Kelly S. Acharya

About

Funding is the most concrete evidence that a physician is doing something other than running cycles, and Dr. Kelly S. Acharya has two streams of it: a National Institutes of Health award running 2023 to 2028 in polycystic ovary syndrome research, and American Cancer Society support for 2025-2026. She also directs Duke’s fertility preservation program, which makes the PCOS work and the freezing work two ends of the same clinical problem — how many eggs a woman has left, and what to do about it on a clock.

She stayed in one place to get there. MD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (2012), obstetrics and gynecology residency at Duke (2012-2016), reproductive endocrinology and infertility fellowship at Duke (2016-2019), then faculty. Her published record stands at 37 scholarly articles in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Duke Health lists her at 4.90 out of 5 in physician ratings and as accepting new patients.

Her named clinical interests are PCOS, fertility preservation, recurrent pregnancy loss and inclusive care for LGBTQ+ patients — a combination that tends to produce longer treatment arcs than the average IVF panel, since ovulatory dysfunction and preservation planning both involve repeat cycles and repeat decisions.

Clinical Expertise

• Polycystic ovary syndrome: diagnosis, metabolic and endocrine management, and stimulation strategies for patients who ovulate irregularly or hyper-response to medication — the subject of her NIH-funded work
• Fertility preservation, medical and elective: egg, embryo and sperm freezing for patients facing cancer treatment or who want to move a timeline, and she directs the program that does it
• In Vitro Fertilization: protocol design through retrieval and transfer, with PCOS patients requiring the most careful monitoring
• Recurrent pregnancy loss: structured evaluation rather than a single test, addressing the genetic, anatomic, endocrine and immunologic categories
• Donor egg cycles: for patients whose own reserve no longer supports a cycle
• LGBTQ+ family building: donor insemination, reciprocal IVF and preservation planning inside Duke’s program

Why Choose Dr. Kelly S. Acharya

A program director, not a participant. Fertility preservation at Duke carries her name as its director, which means the decisions about how many eggs to aim for, which protocol, and when to stop are made by someone responsible for the service rather than passing through it.

NIH money behind the PCOS counseling. Federal research funding on polycystic ovary syndrome through 2028 is rare among practicing clinicians. PCOS patients, who may face several medicated cycles, benefit from a physician close to the evidence that sets dosing and trigger strategy.

Preservation before cancer treatment is her intersection. An American Cancer Society funded project alongside egg and embryo freezing describes exactly the patient who arrives at Duke after an oncology appointment and needs a cycle started within days.

Thirty-seven publications and a 4.90 patient rating. Academic output alongside one of the stronger published physician ratings at the center, in the same practice.

Professional Affiliations

Assistant Professor at Duke University and Director of the Duke Fertility Preservation Program, practicing within Duke Health’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her subspecialty credential is Duke fellowship training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility, 2016-2019, following residency at the same institution; Duke’s published profile records the training and program leadership rather than a certification line. Funded investigator on an NIH project in PCOS (2023-2028) and an American Cancer Society supported project (2025-2026), with 37 scholarly articles.

Suitable For

• PCOS patients who have not conceived after several medicated cycles: the diagnosis is both her research funding and her clinical focus
• Anyone starting chemotherapy or radiation soon: preservation is a listed Duke service, and its director is on the panel — sperm freezing runs $287-$390 self-pay, and eggs or embryos are frozen in the center’s CAP-accredited lab
• Patients planning egg freezing on their own timeline: the program she directs handles the full cycle, from AMH testing ($78-$108 self-pay) through vitrified storage under tracked chain of custody
• Families that have lost more than one pregnancy: recurrent pregnancy loss evaluation is named in her scope
• LGBTQ+ patients who need preservation and donor-gamete planning handled by the same physician