'%20d='m0%200%2016%2011h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%2037h61%2061%2060%2061L16%2063h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%2089h61%2061%2060%2061L16%20115h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%20141h61%2061%2060%2061L16%20166h61%2061%2061%2061%2060L47%20192h61%2061%2060%2061L16%20218h61%2061%2061%2061%2060z'/%3e%3c/svg%3e)
About
Before committing to patient care, Dr. Riwa Sabbagh spent two years inside the Reproductive Endocrinology Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital doing bench science: gene discovery work on hypogonadotropic hypogonadism, the condition where the brain never sends puberty signals to the ovaries. That research later surfaced in Genetics in Medicine (2022, ARHGAP35/ARHGAP5 findings in patients with idiopathic HH) and in her residency-era prenatal genetics work at Baylor. She is one of the few in this group whose publication record spans human genetics, mouse embryo morphology and clinical IVF efficiency studies.
She earned her biology degree with distinction and her MD at the American University of Beirut, her hometown school, then returned to Boston research, completed a four-year OB/GYN residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and finished REI fellowship at Boston IVF / Beth Israel Deaconess / Harvard Medical School. She never left: she has been a full-time Boston IVF physician since, now based at the network’s Concord center.
Her current research targets two stubborn IVF questions — how to characterize human embryo quality beyond appearance, and how to optimize management of patients with thin endometrial linings, where transfer success rates sink. She also co-authored the 2023 Fertility and Sterility “biological efficiency” analysis with Alan Penzias and colleagues, tracking how much of one stimulation cycle actually converts to a live birth. A native Lebanese speaker of Arabic and French with proficient Spanish, she won the SREI Young Investigator Award in 2022.
Clinical Expertise
- Thin Endometrial Lining: Named optimization focus — lining preparation strategies for transfer patients whose lining won’t thicken
- Human Embryo Characterization: Research interest that feeds day-to-day transfer decisions on which embryo to move
- IVF and ICSI: Cycle care at the Concord center, with telehealth across Massachusetts
- PGT-A and Reproductive Genetics: From HH gene discovery to prenatal genetic testing during residency
- Fertility Preservation: A stated research and clinical interest
Why Choose Dr. Riwa Sabbagh
A geneticist’s training in an IVF chair. Two years of MGH gene-discovery research plus Baylor prenatal genetics work means genetic causes of infertility are native terrain.
Awarded young by the specialists’ society. The SREI Young Investigator Award comes from the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility — the REI academic honor society, judging research quality early in a career.
She measures the whole funnel. Her 2023 biological-efficiency paper asks how far oocyte-retrieval-to-live-birth rates have actually improved; that framing changes how success gets counseled.
Four languages, one physician. English, Arabic, French and Spanish coverage for Greater Boston’s multilingual families.
Professional Affiliations
Double board-certified path in progress toward full certification: active candidate for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology; member of ASRM and ACOG. Presentations at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, American College of Medical Genetics and Society for Reproductive Investigation annual meetings. Publications in Fertility and Sterility, Genetics in Medicine, Human Genetics and Prenatal Diagnosis.
Suitable For
- Patients told their lining is too thin for transfer: Her explicit optimization focus
- Arab, French or Spanish-speaking households: Consultation without an interpreter
- Suburban Middlesex County families: Concord center care instead of a Boston drive
- Preservation consultations with a research physician: Embryo and endometrial evidence in the room