About Us

The North Houston Center for Reproductive Medicine (NHCRM) is an office based fertility program offering a wide assortment of diagnostic and therapeutic options for the treatment of the infertile couple. We are located in The Woodlands and Kingwood, both large suburban areas about 30 miles north of downtown Houston (see maps).

Our Center provides individualized patient treatment plans to make available the latest advanced assisted reproductive technologies while utilizing the cost effective advantage of the office setting.

The Center’s laboratory specializes in on-site assisted reproductive technologies, including diagnostic andrology, embryology and endocrinology services. The Center has the following credentials and certifications:

• Weirong Shang, Ph.D., H.C.L.D., and the Center's IVF laboratory director. Dr. Shang is certified by the American Board of Bioanalysis to direct the laboratory.
• The Andrology and Endocrinology laboratories are inspected and certified by CLIA (US Dept. of Health).
• The laboratory is certified by the College of American Pathologists (CAP).
• The Center is a member of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART).
• The director of the Center, Dorothy Roach, M.D., is board certified in both Reproductive Endocrinology and in Obstetrics & Gynecology.

The NHCRM Team

Dorothy Roach, M.D.
Program Director

The director of the program at NHCRM, Dorothy Roach, M.D., earned her medical degree in 1980 from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas. She completed her internship and residency in Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 1984. She continued her training with intensive study and research in the subspecialty of Reproductive Endocrinology & Infertility by completing a 2-year fellowship at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta in 1988. Dr. Roach is board certified in both Reproductive Endocrinology and in Obstetrics & Gynecology. She has been in solo private practice in north Houston since 1990.

Dr. Roach has been on Texas Monthly’s annual Texas Super Doctors list every year since 2005. She was also featured in the September 2008 issue of H Texas Magazine.

Weirong Shang, Ph.D., H.C.L.D.
Laboratory Director

Dr. Shang is a graduate of one of the most prestigious academic institutes in China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, receiving her Master of Science degree in reproductive endocrinology. Dr. Shang received her doctorate (PhD) degree in reproductive physiology at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, and completed her postdoctoral training at Duke University Medical School in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Shang brings with her more than 20 years of experience working in the field of reproductive physiology. She has collaborated with many of the nation's top ranked IVF programs, and has consulted internationally. She is one of the finest embryologists in the nation with a nationally ranked IVF success rate record. Dr. Shang is a board certified High-Complexity Clinical Laboratory Director (HCLD) in andrology and embryology by the American Board of Bioanalysis (ABB), and is an active member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine.

Ling Ai, M.S.
Laboratory Supervisor

Ms. Ai was the Senior Embryologist at the ART Center, Jinjiang Hospital for Women and Children’s Health in Chengdu City, China for ten years before joining our team. She has held research positions at West Virginia University, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the Chongqing University of Medical Sciences in China, with her work in tissue culture and andrology published in peer-reviewed journals.

Janna Patillo, R.N.
IVF Nurse Coordinator

Janna Patillo, R.N., has served as the IVF Nurse Coordinator for our program since its beginning in 1992. She is exceptionally knowledgeable of the complexities of the planning, pre-cycle testing, and treatment of IVF, and provides both educational and emotional support for all of our infertility and IVF patients.