David Keefe, M.D., FACOG, REI
David L. Keefe, M.D. is Professor in the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Cell Biology at NYU Langone Medical Center. He also is a practicing fertility specialist at NYU Langone Fertility Center. Dr. Keefe earned his bachelor’s degree Magna cum laude from Harvard College and medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. He took training in psychiatry at Harvard and University of Chicago before completing residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology and Clinical Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at Yale. He also completed post-doctoral research training fellowships in Reproductive Biology at Northwestern University and Yale University School of Medicine.
Dr. Keefe’s research focuses on how oocyte biology affects embryo developmental capacity. His group was the first to show mutations in mitochondrial DNA in oocytes, employ a non-invasive oxygen sensitive sensor to measure oxygen consumption in oocytes and embryos, and to apply polarized light microscopy to non-invasively evaluate and manipulate meiotic spindles. Over the past fourteen years the focus of his research has been on the effects of repetitive sequences, especially telomeres and retrotransposons, on early development. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine recognized this work by awarding Dr. Keefe’s team General Program, Fertility Preservation and SART Prize Papers. Dr. Keefe holds several patents that emerged from his research to improve IVF.
He has published over 200 papers and served as a reviewer for a number of journals, including the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics, Science Translational Medicine, Fertility and Sterility and Human Reproduction. Dr. Keefe is actively involved in professional organizations, including the Society of Reproductive Endocrinologists, and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. He taught at the Frontiers in Reproduction Summer Course at the Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory and served on its board of directors.