Our Physicians

Abbaa Sarhan, MD, FACOGis board certified in Obstetrics and Gynecology (Ob/Gyn) as well as Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility (REI). Dr. Sarhan completed her undergraduate and medical degrees, as well as her residency training in Ob/Gyn at George Washington University, in Washington D.C., where she was appointed the leadership role of Chief Resident.  Dr. Sarhan subsequently received fellowship training in REI at The Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine in Norfolk, Virginia, which is the site of the first IVF baby in the United States. While a member of an active medical practice, she also served as an Assistant Clinical Professor at George Washington University School of Medicine, in Washington, D.C. and at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine in Richmond, Virginia.

Dr. Sarhan has received a myriad of honors including induction into Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha Omega Alpha, and Kane King Dodek Obstetrical honor societies. Some additional honors include Northern Virginia Magazine Top Doctor (2018-2020), Washingtonian Magazine Top Doctor (2016-2020), Rachel Morris Dominick Obstetrics and Gynecology Award (2004), and Resident Excellence Award (2008).

She is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and a Fellow with the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

Dr. Sarhan has been the author or co-author of numerous articles in publications, including the Journal of Ultrasound Medicine, Reproductive BioMedicine Online, Fertility and Sterility, and the Middle East Fertility Society Journal. She has also co-authored several peer-reviewed poster presentations for the Society of Gynecologic Investigation, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

Laurence C. Udoff, MD, FACOG is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and subspecialty board certified in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Dr. Udoff joined GIVF from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, where in addition to maintaining a clinical practice, he was Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences. During his tenure at the University of Maryland, Dr. Udoff was Director of the Residency Program in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Director of the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) program. He taught hundreds of students and residents. Prior to joining the Maryland faculty, Dr. Udoff practiced at the highly successful infertility program of The University of Utah School of Medicine, where he helped to establish the first PGD program in the Intermountain West.

Dr. Udoff's special interests include PGD and methods to improve IVF outcomes. Dr. Udoff graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Delaware with a degree in Biology and received his medical degree from the University Of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed his residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Maryland. He completed one fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Maryland and another at the University of Utah.

He is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the Society for Gynecologic Investigation (full member), the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society.

Dr. Udoff has been the author or co-author of numerous book chapters, abstracts and peer-reviewed articles on topics in reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Dr. Udoff speaks frequently at meetings around the country and has appeared on local and national TV to discuss infertility. He was also featured in Northern Virginia magazine's February 2010 list of "Top-Rated Doctors." Dr. Udoff maintains his affiliation with the University of Maryland, where he serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor and shares his medical expertise with medical students and residents.

Request an Appointment Online

Harvey J. Stern, MD, PhD, FACMG, FAAP joined GIVF in 1995 and is the Director of Reproductive Genetics and the Fetal Diagnostic Center. Dr. Stern has extensive experience in the evaluation of congenital malformations in the fetus and newborn and in diagnosis of genetic syndromes. He is the primary physician involved in providing amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, first trimester screening, and ultrasound for GIVF's prenatal genetics program. Dr. Stern is Medical Director of Fairfax Cryobank and of GIVF's Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) program. He also supervises genetic screening for GIVF's egg donors and for Fairfax Cryobank's sperm donors. Fairfax Cryobank is a division of the Genetics & IVF Institute. Dr. Stern also oversees GIVF's Endocrinology Laboratory.

Dr. Stern is board certified in pediatrics and medical genetics, with subspecialty board certification in clinical, biochemical and molecular genetics. He received his undergraduate degree in cell and molecular biology from Columbia College of Columbia University and completed a PhD in Human Genetics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He attended medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York. After a residency in pediatrics at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC, Dr. Stern completed a fellowship in medical genetics at UCLA.

Between 1987 and 1995, Dr. Stern was an attending physician in Medical Genetics and Laboratory Medicine at Children's National Medical Center, where he established the Biochemical Genetics Laboratory and the first molecular (PCR) based genetic diagnostic laboratory in a pediatric hospital. Currently, Dr. Stern is an Associate Professor of Human Genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University where he teaches a course in medical genetics.

He also teaches medical students in obstetrics and gynecology at Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax, Virginia. Dr. Stern is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, the American College of Medical Genetics, and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. He also has been elected to the International Fetoscopy Group, a highly selective and prestigious group of physicians known for their exceptional skills in prenatal diagnosis and genetic medicine.

Dr. Stern provides services in Reproductive Genetics including prenatal testing by chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), First-trimester genetic screening, pre or peri-conceptual genetic counseling and testing and Level II obstetrical ultrasound.

Request an Appointment Online

Weipeng Zhao, MD
President of International Division

Well known in China for his pioneering contributions in organ transplantation, microsurgery in urology, renal artery diseases, andrology and various surgical devices and equipment, Dr. Weipeng Zhao came to the US in 1990 at the invitation of The National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he served as an International Exchange Scientist.

In April 1994, Dr. Zhao joined Genetics & IVF Institute (GIVF USA) and founded GIVF's International Division. As Director of the Division and Vice President of GIVF, he worked with Chinese partners to establish the first facility in China that specializes in providing reproductive medicine, which opened the door for reproductive medicine in China. With its Chinese partners, GIVF established the Ji Ai Genetics and IVF Institute China-USA Centers in Shanghai, Guangdong and Heilongjiang and a Branch Center in Huzhou, Zhejiang. Shanghai Ji Ai has been operating successfully since 1998.

A graduate of the Medical Department of Shanghai First Medical College, Professor Zhao was an attending physician and chief of the urology division and deputy head of the surgical teacher and research group at the Affiliated Huashan Hospital. He was a member of the Third China National Committee of Urology, and served several times as Secretary of Shanghai Urology Society with the China Medical Association. Internationally, he was Member of the Tenth International Microsurgery Academic Committee and Leader of the Microsurgical Urology Group and Deputy Leader of Lymphatic Microsurgery Group in 1989.

He received the outstanding contribution award in urology for the past 60 years from the Chinese Medical Association, Shanghai Branch and Shanghai Andrology Branch Association in 2010. He also was the recipient of China's patent on male penile prosthesis and other major science and technology awards from the Chinese Ministry of Health and Shanghai Municipal Government.

Professor Zhao is the author of 144 published scientific papers and over ten chapters in professional books. He is also the organizer and editor-in-chief for the Chinese translation of 1st and 2nd editions of the "Andrology Handbook" published by the American Andrology Association and other books, as well as a member of the editorial board and contributing reviewer for various Chinese medical journals in surgery, urology, andrology and microsurgery over the past 50 years. He has been invited as a foreign expert, with the "Expert Certificate" awarded by the People's Republic of China for four consecutive years.

Information about the Shanghai Ji Ai Genetics & IVF Institute China-USA Center is available here.