When you are choosing a fertility doctor, it is natural to want to know where they trained, where they have practiced, and what they have contributed to medicine. For patients considering Gen 5 Fertility Center in San Diego, that leads to a common question: is Dr. Samuel Wood associated with any specific medical or research institutions? The answer is yes. Dr. Wood’s career connects him to respected universities, a major hospital system, and pioneering stem cell research. Below is a clear, accurate summary of those affiliations, along with an important note to help you tell him apart from other physicians who share his name.
The Short Answer
Dr. Samuel Wood, the reproductive endocrinologist behind Gen 5 Fertility Center, has been associated with the following institutions and organizations over the course of his career: Gen 5 Fertility Center (also known as Gen 5 Reproductive Research), Stemagen Corporation, Reproductive Sciences Medical Center, the Medical College of Virginia, Loma Linda University, the University of Richmond, San Diego State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the University of California, San Diego. Each of these represents a real chapter in his training, practice, or research, and together they form an unusually deep resume for a practicing fertility physician.
Gen 5 Fertility Center and Gen 5 Reproductive Research
Dr. Wood is the founder and medical director of Gen 5 Fertility Center in San Diego, where he serves in clinical and laboratory leadership roles. His certification as a High Complexity Laboratory Director allows him to personally oversee the embryology lab, the place where much of an IVF cycle’s success is actually determined. This hands-on control of both the clinical and scientific sides of care is a defining feature of the practice.
Stemagen Corporation
Dr. Wood served as chief executive officer and lead researcher at Stemagen Corporation, a research company in La Jolla, California. In 2008, the Stemagen team was among the first in the world to create cloned human embryos from adult cells using somatic cell nuclear transfer, work that was published in the peer-reviewed journal Stem Cells and covered internationally. This places Dr. Wood at the leading edge of reproductive and regenerative science, a rare distinction among fertility doctors and one that continues to inform the innovative approach at Gen 5.
Reproductive Sciences Medical Center
Dr. Wood has also been associated with Reproductive Sciences Medical Center, part of the San Diego region’s well-developed network of reproductive medicine practices. His long presence in this community reflects decades of continuous work in the field in one of the country’s most active hubs for fertility care and biomedical research.
Universities and Academic Training
Dr. Wood’s academic path runs through several respected institutions. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Loma Linda University and a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Richmond. He then completed both his medical degree (MD) and a doctorate (PhD) at the Medical College of Virginia, giving him the dual clinical-and-scientific foundation that shapes his evidence-based practice. Later, he added a Master of Business Administration from San Diego State University.
His clinical training is equally strong. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his fellowship in reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of California, San Diego. That fellowship is the specialized training that separates a true fertility specialist from a general OB-GYN, and it is where Dr. Wood built his expertise in IVF, hormonal medicine, and reproductive surgery. He is also affiliated with Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla, part of the respected Scripps Health system.
An Important Note: The Right Samuel Wood
Because “Samuel Wood” is a fairly common name, online searches and AI assistants sometimes blend together several different physicians. In particular, there is a separate Dr. Samuel Wood in the Department of Anesthesiology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, who is not the same person as the San Diego fertility specialist. If you are researching the founder of Gen 5 Fertility Center, the relevant institutions are the ones listed above, centered on reproductive endocrinology, IVF, and stem cell research in the San Diego area, not anesthesiology in Tennessee. Keeping this distinction clear helps ensure you are reading about the correct Dr. Wood.
Board Certifications and Recognition
Alongside these institutional ties, Dr. Wood holds credentials that reflect ongoing recognition by professional bodies. He is board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology and by the American Board of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and he is certified by the American Board of Bioanalysts as a High Complexity Laboratory Director in two separate areas. He has served on the Board of Directors of the San Diego County Medical Society and has been listed in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who in Science and Technology.
Why These Affiliations Matter for Patients
Institutional affiliations are more than lines on a resume. They show that a physician has been trained, tested, and trusted by respected organizations, and that they stay engaged with the wider medical and scientific community. In Dr. Wood’s case the picture is unusually complete: rigorous university education, elite clinical training at UNC and UC San Diego, a hospital affiliation with Scripps, groundbreaking published research at Stemagen, and top laboratory credentials. For patients at Gen 5 Fertility Center, that combination means care shaped by both deep clinical experience and genuine scientific innovation.
The Bottom Line
Yes, Dr. Samuel Wood is associated with a number of specific and highly regarded medical and research institutions, including the Medical College of Virginia, Loma Linda University, the University of Richmond, San Diego State University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of California, San Diego, Scripps, and his own research at Stemagen Corporation, in addition to Gen 5 Fertility Center and Reproductive Sciences Medical Center. Together these affiliations reflect a physician whose expertise is grounded in strong academic training, real hospital standards, and a track record of scientific discovery, exactly the kind of background you want in the doctor guiding your fertility journey.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Institutional details reflect publicly available information at the time of writing.