Meet Elizabeth Klein, Cryo Coordinator, Ovation Austin
Elizabeth Klein, Cryo Coordinator, Ovation Austin Elizabeth Klein pivoted from her background in animal science to join Ovation® Austin in 2021. She started out helping embryologists and andrologists as a laboratory assistant, but she now coordinates the transport of frozen reproductive materials for patients, making parenthood possible.
How did you get into your line of work?
Before I joined the Ovation team, I earned a degree in animal science from Texas A&M University. I also completed a minor in biology and received an equine certificate.
When I first started my degree, I thought that I wanted to go into the business side of animal science. But once I started taking more science and reproductive classes, I got inspired to go down a different career path.
How did you start working at Ovation?
I got interested in the fertility world because one of my best friends worked at Ovation. She had so many great things to say about working here and what she did every day seemed really fascinating, so I applied for a job and here I am.
What is an average day of work like for you?
My first title at Ovation was laboratory assistant. I got to learn what happens in the lab while I helped out with tasks related to andrology, embryology and the transport of frozen materials. Over time, I started to help the lab’s cryo coordinator and learned so much from her.
Today, I’m the new cryo coordinator, and it’s such a rewarding job. I spend most of my day talking to patients and coordinating all incoming and outgoing shipments. On any given day, I handle two to five shipments, and some are quite big.
When I’m not handling those tasks, I take in all the initiations for the lab. If a patient will have a cycle using frozen materials, we need to make sure that their materials are onsite. As a result, I coordinate with Ovation Fertility Storage Solutions as well as other storage facilities and IVF clinics. I also handle paperwork related to embryo donation and change of ownership for embryos in the lab.
The transportation process can be very challenging to coordinate and takes anywhere from two weeks to months to complete. I love being able to help patients with their frozen cycles from start to finish.
What’s your favorite part of working for Ovation?
First, I have to say that I enjoy how everyone on my team works together. All my coworkers are very hardworking individuals and have great personalities. It really makes the job fun when you have coworkers that are like family.
My favorite part of my job is loading and unloading shipments of patient’s frozen materials in the lab. This is my favorite part of my job because it is the most exciting time for the patients. The completed shipments allow the patients to be one step closer to parenthood. I’ve spent a lot of time working with patients to get to that point, so it feels like we’ve reached the finish line.
What do you like to do outside of work?
I’m a horse person, so I love spending my free time riding horses. My animal science degree and equine certificate really come into play here. I also really enjoy spending time outside doing activities like fishing and hiking.