Meet Our Fertility Team
Norman A. Assad, MD, FRCS (C), Fertility Services Division Director
Dr. Norman Assad is a board-certified obstretician and gynecologist and is a specialist in reproductive and menopausal medicine. He has been practicing medicine in the Tri-Cities since 2002 and joined the staff of ETSU Physcians and Associates - OB/GYN in January 2005 and is an associate professor at East Tennessee State University's James H. Quillen College of Medicine. A member of the American Society for Reproductive Technologies, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and the American Association of Gynecologic Laparascopy, Dr. Assad earned his medical degree and completed residency training at The University of Western Ontario. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada. He is also a Certified Menopause Practitioner with the North American Menopause Society.Marcia "Missy" Tillman Assad, R.N., IVF Coordinator
"For twenty five years, my nursing career has been centered around Women's Health. From the time I was in Nursing School, I realized that my calling and my passion was to help improve the lives and health of women. My journey has taken me from Labor and Delivery, to Women's Health Education, to the Operating Room and then beginning in 1993 I became involved in the field of infertility. Starting and developing an infertility practice with Dr. Assad, in New Mexico, was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. My goal has been to provide the highest quality of care for our patients but more importantly to offer one-on-one care and attention that is so important for women going through this very emotional struggle. I believe that the team approach that Dr. Assad and I are able to offer our patients is an invaluable asset to our couples in their journey to parenthood."Victoria Burruel, Ph.D., H.C.L.D., E.L.D., Embryologist
I took a job as a laboratory assistant in a fertility clinic in Berkeley, California in 1987 while studying cell and molecular biology in graduate school. Little did I know this would lead to a career in the field of reproduction. Working with gametes and embryos fascinated me; I wanted to learn more about the mechanisms involved. I returned to school completing my Masters in Biology at California State University, East Bay, then applied to Ph.D. programs. I was fortunate to be able to study fertilization with Dr. Ryuzo Yanagimachi at the University of Hawaii, Manoa and embryology with the late Dr. Lynn Wiley at University of California Davis, receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii in 1999. I have since worked in fertility clinics and research.I am delighted to be working at ETSU Fertility Services with Missy and Dr. Norman Assad. Previously we worked together in New Mexico and made a great team. I enjoy working in the embryology laboratory. Interacting with fertility patients has been a rewarding experience for me. My goal is to keep the embryology laboratory current with the best embryology techniques, assuring success for our patients.
