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About
S. Zev Williams is a physician-scientist in the literal sense: he holds both an MD and a PhD, did postdoctoral research in the Laboratory of Molecular Embryology at Rockefeller University, and now chairs Columbia University Irving Medical Center’s Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. That combination — a lab bench and a clinical service — is where he does his most distinctive work.
He earned his MD/PhD at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, trained in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Brigham and Women’s / Massachusetts General hospitals, and completed his Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility fellowship at Weill Cornell. He is double board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, an Associate Professor, and an ASRM member.
His best-known contribution is STAR (Sperm Tracking and Recovery), an AI-guided system built to find usable sperm in men whose samples have very few or none — the technology took his team several years to develop, and the first patient conceived using it in March 2025. The work has been covered by TIME, Fox News and The New York Times. His clinical focus sits on recurrent pregnancy loss and infertility, and on turning the questions raised by those cases into technology and assays.
Clinical Expertise
- Recurrent Pregnancy Loss: Evaluation and management as a named clinical focus, tied to his research on predicting and preventing miscarriage
- Male-Factor Infertility and Azoospermia: Development of STAR, the AI sperm-tracking and recovery technology for patients with few or no sperm
- IVF and Advanced ART: Leadership of a high-volume academic program across the full treatment range
- Rapid Prenatal and Genetic Assays: Research on faster, cheaper screening for miscarriage risk and birth defects
- Fertility Preservation: Egg, embryo and sperm banking within Columbia’s program
Why Choose Dr. Williams
He runs the division. As Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Columbia, he sets the clinical and research direction of the whole service, not just his own panel.
An MD/PhD who publishes from the bench. The Rockefeller molecular embryology postdoctoral training shows up directly in the technologies he has brought to patients, most visibly STAR.
Treats the cases other clinics stop on. Recurrent pregnancy loss and severe male factor are the diagnoses his practice and his inventions are aimed at.
Professional Affiliations
American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Chief, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Columbia University Irving Medical Center; double board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility.
Suitable For
- Recurrent pregnancy loss: A division chief whose clinical focus is repeated miscarriage
- Severe male factor or azoospermia: Access to the physician who built STAR sperm recovery
- Complex IVF at an academic center: Leadership of a high-volume ART program
- Fertility preservation: Egg, embryo and sperm banking within Columbia’s program