Meet Our Group

Medical Director

Collin B. Smikle, MD, FACOG, is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology as well as reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Dr. Smikle performs IVF and a full range of advanced reproductive services. He is a graduate of Yale Medical School (1985) and trained in obstetrics and gynecology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School (1989).

After completion of his residency, Dr. Smikle served in the USAF Medical Corps and held a teaching position at Wilford Hall Medical Center. He received subspecialty training in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of California San Francisco. He has done extensive research in oocyte and follicular development and polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Dr. Smikle is the author of over 25 publications, book chapters, and abstracts. He is a member of American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Bay Area Reproductive Endocrinologists Society, and the San Francisco Obstetrical and Gynecological Society.

Reproductive Endocrinologist

Lee-Chuan Kao, MD, PhD, was born in Taipei, Taiwan and is a graduate of Taipei Medical College, now Taipei Medical University. He is a native speaker in Mandarin and Taiwanese. After completing his Armed Services commitment in Taiwan, Dr. Kao completed an additional doctorate at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his PhD for his study of molecular biology focusing on placental development.

Dr. Kao subsequently completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Georgetown University and fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Pennsylvania. He has done extensive research on polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) and endometriosis related infertility, and practiced at Stanford University and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. He is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology, as well as reproductive endocrinology and infertility.

Dr. Kao has authored numerous articles and book chapters focusing his investigation on the mechanisms of human embryo implantation and the pathogenesis of endometriosis. He is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology.

IVF Laboratory Director

Dr. Angle received her PhD in 1983 from Auburn University in Reproductive Physiology. She completed two NIH-sponsored postdoctoral fellowships at universities in Texas and then moved to San Francisco for her IVF training at the University of California, San Francisco. Over the past twenty years she has been an IVF Laboratory Director in Las Vegas, Nevada, Seattle, Washington, and Little Rock, Arkansas. She has been licensed as a High Complexity Laboratory Director through the American Association of Bioanalysts since 1994. In addition to directing an IVF Laboratory Dr. Angle is a member of Irvine Scientific's Scientific Advisory Board, serves as a consultant for IS teaching oocyte and embryo vitrification around the world, is a laboratory inspector for the College of American Pathologists, has been Chair of the Reproductive Laboratory Technologist Professional Group within the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, serves on several committees and task forces for ASRM, is an adjunct faculty member for the embryology master's program at Eastern Virginia Medical Center and is co-owner of International Reproductive Information and Services, L.L.C. (IRIS), a company that is developing educational materials for embryology, andrology, and endocrinology laboratory scientists. She has published more than 50 scientific articles, book chapters and abstracts and is an ad hoc reviewer for Fertility and Sterility.

National and International Care

Many of our patients are from Pacific Rim countries and other locations outside the San Francisco Bay Area. The staff at Laurel Fertility Care can assist you with travel and lodging arrangements. In consultation with your personal physician, Dr. Smikle and the staff at Laurel Fertility Care will assist you in receiving convenient, expert fertility treatment in San Francisco.