Exciting news as the 2025 PRIMED Cohort embarks on its journey! This select group mirrors the diverse expertise of ASRM's members. Stay updated on their progress and experiences by reading the press release introducing this year's members and exploring their bios. Keep an eye out for regular updates!
2025 Cohort Members:
Emily Barnard, DO
Dr. Barnard is a practicing REI at Shady Grove Fertility in Maryland, where she loves helping build families and advocating for access to care. She is the REI representative on the ACOG PAC committee and has been advocating with RESOLVE and ASRM for the past 7 years, including serving as State Captain for both Maryland and Pennsylvania for RESOLVE’s Federal Advocacy Day in partnership with ASRM.
Gisel Bello, MD
Dr. Bello is a third-year OB/GYN resident at Emory University and aspires to become a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist with advanced expertise in reproductive surgery. She is a proud daughter of Dominican immigrants and grew up in the housing projects of Harlem, where she learned first-hand the impact of social determinants of health on women’s reproductive care.
Kelly M. Chacón, MD
Dr. Chacón is a clinical fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of California, San Diego. She is committed to improving access to fertility care through clinical, research, and advocacy efforts with a particular interest in oncofertility and policy implementation.
Austin Johnson, MD
Dr. Johnson is a Reproductive Endocrinology and infertility clinical fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA. His clinical, research, and advocacy interests focus on providing equitable access to family-building options for the LGBTQIA+ community. For his work with the transgender/gender non-binary community, he received the ASRM Diversity Fellowship Research Award and SASGOG Excellence in Research Award.
Jamie Kuhlman, PhD
Dr. Kuhlman is a Licensed Psychologist and the Owner of Courageous Path Counseling, PLLC, in Nashville, TN. She specializes in infertility, postpartum, and maternal mental health through individual counseling and psychological evaluations for third-party reproduction. She has served as the Tennessee State Captain for three years for RESOLVE’s Federal Advocacy Day in partnership with ASRM.
Caiyun Liao, MD, MPH
Born and raised in southern China, Dr. Liao recently completed an REI fellowship at Yale. Dr. Liao spent her formative years with her grandmother, an orphaned WWII refugee who did not have the opportunity to receive a formal education. This experience motivated Dr. Liao to devote her career to advancing women’s well-being and reproductive justice. She has been recognized by both ASRM and Yale University’s Office of Health Equity Research for her work on health disparities and access to care.
Abigail Mancuso, MD
Dr. Mancuso is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Division at the University of Iowa Health Care. In 2024, she became motivated to get more involved in advocacy following the introduction of a bill in her state that threatened the practice of IVF.
Mamie McLean, MD
At Alabama Fertility Specialists, Dr. McLean specializes in the evaluation and treatment of infertility, IVF, third-party reproduction, and recurrent pregnancy loss. She enjoys helping couples navigate the often-complex decisions surrounding infertility treatment. Following the 2024 LePage v. Mobile Infirmary Clinic decision, Dr. McLean became engaged in political advocacy through Fight for AL Families. She strives to preserve the strong doctor-patient relationship essential to fertility care and hopes to see access to IVF mandated across Alabama.
Benjamin Peipert, MD
Dr. Peipert is an REI fellow at the University of Pennsylvania with a passion for improving efficiency in fertility care and advancing equity across the spectrum of reproductive health. He completed his residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at Duke University, where he was Education Chief Resident.
Lis Regula, PhD
Dr. Regula serves as Advocacy Associate for Men Having Babies (MHB), through which he works to advance equitable and accessible surrogacy and third-party reproduction for LGBTQ+ prospective parents and improve the standards included in MHB's Framework for Ethical Surrogacy. He has been both an egg donor and a surrogate and currently lives in a very queer home in Columbus, Ohio with his daughter, cat, and memory of his husband, MJ Eckhouse.
Jennifer Straub, MEd
Dr. Straub is the Regional Director of Operations at CCRM Fertility and a healthcare leader with expertise in strategic operations, employee engagement, and reproductive medicine advocacy. She serves as Treasurer/Secretary of the ASRM Association of Reproductive Managers (ARM) Board, is a member of The Chick Mission Medical Advisory Board, and participates in key ASRM committees. Jennifer has attended Resolve’s Federal Advocacy Day in partnership with ASRM since 2023 and will be a Texas State Captain in 2025.
Chelsea Woody, MMSc, CGC
Ms. Woody is a certified genetic counselor and current executive MBA candidate. She serves as a clinical science specialist at CooperSurgical, where she offers genetics education and support to fertility practices. Her professional interests include patient advocacy, novel modalities of genetic counseling service delivery, and collaboration with non-genetics colleagues.