities relating to menstrual and reproductive development.

Dr. Kristiansen is well published, participating in many speaking engagements relating to infertility and is frequently used as resource by the news media. Dr. Kristiansen is a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American Medical Association, the Texas Medical Society, and the Harris County Medical Society.

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J. David Wininger, Ph.D., H.C.L.D.

Dr. Wininger received his Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from East Tennessee State University and his Masters in Biotechnology and Doctorate in Zoology from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. He is certified as a "High Complexity Laboratory Director," by the American Association of Bioanalysts. Very few embryologists in the United States have achieved this certification, which requires extensive study and competency testing.

Dr. Wininger served as the Scientific Director at Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta, GA from 1998-2003. He was responsible for conducting many ground breaking clinical studies in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. He also expanded his experience performing IVF and associated procedures such as ICSI, assisted hatching, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis.

Dr. Wininger's experience in Reproductive Endocrinology/Infertility spans more than eighteen years. He is the primary, or a contributing author, of fourteen journal abstracts and five journal articles. His work includes extended embryo culturing and blastocyst transfer. He has also done pioneer work in the freezing and thawing of human eggs. The ability to successfully cryopreserve oocytes will allow women to save their eggs while young for use in the future.

He held numerous academic appointments including Adjunct Research Associate, Department of Biology, University of PA, Adjunct Instructor Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

He is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the American Association of Bioanalysts and the American Association of Tissue Banks Dr. Wininger also serves on the Executive Council of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.