AvaWorld Medical Content Team

Lindsay Meisel Head of Content

Lindsay Meisel has over a decade of experience writing about science, technology, and health, with a focus on women’s health and the menstrual cycle. Her work has been featured on The Fertility Hour, The Birth Hour, The Breakthrough Journal, and The Rumpus.

Lisa Falco, PhD Contributor

Lisa Falco is a data scientist and digital health expert, with a PhD in biomedical imaging and almost 20 years of experience in the development of technologies to better understand the human body. She uses data and technology to decipher the human body and its functions. Lisa led the data science team at Ava from 2015 – 2019.

Franziska Dammeier, PhD Contributor

Franziska Dammeier spent two years with Ava Women as the lead data scientist responsible for all fertility product development. An expert in data science and machine learning, she earned her PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich.

Aarthi Gobinath, PhD Contributor

Aarthi Gobinath earned her PhD in neuroscience from the University of British Columbia. Her research covers the ways that stress affects the male and female brain differently. She tackled the issue of sex bias in research by looking at why standard treatments for depression don’t always work in the case of postpartum depression. Her work has been covered by Vice and Massive Science.

Nicole Galan, RN Medical Reviewer & Contributor

Nicole Galan is a registered nurse and former IVF coordinator at Fertility Specialists Medical Group. She is the author of “The Everything Fertility Book”. Prior to working in the field of infertility, she was a registered nurse at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City. Nicole is currently attending graduate school to earn her master’s degree in Nursing Education.

Samara Laxineta, BSN, RN Medical Reviewer

Samara Laxineta earned her BSN/RN at New York University, where she was part of the NYU Women’s Health Student Nurse Association. She served as the clinical research coordinator for the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, worked as a registered nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and is currently a clinical quality coordinator at Omada Health.

Rachel Liberto, RN Medical Reviewer

Rachel Liberto is a registered nurse specializing in women’s health. She graduated from New York University in NY. She has experience in maternal child health and has worked in labor and delivery, postpartum and the special care nursery. She also has extensive experience in providing lactation support. Before becoming a nurse, she worked as a birth doula for women delivering at home and in the hospital setting.

Jackie Ashton Contributor

Jackie Ashton is a science writer for Ava, with a decade of experience in journalism—interpreting clinical studies and research papers for outlets like The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Catherine Poslusly Contributor

Catherine Poslusny is a freelance writer and content marketing strategist based out of Norman, Oklahoma. With over four years experience, she is most passionate about her work in the digital health field, especially when it involves writing about women’s health and reproductive rights. When not writing, she enjoys painting, fumbling around on the piano, and keeping her Halloween decorations up year-round.

Olga Mecking Contributor

Olga Mecking is a writer, journalist, and translator living in the Netherlands. Her writing has been published in the BBC, the Guardian, the Washington Post, and New York Magazine.

Tara Avery Contributor

Tara Avery is a freelance writer and editor currently based out of Vancouver, British Columbia. When she’s not traveling the world in search of inspiration, she’s writing fiction, film, and non-fiction across a variety of genres.

Nicole Knight, AHCJ Contributor

Nicole Knight is a California-based freelance healthcare writer and award-winning journalist. Her bylines have appeared in the Guardian, Los Angeles Times, and Rewire.News, among others. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Find her on Twitter @nicolekshine.

Amy Kiefer, PhD Contributor

Amy Kiefer is a researcher by training and earned her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. She currently lives in the Bay Area with her husband and three children where she writes about fertility, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. Check out her blog, expectingscience.com.