Orchid is backed by world class experts in reproductive medicine and genetics committed to helping families understand and mitigate their reproductive risks. In our “Why They Joined” series, we highlight Orchid’s extraordinary scientific and medical advisors and what excites them most about Orchid.

What Jacques Cohen has to say about Orchid

“Up until now, parents could only genetically screen for the rare events with a 1 in 1,000 or even 1 in a million chance of happening. Yet there was no way for prospective parents to measure their future child’s genetic predispositions to much more common chronic, debilitating diseases based on their combined genetics alone. Orchid’s amazing science now makes this astounding at-home test a reality.” 

— Jacques Cohen, PhD

Jacques Cohen’s Bio

Jacques Cohen is a reproductive biologist, clinical embryologist, clinical laboratory product developer, and high complexity laboratory director. Currently, he is the Director and Founder of the ART Institute of Washington, which runs the joint National Institute of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center IVF program. He currently sits on the Advisory Boards of biotech startups TMRW, Kindbody, DADI, IVF 2.0, Orchid, and Phosphorus. He is also a product developer and co-founder of IVFqc/Althea Science, Reprogenetics (now part of Cooper Genomics), Life-Global/IVF online, Alpha – Scientists in Reproductive Medicine, Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society, and the embryologist weekly science and embryology educational platform i3 – the international IVF initiative. He has also co-developed a number of embryological methodologies and devices, and he has co-authored more than 300 publications, several textbooks and 12 patents. Cohen earned his Ph.D. from Erasmus University in Rotterdam in various aspects of in vitro fertilization and male factor infertility. His postdoctoral studies were performed at Cambridge University and Bourn Hall Clinic.

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