Jennifer Fay Kawwass, M.D.

Associate Professor, Gynecology and Obstetrics, Emory University School of Medicine
Medical Director, Emory Reproductive Center
Clinical Director, Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology
Guest Researcher, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Jennifer F. Kawwass, MD, joined the Emory Reproductive Center in August of 2014. She is a native of Virginia Beach, VA where she was valedictorian of her graduating class at Norfolk Academy. She then went on to play Division I Field Hockey at Davidson College in Davidson, NC where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BS degree in Biology. She returned to her home state to complete medical school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville where she received the Medical Alumni Association Outstanding Student Award. In 2007, she moved to Atlanta for her Ob/Gyn residency at Emory University during which time she received numerous teaching, surgical, and research awards and was elected by her faculty and peers as an Administrative Chief Resident. She chose to stay at Emory as a Fellow in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and received awards for her thesis research project, which she completed in partnership with the CDC, where she remains a Guest Researcher. She is among a handful of physicians nationally who were chosen by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine to participate in the CREST Scholars Program. She also currently acts as one of the Clinical Directors on the Executive Council of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART), the national self-governing body for fertility physicians and practices.

Dr. Kawwass chose to join the Emory faculty because she genuinely believes that the Emory Reproductive Center offers exceptional evidence-based fertility care. She is committed to individualizing and optimizing care for each of her patients. She appreciates the emotional investment that goes along with fertility treatment and is dedicated to making the journey toward parenthood as smooth as possible for them. Dr. Kawwass is particularly interested in infertility, in vitro fertilization, functional hypothalamic amenorrhea, third party reproduction, and fertility preservation (oocyte cryopreservation).

As a Guest Researcher at the CDC, Dr. Kawwass is also a member of the National ART Surveillance Team. A few of her recent contributions to the literature include publications in Obstetrics and Gynecology (tubal factor infertility and perinatal outcomes, monozygotic twinning among ART-conceived infants), Fertility and Sterility (assisted hatching trends and outcomes), and JAMA (donor oocyte trends and predictors of good perinatal outcomes, safety of ART in the US, and ICSI trends and outcomes). Her publications have received national press, including interviews by the Associated Press and USA Today.

Dr. Kawwass is board-certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is fluent in English and French, medical Spanish, and conversational Lebanese Arabic. Dr. Kawwass’ interests outside of medicine include distance running, foreign travel, and spending time at the beach. She and her husband, Peter Thompson, MD a plastic surgeon at Emory, enjoy spending time with their two children.

Training

MEDICAL SCHOOL
University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA
2007
RESIDENCY
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
2011
FELLOWSHIP
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA
2014

Professional Memberships

CDC – Guest researcher member of the NASS ART team in Division of Reproductive Health
SART – Clinical Director, Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology
ASRM – American Society for Reproductive Medicine
ACOG – American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Languages spoken

Arabic
French
Spanish

Honors & Awards

OCCR (Online Course in Clinical Research) Certificate
2016, NICHD and Duke CREST Program
Excellence in Teaching Award: Reproductive Sciences
2016
Gold Provider: top 10% of all Emory Clinic providers on patient satisfaction
2016, Press Ganey
Provider Excellence Award: top 10% nationally on patient satisfaction
2017, Press Ganey