Dr. Bruce S. Shapiro. MD, PhD, FACOG

Founder, Medical Director and Laboratory Director, and Laboratory Director, The Fertility Center of Las Vegas
Dr. Bruce Shapiro is specialty board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology and is sub-specialty board certified in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility. He founded The Fertility Center of Las Vegas, the city’s first infertility practice, which is renowned for research that has advanced the science and practice of Reproductive Endocrinology. Under his direction, The Fertility Center of Las Vegas has grown from a successful local facility to having major regional, national & international influence in the field of Reproductive Endocrinology. Dr. Shapiro has developed techniques that make in vitro fertilization (IVF) safer and more effective, and this research is widely and regularly published in respected medical journals. He completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Yale New Haven Hospital, finished his fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale University, and earned his Ph.D. at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Dr. Shapiro’s research background and a long-standing interest in making IVF safer and more effective have led to many innovations.   He was one of the first physicians to perform and report on blastocyst transfer in the United States.  Blastocyst transfer is a procedure allowing the transfer of fewer embryos into the uterus while maintaining high pregnancy rates and reducing the risk of high order multiple pregnancy (triplets and greater).  He received a research award for this work.  He was also instrumental in developing techniques for post thaw extended culture (PTEC) following fertilized oocyte cryopreservation demonstrating the importance of embryo-endometrial synchrony for implantation, for which he received another research award.  Dr. Shapiro was among the first in the world to standardize the use of GnRH agonist triggers in high responders undergoing ovarian stimulation, a practice that virtually eliminates ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).  Dr. Shapiro’s innovations also include the combination of GnRH agonist with low-dose hCG to realize the benefits of each trigger agent. Dr. Shapiro’s work has allowed patients who have had previous failures and/or OHSS in IVF to change the way their IVF cycles are performed so that their chance of success is greatly improved while their risk of complications from OHSS and high order multiple pregnancy are greatly reduced.