Our success is intimately linked to the accomplishments of each and every member of our department. Each month, four members are nominated and featured to celebrate their commitment to patient care, education, and research.


Current Featured Anesthesiology Department Members

Nathan Achilly, MD, PhD
Resident, Class of 2026

Kelsey Arends, MBA
Marketing & Communications Specialist

Bobbie Brown
DBBS Pre Doc Trainee

Katy Spal, CRNA
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist


Featured Anesthesiology Department Members Archive

Showing: All results
Enyo Ablordeppey, MD, MPH

Enyo Ablordeppey, MD, MPH

Dr. Ablordeppey is originally from Ghana and she received her medical training and MPH at the University of Pittsburgh. She completed an emergency medicine residency here at Washington University and went on to complete both a critical care fellowship and an emergency ultrasound fellowship. Her career focus is in critical care ultrasound with a focus on echocardiography. She is a K12 scholar who is studying implementation science methodologies. Currently, her research interests center around understanding the behavioral and systems adaptations required to increase the uptake of evidence into healthcare practices for critically ill patients. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Chad; newborn, CJ; and her dog, Jackie. When not talking about ultrasound, she enjoys playing tennis and watching a variety of sports. Her team affiliations include Florida Gators, Pittsburgh Steelers, and LA Lakers (Lebron James).

Joanna Abraham, PhD

Joanna Abraham, PhD

Joanna is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology and at the Institute for Informatics. Dr. Abraham has an interdisciplinary background in computer science, human factors, and biomedical informatics, and her research focuses on mapping and evaluation of clinical workflows including care transitions, care coordination, and clinical decision making, with an emphasis on health information technologies and their impact on patient safety outcomes. Fun fact: Joanna is a collector of colorful stationery—including journals/diaries, notepads, and pens.

Hawa Abubakar, MBBS

Hawa Abubakar, MBBS

Hawa is a fourth-year resident. She completed her medical degree at King’s College London and chose to come to WashU to complete residency, which she considers to be one of the best decisions she has ever made. Following residency, Hawa will complete dual fellowships in cardiac and critical care. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends. She recently attended the wedding of her co-resident, Lokesh Sharma, in Nepal along Allison Yu, and it was an incredible experience.

Nathan Achilly, MD, PhD

Nathan Achilly, MD, PhD

Resident, Class of 2026

Nathan is a CA-1 resident in the Department of Anesthesiology. He was born in Chicago, but spent most of his life in New Jersey. He attended Franklin and Marshall College where he majored in neuroscience and art history. He was always interested in pursuing medicine, but a research project in childhood genetic disorders motivated him to also pursue a career in research. He worked for two years at the NIH studying metabolic disorders in children, which solidified his interest in medicine and research. He joined the MSTP program at Baylor College of Medicine and completed his PhD in developmental biology. At Baylor, he met his amazing wife, Emily (who is now a second year heme/onc fellow at WashU). Together, they are raising three wonderful kids and two adorable cats.

Nathan loves living in St. Louis! The city is very affordable and has a plethora of activities for both adults and kids. Nathan enjoys cooking, running, listening to heavy metal, and spending time with family. A fun fact about Nathan is that he did parkour in college and ran two marathons, one completely barefoot.

Nathan intends on pursuing a fellowship in pediatric anesthesiology. He wants to combine his interest in pediatric anesthesia with his interest in genetic disorders, as these patients often have unique anesthetic considerations during surgery.