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Your Team of Fertility Specialists in the Chicago Area
Modern management of infertility requires many areas of expertise and demands a team approach. At Reproductive Medicine Institute, each fertility specialist at our Chicago area centers draws on his or her own unique experience as a physician, surgeon, andrologist, embryologist, or nurse to optimize your chances for success.
Once you contact us, we will be able to schedule your initial, personal consultation with one of our physicians. After the initial consultation and review of your records, one of our physicians will arrange for the appropriate diagnostic tests and discuss with you the advantages and disadvantages of your various treatment options. Once the optimal treatment has been selected, the fertility expert will supervise its implementation while our nursing staff coordinates different phases of treatment and provides comprehensive education, information, and support specific to your needs. Our laboratory director and his team will perform laboratory testing and will take care of the gametes and embryos to assure optimal chances for conception. Every fertility specialist at our Chicago-area clinics is committed to providing you with the highest quality care.
Our Administration
Lisa Rinehart, RN, BSN, JD
Chief Operating Officer
Lisa A. Rinehart, Chief Operating Officer, has been involved in reproductive medicine in the Chicago area for the past 30 years. First as a nurse, and later as a health care attorney and consultant, Lisa’s experience touches nearly every aspect of infertility management. Lisa helped establish The IVF Institute-Chicago (formerly, The Rinehart Center for Reproductive Medicine) and, today, is responsible for all operational, administrative, marketing, program development and personnel functions at the Center’s locations.
Lisa also teaches through regular seminars and flyers to OB/GYN physicians and their staff, acts as a health law resource for OB/GYN residents at Northwestern University School of Medicine, Chicago, Il and holds an adjunct faculty position at DePaul University, Chicago, IL and Benedictine University, Lisle, IL, where she teaches health law classes in the graduate programs. Lisa is the former president of the Association of Reproductive Managers, a national specialty group of ASRM, and now is an executive board member of the Legal Special Interest Group of the same organization. She is a frequent speaker across the country on reproductive law, management issues and nursing practices.
Our Clinical Staff
A skilled, well-trained, and compassionate nursing staff is a prerequisite for the success of any medical facility, and Reproductive Medicine Institute is no exception. As an important part of our team of fertility specialists, our nurses are required to continue their education and to acquire new skills and new areas of expertise in the field. Our nursing staff participates in the activities of the Chicago Association of Reproductive Endocrinologists (CARE) and the Chicago Institute of ART (CIA) and attends other local meetings and seminars. Our staff is also actively involved in the annual meetings and postgraduate courses given by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and other professional organizations to which they belong. They take formal training courses in pelvic sonography and participate in the annual meetings of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM), and many are certified in reproductive endocrinology nursing and certification in pelvic sonography (RDMS).
Our Laboratory Staff
Richard G. Rawlins, Ph.D., HCLD, ELD (ABB)
Laboratory Director
It has long been said that the Art of ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) happens in the Laboratory. Knowing this, we welcome Laboratory Director, Dr. Richard G. Rawlins to Team RMI, knowing that he is one of the great ‘Artists’ in the field.
Dr. Rawlins is a Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and a Professor of Anatomy & Cell Biology at Rush Medical College. He received his Ph.D. from Michigan State University in 1984. He joined Rush University Medical Center in Chicago that same year and began development of the Center's In Vitro Fertilization Program. Dr. Rawlins also built out and directed the reproductive laboratories at Centro de Fertilidad del Caribe in San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Clarian North Fertility Center in Carmel, Indiana.
In conjunction with clinical responsibilities, Dr. Rawlins is an active academic. He lectures on reproductive anatomy and histology to medical students, has participated in the Division of Cell Biology in the Rush Graduate College, trained clinical fellows in the ABOG approved clinical Fellowship Program for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Rush and lectured to the residents on reproductive endocrinology and statistics. Dr. Rawlins has also trained 68 clinicians and biologists in IVF/ART and he has established more than 15 IVF/ART programs globally, including sites in Germany, Poland, Brasil, Chile, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Dr. Rawlins has authored 90 peer reviewed papers, 160 published abstracts and two books. His research in preimplantation embryology has received numerous awards, including First Prize at the X1th World IVF Congress held in Vienna Austria in 1995. Dr. Rawlins has been funded by both intramural and extramural grants.
He is the past President of the Chicago Association of Reproductive Endocrinologists, the Rush Sigma Xi Chapter for Scientific Research, the American Society of Primatologists, the Reproductive Biology Professional Group of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the College of Reproductive Biology of the American Association of Bioanalysts and the American Association of Bioanalysts
Dr. Rawlins is frequently interviewed by the electronic and print media on assisted reproduction. He has appeared on ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and Telemundo television nationally, NPR, ABC, CBS, NBC radio affiliates, and been quoted in print by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, the New York Times, Science Magazine and many others.
Dr. Rawlins avocation is natural history photography. He has traveled widely and experienced many adventures in pursuit of new images. His work can be seen at www.rgrstockphoto.com
Carli W. Chapman, BS, TS, ELD (ABB)
Technical Supervisor
Carli W. Chapman, Director of Clinical Laboratories, has spent over 20 years practicing embryology. She helped launch several successful IVF programs nationwide, and is considered a leader in the field of embryology. At Reproductive Medicine Institute, Carli oversees all operational areas of the laboratories as well as regulatory and patient care responsibilities, the development of new laboratory programs, and training of all embryology and laboratory personnel.
An ABB certified embryologist, Carli remains on the cutting edge of the rapidly expanding horizon of reproductive science and medicine. Carli sits on the Board of Directors for the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and has been on the post graduate faculty of ASRM for the past four consecutive years. She is also President of the Society of Reproductive Biologist and Technologists. In addition to these commitments, Carli shares her wealth of experience as a frequent consultant and CAP certified embryology lab inspector, while promoting her primary concern- the care and keeping of her patients’ embryos and interests.