Hintzsche’s fertility kit earns 2026 Innovation of the Year award

Dr. Jenn Hintzsche ’06 is on a winning streak, and she’s not slowing down. In less than three years, she has collected her sixth national award as her company, PherDal Fertility Science, Inc., continues to redefine what’s possible in reproductive health.

Her latest win? Innovation of the Year at the mHUB 2026 Fourth Revolution Awards, an honor reserved for technologies bold enough to shake entire industries.

As founder and CEO, Dr. Hintzsche is the force behind the PherDal Kit, a first-of-its-kind at-home insemination device designed to put fertility control directly into the hands of individuals and couples. Motivated by her own fertility journey, Dr. Hintzsche co-developed the device alongside her husband Ryan Westphal, a mechanical engineer.

“Eight years ago, I was crying alone on a bathroom floor after another failed cycle, wondering if I would ever become a mother,” Dr. Hintzsche said. “Today, I get to raise the children who made me the first PherDal mom.

“Thanks to our 433 crowdfunding investors and the support of my community, more than 550 PherDal lives now exist in the world. This honor belongs to every person who believed in us early and helped turn our personal pain into something that now gives hope to families everywhere.”

After earning FDA clearance in December 2023, the kit quickly made history, becoming the only sterile at-home insemination option available in the United States in early 2024. The accolades followed just as quickly as the impact:

• Named one of TIME’s Best Inventions in 2024.
• Won Best Innovation award at the 2024 FemTech & Consumer Health Summit.
• Captured the Industry Disrupter award at the 1871 Momentum Awards (2025) and landed as a finalist for the 2023 SXSW Innovation Awards.

In 2025, Dr. Hintzsche herself was honored on Inc.’s Top 500 Female Founders list.

“Our mission has always been to close the gap between what people can try at home and what is typically only offered in a fertility clinic, making fertility science more affordable and accessible for the people who need it most,” she said.