Augustana alum Jenn Hintzsche ’06 knew she wanted to pursue a career in science after multiple family members of hers suffered from cancer, but her career took an unexpected turn following a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. Now, her invention of an intracervical insemination (ICI) device has been patented and approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Hintzsche created the ICI device as a cheaper and less invasive alternative to intrauterine insemination (IUI), which is performed in clinics for couples struggling to conceive. PherDal, Hintzsche’s company, has now helped dozens of couples. Hintzsche said she credits her time at Augustana for giving her the ability to adapt, not to mention lasting support from her friends.

When she was a student, Hintzsche was president of the sorority Chi Omega Gamma (COG) and also took part in women’s soccer and basketball. Hintzsche relied on her friends later in life when she struggled with infertility, and again when she pursued starting a business.

“They’re just the coolest, most down-to-earth group of girls,” Hintzsche said. “Twenty years later and I can get a DM from someone … and it’s like no time has passed.”

Following her time at Augustana, she received a master’s and doctorate in bioinformatics from Northern Illinois University (NIU).

The first curveball Hintzsche faced was in grad school when she unexpectedly changed subjects to bioinformatics and became the first graduate in the subject at NIU.

“I was in a rare position where I had a complete biology and life sciences background, and I learned how to code to solve problems,” Hintzsche said.

Hintzsche’s second curveball was a diagnosis of unexplained infertility: essentially, none of her tests were coming back abnormal after struggling to conceive.

IUI was recommended to Hintzsche for $10,000. Hintzsche said she couldn’t understand why no one was searching for alternatives.

“The fact that they could just nonchalantly not care to understand more was really frustrating,” Hintzsche said. “The experience made me feel helpless.”

Hintzsche said that her time at Augustana taught her to ask questions. She wondered why unexplained infertility was poorly understood and why no one spoke up about the cost of the recommended procedures.

Besides ICI and IUI, there is also in vitro fertilization (IVF), which involves harvesting eggs and semen, fertilizing them in a petri dish and then returning them to the body. While this may be right for some people, Hintzsche wanted to provide a non-invasive alternative before couples moved on to more serious procedures.

“When we sold out of our proof-of-concept kits, I realized we were on to something,” Hintzsche said in a 2022 KCRG article.

Couples often need to wait between half a year and a full year before seeing a specialist and getting tested for various disorders, according to Hintzsche. For some, her device is a simple solution for unexplained infertility.

With prize money she won in a contest by “I’m a Scientist USA,” Hintzsche held an event about science in her hometown of only a few thousand people, according to a University of Colorado article.

“The stereotype of a scientist is still out there,” Hintzsche said. “The first thing I asked the students is what they thought about when they pictured a scientist. Most of them said an old man with crazy hair in a white coat.”

With her diverse experiences in science, Hintzsche said she hopes to inspire others to embrace science in new ways.