Clinical Embryologist · Taiwan

Where precision meets
compassion in the IVF lab.

I'm Mars Ku — a Clinical Embryologist dedicated to giving every embryo, and every family behind it, the care and attention it deserves.

Embryo Handling ICSI IVF PGT-A NIPGT-A Embryo Transfer

About Me

I hold a Master's degree and currently work as a Clinical Embryologist, spending my days inside the IVF lab where the smallest decisions carry the greatest weight. My work centers on embryo handling and micromanipulation — including ICSI, conventional IVF fertilization, PGT-A and NIPGT-A screening, and embryo transfer.

Behind every dish and every embryo is a family waiting, hoping, and trusting the lab to get it right. I started KU Embryologist to open a small window into that world — sharing what actually happens behind the lab door, in plain language, for the patients on the other side of it.

What Does an Embryologist Actually Do in the IVF Lab?

Most patients never meet the embryologist — but we're with your eggs, sperm, and embryos at every single stage. On retrieval day, we identify and prepare the eggs the moment they arrive from the operating room. We perform fertilization, whether conventional insemination or ICSI. Over the following days, we monitor each embryo's development, grade it, and decide which ones are strong enough to biopsy, freeze, or transfer. We also manage the lab environment itself — incubator conditions, air quality, temperature — because embryos are extraordinarily sensitive to their surroundings. In short: the embryologist is the quiet hands-on presence making sure every step between the OR and the pregnancy test happens exactly as it should.

ICSI vs. Conventional IVF: What's the Difference?

Both are methods of fertilizing an egg outside the body, but the approach is different. In conventional IVF, thousands of prepared sperm are placed together with each egg in a dish, and fertilization happens on its own — much like it would in the body, just outside of it. In ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection), the embryologist selects a single sperm and injects it directly into the egg using a microscopic needle. ICSI is typically used when sperm count, motility, or quality is a concern, when previous fertilization attempts have failed, or when eggs have been frozen and thawed. Neither method is inherently "better" — the right choice depends on the specific case, and it's usually the embryology lab, working with your physician, that recommends which approach gives your eggs the best chance.

Understanding Embryo Grading: What Do the Numbers and Letters Mean?

Embryo grading can look like a secret code — and it's one of the biggest sources of anxiety for patients. In general, embryologists assess embryos at the blastocyst stage using a combination of a number and two letters (for example, 4AB). The number reflects how expanded the blastocyst is — how much it has grown and begun hatching. The first letter grades the inner cell mass, the cluster of cells that will become the baby. The second letter grades the trophectoderm, the outer layer of cells that will become the placenta. Higher grades generally correlate with better implantation potential, but grading is a snapshot, not a guarantee — embryos with modest grades do implant and result in healthy pregnancies, and grading systems vary slightly between labs. If your grades don't look "perfect," it doesn't mean the embryo has no chance; it means one part of the picture. Always ask your embryology team to walk you through what your specific numbers mean for your case.

Let's Connect

I'm building this space to make embryology a little less of a black box for the patients navigating IVF. More insights, case discussions, and lab notes are on the way — follow along as KU Embryologist grows.