TCART Medical Staff

The Division of Reproductive Sciences
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
University of Toronto

Robert F. Casper, M.D., F.R.C.S., (C)
Professor
Medical Director

IVF and Andrology Lab Director
Navid Esfandiari, D.V.M., Ph.D., E.L.D., H.C.L.D. (ABB)
Adjunct Professor, University of Toronto


Clinic Manager
Lynda Gotlieb, R.N.

Robert F. Casper, MD, F.R.C.S., (C)
Medical Director

Dr Casper is a Professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Toronto with cross appointments in the Departments of Physiology, Medicine, The Institute of Medical Sciences, and in the Postgraduate Department of the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Toronto. Dr Casper is also a Senior Scientist in the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital. Dr. Casper received his MD at the University of Western Ontario in 1973 and his Fellowship in Obstetrics and Gynecology from the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada in 1977. In 1978, he was awarded a Medical Research Council of Canada Fellowship for two and a half years training in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of California in San Diego with Dr Sam Yen, and was certified as a diplomat of the ABOG in Reproductive Endocrinology in 1982.

Dr. Casper's research activities, in the area of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, have been continuously funded by the MRC/CIHR since 1980. Dr. Casper was awarded an MRC scholarship in 1982,and more recently, a joint MRC/INSERM Visiting Scientist award to acquire new expertise in molecular biology, during a sabbatical in the laboratory of Professor Edwin Milgrom in Paris. Dr. Casper is presently principal investigator on 2 CIHR operating grants, a Toxic Substances Research Initiative grant from Health Canada, and is co-investigator on 2 other CIHR grants. He has over 200 publications.

Dr. Casper is past president of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society and Chairman of the Special Advisory Committee on Reproductive Biology to the Health Protection Branch of Health Canada. He is on the editorial boards of The Journal of the Society for Gynecologic Investigation, Fertility and Sterility, The Obstetrical and Gynecological Survey, The Journal of the Middle East Fertility Society, Menopause, and Reproductive Medicine Review. Dr Casper was awarded the Health Silver Medal of the Ministry of Health, Republic of Lebanon in 2001.

Dr Casper is a member of the Board of Trustees of Genesis Research Foundation.

Navid Esfandiari, D.V.M., Ph.D., E.L.D., H.C.L.D. (ABB)

Dr. Esfandiari is the Director of the IVF, Andrology, and Research Laboratories at the Toronto Centre for Advanced Reproductive Technology and currently is an adjunct Professor in the Division of Reproductive Sciences in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Toronto. He has an outstanding reputation as a clinical embryologist in leading IVF programs since 1991.

Dr. Esfandiari started his extensive training with a D.V.M. degree from Tehran University in 1990. He completed his residency training and Ph.D. and was board certified in Reproductive Immunology at Tehran University School of Medicine in 1994. Dr. Esfandiari served as a Clinical embryologist and Assistant Professor of Reproductive Immunology at SBUMS Medical School, from 1994 to 2000. His postdoctoral training in Andrology and Reproductive Endocrinology was obtained from the Urological Institute and the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio from 2000 to 2002. Before coming to TCART, Dr. Esfandiari served as a senior clinical embryologist in the top ranked Center for Human Reproduction, North Shore University Hospital, NYU School of Medicine, Manhasset, New York.

Dr. Esfandiari is a recipient of 11 research grants and has authored or co-authored 80 scientific papers and abstracts. He is an active member of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society (CFAS), and European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). His research interest is in the area of Reproductive Endocrinology and Assisted Reproductive Technology including oocytes cryopreservation (which resulted in the first Canadian live birth of healthy twins), preimplantation genetic diagnosis, 3-dimentional cell culture, and immunology of Infertility.

Dr Esfandiari is a board certified High Complexity Laboratory Director (HCLD) as well as Embryology Laboratory Director (ELD) from the  American Board of Bioanalysis. He also holds a  Certificate of Qualification as Laboratory Director in Andrology, Endocrinology, and Diagnostic Immunology from the  New York State Department of Health

Dr Esfandiari is an ART Lab SIG Executive member of the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society. He has reviewed papers for Fertility and Sterility, Reproduction, Fertility and Development, Reproductive BioMedicine Online, and the  Asian Journal of Andrology, and is an Editorial Board member in Journal of Research in Medicine.