Dr. Dolores Njoku has been re-elected to a three-year term as a Faculty-at-Large Representative on the Faculty Practice Plan’s (FPP) Board of Directors.
Njoku Re-Elected to Faculty Practice Plan’s Board of Directors

Department of
Dr. Dolores Njoku has been re-elected to a three-year term as a Faculty-at-Large Representative on the Faculty Practice Plan’s (FPP) Board of Directors.
A new study published in JCI Insight led by Richard S. Hotchkiss, MD, suggests that interleukin-7 (IL-7) may help critically ill COVID-19 patients by reducing life-threatening secondary infections.
Julia Downey, Andrea Liefer, and Melissa Prewitt were selected as finalists for the St. Louis Magazine 2025 Excellence in Nursing Awards! The winners will be revealed at an awards reception this summer and recognized in the June/July issue of St. Louis Magazine.
On January 20, 2025, Dr. Renee Doherty started as a locum with our Pediatric Anesthesiology Division. Please take a moment to welcome her to the Department of Anesthesiology and WashU Medicine.
WashU Medicine researchers, including Drs. Robert Gereau, Bryan Copits, and Juliet Mwirigi, were recently featured for their groundbreaking chronic pain research, advancing precision treatments and non-opioid therapies to improve patient care.
Jamie Brown-Shpigel, MD, and Mohammed Helwani, MD, MSPH, have been appointed as Assistant Residency Program Directors in the Department of Anesthesiology. In addition, Dr. Brown-Shpigel has also been appointed Trauma Fellowship Program Director.
The Department of Anesthesiology is proud to recognize team members who have received accolades through the SAFE (Supporting a Fair Environment) Reporting platform.
Neuroscientist Juliet Mwirigi, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine, has been named a Hanna H. Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
Researchers at WashU Medicine received nearly $5 million from the NIH to study factors influencing chronic post-surgical pain. Led by Dr. Simon Haroutounian, the team aims to identify genetic, molecular, neuro-immune, and behavioral patterns contributing to pain variability.
Goldfarb School of Nursing celebrated its 2024 commencement, highlighting nursing achievements and honoring Nurse Anesthesia graduates.