Thomas B. Pool, Ph.D., HCLD
Scientific Director

Dr. Pool is the embryologist and director of the assisted reproductive technology laboratory of the center. He is a native Texan and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture in 1970 and a Master of Arts degree in Biology in 1973 from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He then attended the University of Virginia as a National Institutes of Health predoctoral trainee in developmental biology and was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1976.

Dr. Pool completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in cell biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 1978. He joined the faculty of the University of Texas Medical School that same year and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1984. His research focused upon the basic mechanisms governing cell growth and included investigations into ways to improve embryo growth using nonhuman primates as a model system for study. In 1986, he became the Embryologist and Laboratory Director for the Fertility Program at Methodist Hospital in San Antonio and was appointed as the Program Director in 1989.

Certifications, Memberships, and Affiliations

• Board certified as a High-Complexity Clinical Laboratory Director by the American Board of Bioanalysis with subspecialty proficiency in embryology and andrology
• Active member of the American Association of Bioanalysts, active member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)
• Member of the Reproductive Biology Professional Group of ASRM
• Member of the Laboratory Technology Professional Group of ASRM
• Member of the Pacific Coast Fertility Society
• Served as Chairman of the Abstract Committee of the RBPG
• Served as a member of the Practice Committee of SART
• Served as Chairman of the College of Reproductive Biology of the AAB
• Functions as a laboratory inspector for the Reproductive Laboratory Accreditation Program, sponsored jointly by ASRM and the College of American Pathologists
• Member of the editorial board of Reproductive BioMedicine Online
• Serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several medical journals relating to IVF

Dr. Pool's research interests include improving culture media, media supplements and the embryo culture environment for assisted reproduction, and PGD. He is often called to consult with the in vitro technology industry.