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Pioneering Pathways to Parenthood

At Ovelle, we are revolutionizing reproductive medicine to help more people experience the profound joys of parenthood.
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About Us

Our Mission and Challenge

Infertility affects about 1 in 7 couples (approximately 15%), with millions of women struggling to conceive. This challenge not only impacts physical health but also takes an emotional toll on individuals and relationships. Current treatments like in vitro fertilization (IVF) can be costly, invasive, and not always successful. At Ovelle, we’re developing a groundbreaking solution: in vitro gametogenesis (IVG).

Think of IVG as the next generation of IVF. It’s designed to be more effective, less invasive, and potentially more affordable. Our mission is to perfect this technology, making the dream of parenthood a reality for many more families.

While there’s still work to be done, we’re optimistic about the future. Our goal is simple: to bring the joy of parenthood within reach for families who may have lost hope, offering them a new path to realizing their dreams of having a baby.

Our Vision for the Future

At Ovelle, we're working towards a future with:

Revolutionary Treatment

IVG becomes the gold standard in fertility treatment - safe, effective, and widely preferred to IVF

Universal Access

Advanced reproductive technologies are affordable and accessible to all who desire them

Fulfilled Dreams

The joy of parenthood becomes a reality for millions, significantly reducing the heartache of infertility

Meiosis induction from female hiPSCs
Unlocking Nature's Blueprint for Human Eggs

From Somatic Cells to Eggs: Our Scientific Journey

Ovelle is revolutionizing fertility treatment through human in vitro oogenesis—producing eggs from somatic cells. We have developed technology to create the cell types of the ovary from human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) by manipulating expression of transcription factors and RNA-binding proteins. Notably, we are the first company to produce meiotic oogonia-like cells from human iPSCs. This is an important step towards in vitro oogenesis because activating meiosis has been a key challenge in the field. We will incorporate these meiotic oogonia-like cells into ovarian organoids to create synthetic ovaries capable of producing eggs.

We know that generating eggs from stem cells is possible since nearly all women do it. We are now bringing advanced biological principles into the lab to create new possibilities for reproductive health.

Our Innovative Approach

At Ovelle, we’ve developed a cyclical, iterative method that accelerates in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) research:

Computational Screening: We use advanced algorithms to identify key transcription factors in germ cell development.

Laboratory Validation: Our team tests these factors in stem cell cultures, observing their effects on ovarian cell formation.

Data Analysis: We analyze results to refine our computational models and inform the next round of screening.

This iterative process allows us to rapidly test hundreds of thousands of genetic combinations, uncover unexpected regulators of ovarian development, and continuously improve our understanding of human reproduction. By combining computational power with rigorous laboratory work, we’re advancing IVG research at an unprecedented pace. 

Our Team

Bogdan Dobre

Chief Data Scientist

Travis Potter

Chief Executive Officer

Merrick Pierson Smela

Chief Scientific Officer

Join Us in Revolutionizing Fertility

Ovelle is a research-first startup where scientists work together on deep and important problems.

We aim to work on the cutting edge, combing the latest lab technologies and high throughput screening with a mastery of statistics and machine learning. We also foster a deep understanding of how cell differentiation and cell reprogramming can be manipulated to create viable gametes. Work at Ovelle is meaningful, important, and challenging.

Our people are the heart of our success and our compensation and benefits reflect this. Our culture blends a commitment to rapid innovation with the belief that offering great benefits and perks directly supports scientific progress.

Open Roles

Ovarian Follicle Culture Scientist

Boston, MA ・Full time

Stem Cell Scientist

Boston, MA ・Full time

Research Assistant

Boston, MA ・Full time

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Bogdan Dobre

Chief Data Scientist

Bogdan leads our data science efforts, working to unlock the potential of IVG. Bogdan brings a wealth of experience in data science and machine learning, developed over a decade at Walleye.

Personal tragedy fuels Bogdan’s mission. After cancer claimed his wife’s ovaries, he felt the heartbreak of infertility firsthand. This experience drives his work in IVG, offering hope to millions who dream of parenthood.

Bogdan holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from École Polytechnique and a master’s from Princeton University.

Travis Potter

Chief Executive Officer

Travis is on a mission to transform the landscape of reproductive technology. As CEO, he leads the charge in pioneering in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), a groundbreaking advancement poised to surpass traditional IVF methods.

The joy of fatherhood, inspired by his two young children, sparked his passion to help others achieve their dreams of parenthood. This personal connection fuels his dedication to making IVG accessible, offering hope to families around the world.

Previous to Ovelle, Travis ran a group at Balyasny as a Portfolio Manager. Before Balyasny, Travis was a Managing Director in Equity Derivatives at Goldman Sachs. Travis began his career as a quantitative programmer.

Travis graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Physics from Cornell University.

Merrick Pierson Smela

Chief Scientific Officer

Merrick is at the forefront of revolutionizing reproductive medicine through his groundbreaking work in in vitro gametogenesis (IVG). With his work he’s paving the way for a future where infertility could become a challenge of the past.

Merrick’s achievements include pathbreaking research using high-throughput screening of transcription factors to induce meiosis from human pluripotent stem cells. Additionally, he successfully developed methods to derive human germ cells, oocytes, and ovarian supporting cells. As part of this work he is named as the inventor on numerous patents related to IVG.

Merrick received his PhD from the George Church Lab at Harvard Medical School. Prior to Harvard Merrick received his masters in stem cell biology from Gurdon Institute in Cambridge through a Churchill Scholarship.