I am Dr. Vasundara Jagannathan, a fertility specialist based in Chennai with more than eighteen years of dedicated experience in reproductive medicine. As the Medical Director and Senior Consultant at Sri Chakra Fertility in Ashok Nagar, I lead a single-centre, clinic-style but corporately structured facility designed to match world-class standards. My work spans multiple roles: clinical leadership in infertility diagnosis and treatment; assisted reproductive technologies such as IUI, IVF and ICSI; advanced areas including genetics and recurrent implantation or pregnancy-loss management; academic oversight through publishing, teaching and training; and organisational leadership focused on team building, systems strengthening and ensuring exceptional patient experience.
My entrepreneurial responsibilities involve shaping our vision and mission, developing quality systems, designing effective workflows, and introducing innovation into patient-centred fertility care. What inspires me most is the belief that infertility is not only a medical condition but a deeply emotional and transformative journey for couples and families. Early in my career, I saw how patients often felt lost in large hospital systems or fragmented referral networks. I envisioned a centre where care would be seamless, empathetic, scientifically advanced, and personalised from start to finish.
During my medical training, including international fellowships, I realised that outcomes in fertility care were profoundly influenced not only by clinical skill but also by team culture, process standardisation and clarity in communication. These experiences taught me that leadership in medicine is not defined by hierarchy, but by the ability to create an environment where clinicians, embryologists, counsellors, nurses and administrative staff can excel collectively.
Several experiences strengthened my belief in this approach. One defining moment was managing a patient with recurrent implantation failure after multiple unsuccessful cycles elsewhere. She had nearly lost hope. Our team revisited every detail, incorporated advanced diagnostics, redesigned protocols and finally achieved a successful pregnancy. That case reinforced my understanding that excellence in fertility care requires more than routine practice, it demands curiosity, customisation, and the coordinated efforts of a multidisciplinary team.
Stepping into a leadership and entrepreneurial role came with challenges: building infrastructure, shaping culture, selecting and mentoring staff, implementing quality systems and designing patient-journey processes that reflected our values. Over time, these efforts were validated through recognition such as the Rising Star Award by ISAR and national awards acknowledging Sri Chakra Fertility as a high-performing stand-alone fertility centre. Such milestones affirmed our commitment to quality, ethics and patient-first practice.
Today, leadership in healthcare especially fertility requires agility, inclusiveness, evidence-based thinking and digital literacy, balanced with human warmth and trust. My idea of leadership has evolved from being the “expert behind the desk” to becoming someone who orchestrates, enables and empowers. I now see my greatest responsibility as integrating advanced technologies such as AI, data analytics and genetic insights; remaining deeply patient-centric; fostering transparency; and continually adapting to emerging innovations and expectations.
At Sri Chakra Fertility, building future-ready professionals is a key priority. This is achieved through structured academic training, mentorship, ethical grounding, research exposure, and inclusive learning platforms.
As Founder of SCALE (Sri Chakra Academy of Learning and Education in Fertility), my vision is to empower clinicians and embryologists by fostering continuous learning, hands-on skill development, and expert-driven teaching, preparing them to lead and innovate in reproductive medicine.
Some of my unique strengths stem from a combination of clinical expertise, international training, academic involvement and entrepreneurial vision. My approach to fertility is holistic, integrating endocrinology, genetics, counselling, psychology, lab science, diet and operational workflows. This helps us humanise and simplify what can otherwise feel overwhelming for patients. Mentorship is another area I deeply value. I actively nurture young clinicians, embryologists and counsellors, helping them translate vision into culture and excellence.
To support the next generation of leaders, Sri Chakra Fertility has instituted structured mentorship, leadership opportunities, research encouragement, voice-based inclusivity and training in communication and ethics. As Founder of SCALE (Sri Chakra Academy of Learning and Education in Fertility), I strive to bring experts together to up skill and inspire the future workforce of reproductive medicine.
Mentorship has played a central role throughout my own journey. I was fortunate to learn from mentors who challenged my thinking and taught me to approach fertility care not just as a science but as a responsibility rooted in empathy and precision. Today, I pay forward these lessons through regular case reviews, research workshops, guest lectures and opportunities that allow younger professionals to grow in confidence, skill and leadership.
Creating an inclusive culture is essential for compassionate and effective care. At our centre, we emphasise diversity in hiring, voice-equality in discussions, cultural sensitivity in patient interactions, equitable systems, and continuous feedback loops to refine our processes. Such an environment ensures that every team member can contribute meaningfully and every patient receives care rooted in dignity and respect.
One of the most valuable leadership lessons I have learned is that excellence is not the product of individual brilliance but of collective functioning. Technology, expertise and infrastructure matter but it is the synchronised performance of counselling, diagnostics, embryology, nursing, operations and communication that truly defines patient outcomes. I learned that systems, SOPs, culture-building and patient-journey design create sustainable excellence far more effectively than reactive decision-making.
If I could speak to my younger self, I would say: “Build your team and systems early do not rely solely on personal expertise.” When I began my career, I believed that mastering clinical skills was enough. Over time, I realised that the true multiplier is a strong team, a nurturing culture, robust processes and a clear vision. My advice would be to invest equally in people, partnerships, workflows, patient experience and business structures alongside clinical mastery. That dual focus pays lifelong dividends.
At Sri Chakra Fertility, our vision is to deliver world-class fertility care with sustained excellence in reproductive medicine and clinical embryology. Our mission is to be a trusted healthcare partner in every couple’s journey to parenthood, using advanced technology in a personalised manner that ensures consistently high success rates.
