Our Physicians/Staff » Laboratory Team

CAROLINE McCAFFREY, PhD, HCLD

Laboratory Director
Caroline McCaffrey, PhD has been an integral part of the NYU Fertility Center's embryology team since 1996 where she has served as embryologist, Laboratory Supervisor, and in 2009, was appointed Laboratory Director for both the andrology and embryology laboratories for the NYU and Greenwich Fertility Centers.

Dr. McCaffrey has been instrumental in the development of numerous acclaimed laboratory protocols being utilized today including extended culture for blastocyst transfers and oocyte (egg) cryopreservation for fertility preservation. She plays a key role in ongoing research programs including time lapse imagery of embryonic development and sperm DNA fragmentation. Dr. McCaffrey lectures worldwide in clinical embryology and her research findings have been published in numerous papers and abstracts.

Born and raised in Ireland, Dr. McCaffrey received her undergraduate degree in Biotechnology and her PhD in Animal Physiology from the University College Galway in Ireland. She is an active member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), the Fertility Preservation Special Interest Group of the ASRM, European Society for Human Reproduction (ESHRE), American College Of Embryology (ACE) as well as the NY Metropolitan Embryologist Society. She is American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB) certified as a High Complexity Laboratory Director (HCLD) for Embryology and Andrology.

A mother of four, Dr. McCaffrey enjoys the additional outdoor challenges of hill climbing and biking and is an avid reader at any remaining opportunity.

LEWIS KREY, PhD

Laboratory Consultant
A professor in the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Cell Biology at NYU School of Medicine since 1992, Dr. Krey has also been the director of the embryology and andrology laboratories at the NYU and Greenwich fertility centers since each program's inception.

Dr. Krey's past work was molecular in focus, examining how estrogen and progesterone are processed in the brain and pituitary gland, and characterizing several important intracellular processes that take place during early embryonic development. Dr. Krey has published more than 125 papers and books on a variety of research areas in reproductive biology, and is renowned in the field for successful laboratory outcomes.

ROBERTO OLIVARES

Embryology Lab Supervisor
Roberto received his bachelor's degree in biology and master's degree in human genetics from Los Andes University in Colombia. He has been working in IVF laboratories for more than 25 years and is highly experienced in all aspects of IVF including micromanipulation techniques and embryo biopsies for preimplementation genetic diagnostics.

Roberto has worked at some of the largest IVF laboratories in the United States. In 2009, he joined the embryology team at the NYU and Greenwich fertility centers. He is a member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and American Association of Bioanalysts. When not writing publications regarding embryo cryopreservation and embryo biopsies, Roberto enjoys reading novels and travelling to unusual places.

KEVIN LAMBRESE

Senior Embryologist
Kevin earned his master's degree in clinical embryology and andrology in 2010 from the Jones Institute at Eastern Virginia Medical School (site of the United States' first IVF baby). Before joining the renowned embryology laboratory staff at the NYU Fertility Center in 2008 as a senior embryologist, Kevin worked extensively in the field of embryology for large fertility laboratories in the New Jersey area. He is responsible for all aspects of the IVF laboratories at both the NYU and Greenwich fertility centers, andwas instrumental in the set-up and development of the Greenwich IVF lab in 2009. When not working, Kevin likes to be on the golf course enjoying the outdoors and spending time with his wife and family.

LILIAN GATCHALIAN, BSMT, ASCP

Andrology Supervisor/Lab Technologist
Graduating with highest honors, Lilian received her bachelor's degree in medical technology from San Juan de Dios Hospital School of Medical Technology in the Philippines. Her post-graduate work was completed at St. Mary's Hospital in Brooklyn. An extensive laboratory career expanding over 30 years led her to the specialty of andrology in 2003, and in 2009 she joined the Greenwich Fertility Center. Lilian is a member of the American Society of Clinical Pathologists. In her spare time, she enjoys walking, cooking, reading and travelling abroad.

MARIA GALLI, AAS, ASCP

Andrologist/Lab Technologist
Maria's commitment as a laboratory technologist covers over 21 years in chemistry, hematology, microbiology and cytogenetics. In 2005, she joined the Greenwich Fertility Center as an andrology lab tech and found great reward in the opportunity to assist patients seeking to achieve a pregnancy. Her superb laboratory skills coupled with her comforting manner with patients having semen analyses and artificial inseminations (IUIs) have won recognition in Greenwich Hospital's Quality Award program. Maria is an avid walker, a car enthusiast, and enjoys playing the piano.