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About
Before she ever prescribed a stimulation protocol, Kay Waud earned a doctorate in structural engineering in her native Sweden. That training shows in how she practices — a bias toward load-bearing evidence and systems that hold under stress, applied to the hardest fertility cases: diminished ovarian reserve, recurrent pregnancy loss, and preservation cycles where the clock is the constraint.
She took her medical degree at UC San Diego, trained in OB/GYN at Eastern Virginia Medical School, and completed her REI fellowship at the Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk — one of the oldest IVF programs in the world. She went on to teach at Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she won the Golden Bear Award for best educational attending, and she carries double board certification in both OB/GYN and REI.
Her research has chased two ideas at once: a non-invasive preimplantation genetic test for embryo aneuploidy, and a diagnostic tool that reads the reproductive microbiota to predict outcomes. She chairs the Women’s Council of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and joined HRC Fertility’s new San Francisco clinic.
Clinical Expertise
- Fertility Preservation: Egg and embryo freezing for patients facing chemotherapy, delayed family building, or age-related decline
- Diminished Ovarian Reserve: Stimulation strategies for patients with low response, informed by an engineering mindset toward protocol variables
- Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: Structured workups and management for repeat miscarriage
- Translational Research: Non-invasive PGT and microbiota-based diagnostics aimed at predicting which embryos and which patients will do well
Why Choose Dr. Waud
An engineer in the exam room. A structural engineering PhD is rare among reproductive endocrinologists; she brings that systems discipline to complex, low-margin cases.
Certified twice over. Double board certification in both OB/GYN and REI means her training is audited in two specialties, not one.
A national leadership role. As chair of ASRM’s Women’s Council, she shapes how the field supports women physicians, and she teaches — Georgetown’s best-attending award is a reflection of that.
Professional Affiliations
American Society for Reproductive Medicine (Chair, Women’s Council); American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Bay Area Reproductive Endocrinologists Society. Recognized as a Top Medical Professional by DC Magazine and a Top Doctor by Washingtonian.
Suitable For
- Cancer patients and others needing preservation: Egg and embryo freezing before treatment that threatens fertility
- Recurrent loss patients: Methodical evaluation after repeated miscarriages
- Women with low ovarian reserve: Protocols built around difficult response patterns
- Patients who want evidence-first care: An approach shaped by a research and engineering background