HART Fertility Staff

HART IVF Fertility Clinic formerly known as The North Houston Center for Reproductive Medicine (NHCRM) is an office based fertility program offering a wide assortment of diagnostic and therapeutic options for the treatment of infertility. We are located in The Woodlands and Kingwood, both large suburban areas about 30 miles north of downtown Houston.

Our Center provides individualized patient treatment plans to make available the latest advanced assisted reproductive technologies while utilizing the cost effective advantage of the office setting.

The Center’s laboratory specializes in on-site assisted reproductive technologies, including diagnostic andrology, embryology and endocrinology services. The Center has the following credentials and certifications:

Weirong Shang, Ph.D., H.C.L.D., and the Center's IVF laboratory director. Dr. Shang is certified by the American Board of Bioanalysis to direct the laboratory.
Our Andrology and Endocrinology laboratories are inspected and certified by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).
Our In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory is certified by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).
Our IVF Center is a member of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART).
The director of our Center, Dorothy Roach, M.D., is board certified in both Reproductive Endocrinology and in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The HART IVF Team

Dorothy Roach, M.D.

Program Director

Ertug Kovanci, M.D.

Board Certified Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Specialist

Weirong Shang, Ph.D., H.C.L.D.

Laboratory Director

Dr. Shang is a graduate of one of the most prestigious academic institutes in China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, receiving her Master of Science degree in reproductive endocrinology. Dr. Shang received her doctorate (PhD) degree in reproductive physiology at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. She completed her postdoctoral training at Duke University Medical School in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Shang has worked in the field of human embryology since 1995. She has collaborated with many of the nation's top ranked IVF programs, and has been an IVF consultant internationally. She is one of the finest embryologists in the nation with a nationally ranked IVF success rate record. Dr. Shang is a board certified High-Complexity Clinical Laboratory Director (HCLD) in andrology and embryology by the American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB), and is an active member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

Ling Ai, M.S.

Laboratory Supervisor

Ms. Ai was the Senior Embryologist at the ART Center, Jinjiang Hospital for Women and Children’s Health in Chengdu City, China from 2000-2011 before joining our team in October 2011. She has held research positions at West Virginia University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the Chongqing University of Medical Sciences in China, with her work in tissue culture and andrology published in peer-reviewed journals.

Janna Patillo, R.N.

IVF Nurse Coordinator

Janna Patillo, R.N., has served as the IVF Nurse Coordinator for our program since its beginning in 1992. She is exceptionally knowledgeable of the complexities of the planning, pre-cycle testing, and treatment processes of IVF, and provides both educational and emotional support for all of our infertility and IVF patients.