Houston, Texas is the largest city in the state and the fourth-largest in the United States, a sprawling metropolitan region of more than seven million people that stretches across Harris County and into surrounding communities like Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Katy, and Pearland. For residents of this vast urban area navigating infertility, Aspire Houston Fertility Institute (Aspire HFI) has become the region's most expansive fertility care network. Operating under the broader Aspire Fertility umbrella—which also maintains programs in Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio—Aspire HFI functions largely as an independent brand with its own deep roots in the Houston market, tracing its heritage to what was once Houston Fertility Institute (HFI), one of the longest-running assisted reproductive technology programs in the entire Southwest. Today, Aspire HFI operates 14 clinic locations spread throughout greater Houston, making it highly accessible to patients across a region where distance is a genuine barrier to care. The network has welcomed more than 30,000 babies since its founding and was named a Houstonia Top Doctor program in 2025.
Physicians and Clinical Team
Aspire HFI fields one of the largest physician rosters of any fertility practice in Texas, with 16 providers at the Houston group alone. All board-certified reproductive endocrinologists (REIs) on staff hold dual certification in Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility from the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
George M. Grunert, MD is one of the most senior reproductive endocrinologists in the region. A Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine graduate, Dr. Grunert completed his OB/GYN residency at Naval Regional Medical Center, Oakland, then pursued a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of California, San Francisco. He founded and directs the IVF program at Aspire HFI, a program now widely cited as among the longest continuously operating ART programs in the Southwest. Castle Connolly recognized Dr. Grunert as a 2026 Top Doctor.
S. Kemi Nurudeen, MD graduated magna cum laude from Texas A&M University and earned her medical degree from Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine. She completed her OB/GYN residency at Georgetown University Hospital, where she was selected Chief Resident, then went on to fellowship training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at New York Presbyterian Hospital–Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Nurudeen has particular clinical interests in fertility preservation, diminished ovarian reserve, ovarian aging, and third-party reproduction. Castle Connolly named her a 2026 Top Doctor.
Maya Kriseman, MD earned her medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, then completed her OB/GYN residency, REI fellowship, and a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation—all at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Kriseman is widely published in high-impact journals, with research spanning PCOS, ovarian reserve, and novel surgical techniques. She received the Pfizer Presidents' Presenter Award for her academic contributions and is board-certified in both OB/GYN and REI.
Randall C. Dunn, MD is another Castle Connolly 2026 Top Doctor on the Aspire HFI Houston roster. He brings specialized expertise in advanced IVF and has been part of the HFI program for many years. Timothy Dunn, MD, a more recently welcomed addition to the group, further deepens the team's REI coverage across the Houston metro area.
Additional Houston physicians include Mazen Abdallah, MD; Sandra Bello, MD; Alexa Clapp, MD; Nischelle Kalakota, MD; Josh Skorupski, MD; Reem Sabouni, MD; Rhiana Saunders, MD; Jason Yeh, MD; and Ryan Steward, MD. Advanced practice providers Kelly Nowicki, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, and Julie Daniel Salazar, MSN, APRN, FNP-C round out the clinical team, supporting patient access at satellite monitoring locations across the region.
Services and Treatments
Aspire HFI offers one of the broadest treatment menus available at a fertility center in Texas, spanning diagnostics through advanced assisted reproduction:
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), including conventional IVF and mini-IVF protocols
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
- Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
- Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)
- Assisted Hatching
- Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT-A for aneuploidies, PGT-M for monogenic conditions, PGT-SR for structural rearrangements)
- Egg Freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) for elective and medical fertility preservation
- Oncofertility—fertility preservation for patients facing cancer diagnosis and treatment
- Egg Donation—Aspire HFI operates what is described as Texas's only dedicated egg donor bank and the state's largest third-party reproduction program
- Gestational Surrogacy coordination
- INVOcell (intravaginal culture device, a lower-cost IVF alternative)
- LGBTQ+ family building—same-sex couples, single parents by choice, and transgender patients
- Male Fertility Evaluation and Treatment, including sperm retrieval procedures
- Recurrent Pregnancy Loss evaluation and management
- Diagnosis and treatment of PCOS, endometriosis, tubal factor, and uterine abnormalities
- Genetic counseling and gender selection / family balancing
- Fertility Testing and Diagnosis (AMH, AFC, semen analysis, hysteroscopy, HSG)
- International patient services
Laboratory and Success Rates
Aspire HFI's main IVF laboratory is located at 7515 South Main Street in the Texas Medical Center corridor, one of the world's largest medical campuses. The laboratory's director holds a Ph.D. in Reproductive Biology and carries multiple high-complexity certifications: High Complexity Clinical Lab Director (HCLD), Andrology Laboratory Director (ALD), Embryology Laboratory Director (ELD), and Clinical Consultant (CC). The team of embryologists holds bachelor of science and doctoral-level degrees in reproductive science.
The program reports IVF success rates above the national average on a consistent annual basis. Prospective patients should review verified, year-by-year outcome data through official reporting channels. Aspire HFI files annual outcome data with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology; current cycle success rates are available directly at SART's public clinic report for Aspire Houston Fertility Institute. National benchmarks are also published by the CDC's ART Surveillance Report and provide useful context for evaluating any clinic's outcomes relative to the broader U.S. patient population.
The laboratory employs time-lapse embryo imaging, vitrification (rapid-freeze) protocols for eggs and embryos, and a rigorous chain-of-custody witnessing system to protect sample integrity throughout every cycle. Genetic testing for embryos (PGT) is performed in close collaboration with certified genetics laboratories.
Patient Experience
Aspire HFI's 14 Greater Houston locations are designed to reduce the logistical strain of fertility treatment, which typically requires frequent early-morning monitoring appointments. Patients can have bloodwork and ultrasound monitoring done close to home—in Katy, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Pearland, Cypress, or central Houston—while egg retrievals and embryo transfers are performed at the main IVF surgery center at Piney Point. This hub-and-spoke model is one of the clinic's most frequently cited patient-experience advantages.
The clinical staff includes a dedicated wellness team offering counseling, mental health support, and acupuncture, recognizing the emotional weight fertility treatment places on patients and their partners. Multilingual support is available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and Mandarin, reflecting Houston's exceptionally diverse patient population. Online patient portal access allows secure communication with the clinical team, review of lab results, and appointment management. Patient reviews consistently highlight the compassion and attentiveness of both nursing staff and physicians, with many patients noting that their care team remained consistent throughout multi-cycle treatments.
Considering At-Home Insemination?
Not every fertility journey begins in a clinic. At-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is a lower-cost, private option that suits patients with no known fertility diagnosis — including single parents by choice, same-sex couples, and people who want to try a few cycles before committing to clinical treatment.
At-home insemination kits like those from MakeAMom come with step-by-step instructions designed for donor or partner sperm. Kits are a one-time purchase that can be reused until conception succeeds, require no clinic visit, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. Many patients use them as a first step while working toward a fertility consultation — or alongside ovulation tracking while they wait for an appointment slot.
If you have a known fertility diagnosis, have been trying for 12 months without success (six months if you're over 35), or your physician has already recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist is the right next step.
Insurance and Financing
Texas does not have a state mandate requiring health insurance plans to cover IVF or other assisted reproductive technologies, which means the majority of commercially insured patients in Houston face significant out-of-pocket costs for fertility treatment. Aspire HFI provides transparent pricing consultations and works with patients to identify any employer-sponsored fertility benefits—an increasingly common benefit offered by large Houston employers in the energy, healthcare, and technology sectors.
For patients without insurance coverage, Aspire HFI offers financing through third-party lending partners and has in-house financial counselors to help patients understand the total cost of care before beginning treatment. The clinic also offers multi-cycle packages and shared-risk programs for qualifying IVF patients, which can reduce financial exposure if a first retrieval cycle does not produce a successful pregnancy. Because Aspire HFI is part of Prelude Fertility—one of the largest fertility care networks in North America—patients may also have access to network-level pricing arrangements that smaller independent practices cannot match.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many locations does Aspire HFI have in the Houston area? Aspire HFI operates 14 clinic locations across greater Houston, with monitoring sites in the Texas Medical Center, Sugar Land, The Woodlands, Katy, Pearland, Cypress, and additional suburban communities. Egg retrievals and embryo transfers are performed at the Piney Point surgical center.
Which physicians at Aspire HFI have been recognized as Top Doctors? Castle Connolly named three Aspire HFI Houston physicians as 2026 Top Doctors: Randall C. Dunn, MD; George M. Grunert, MD; and S. Kemi Nurudeen, MD. The broader Aspire Fertility network across Texas received five Castle Connolly honorees in 2026 total.
Does Aspire HFI offer egg freezing for non-medical reasons? Yes. Aspire HFI offers elective egg freezing (social egg freezing) as well as oncofertility preservation for patients facing medical treatments that may compromise future fertility. The clinic also operates an egg donor bank—described as the only one of its kind in Texas—for patients who need donor eggs to build their families.
Where can I find verified IVF success rate data for Aspire HFI Houston? Independent outcome data is reported annually to SART and to the CDC. You can review Aspire HFI's multi-year SART data at the link in the Laboratory section above. Success rates vary by patient age, diagnosis, and whether fresh or frozen embryos are used, so it is important to compare your specific cohort rather than overall clinic averages.
For a broader overview of fertility care options across the state, see our guide to fertility clinics in Texas. If you are weighing treatment options, our comprehensive IVF guide explains the full process, costs, and what to expect at each stage of a cycle.