JK Fertility for Women of Color

J. Kendall “Kenny” Smalls holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology (minor in Computer Science) from Morgan State University and a Master’s of Science in Clinical Embryology from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, where he was the first African-American in the program’s history to graduate.

He started his professional career in 1990 at Cornell University Medical Center conducting infertility tests based on immunology factors. In 1991, he became the supervisor of the Andrology Department and was responsible for Chlamydia evaluation, sperm antibody detection and semen analysis. In 1997, he expanded his career to include embryology, performed semen evaluations for inseminations and cryopreservation, and assisted in in vitro fertilization procedures.

In 1999, Kenny began working with the world-renowned embryologist, Dr. Jacques Cohen at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science at Saint Barnabas Medical Center. Dr. Cohen has been actively involved in treating infertile couples by assisted reproductive technology since 1976 and was the first scientist to successfully freeze and thaw human blastocysts. Under Dr. John Garrisi and Dr. Cohen’s tutelage Kenny increased his knowledge of embryology and learned the most current techniques in assisted reproductive technology.

In late 2009, Kenny decided to form the corporation J Kendall LLC, Infertility Information, with the hopes of promoting and providing quality service and accurate information to patients seeking treatment, especially the first time. From this corporation JK Fertility was formed to provided fertility information specifically for women of color. His goal is to enlighten communities of color about the advancements of in vitro fertilization with the expectation that doing so will take away the shame and misinformation currently associated with it.