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
Ream Al-Hasani, PhD
Associate Professor, Anesthesiology
Ashley DuBois, CRNA
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
Ivan Torres
Assistant Supervisor for Insurance Billing
Muthu Vijayasankar, MD
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology
Featured Anesthesiology Department Members Archive
Abby Hegeman
Senior Coordinator of Department Payroll and Administration
Department of Anesthesiology FAS Employee of the Quarter: June 2025
Abby has been in the St. Louis Metro area all her life but moved to St. Louis City in 2019. She has been with WashU Medicine for almost seven years. She has been with the Department of Anesthesiology for a year and a half and has loved every minute of it. Outside of work she loves learning history, reading, traveling, and spending time with her 3 cats.
Bernadette Henrichs, PhD, CRNA, CCRN, CHSE
Director, CRNA Education and Research; Director, Nurse Anesthesia Program
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: July 2019
Bernadette is the Director of CRNA Education and Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and is also Professor and Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. Dr. Henrichs earned her MSN and PhD from Saint Louis University. Outside of work, Dr. Henrichs enjoys cycling. Several years ago she rode 200 miles in one weekend to raise money for multiple sclerosis.
Erin Herrera, CRNA
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: December 2024
Erin is proud to call herself a BJH/WashU lifer. Her journey began in 2005 as a night-shift patient care technician in the MICU, and this year, she is celebrating 20 years at BJH, now serving as an assistant professor in the School of Medicine. Over the years, she has held a variety of roles, including patient care technician, ICU nurse, student nurse, and now faculty. She feels incredibly fortunate to have had these opportunities and to work alongside such exceptional colleagues in a remarkable and inspiring department. Along the way, she has built lifelong friendships and connected with many incredible people.
A native St. Louisan and proud resident of the city, Erin can often be seen commuting to work—rain, shine, or cold—on her signature mint-green Vespa. She lives in the Shaw neighborhood with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and a giant African sulcata tortoise. She enjoys spending time outdoors, exploring her vibrant neighborhood, and walking through Tower Grove Park.
Outside of her professional life, Erin stays busy coaching soccer and leading a Girl Scout troop. She has a passion for traveling with friends and family, discovering new restaurants, and staying active at the gym. For her, working at WashU has been a cornerstone of her career, and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
Jessica Higginbotham, PhD
Instructor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: May 2026
Jessica Higginbotham, PhD, is a St. Louis native who left for a PhD – and came right back. After earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Saint Louis University in 2012, she completed her doctoral training in neuroscience at Washington State University before returning in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow at WashU. She is now an instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine.
In the Moron-Concepcion Lab, Jessica develops novel approaches to understand the neural mechanisms of pain and maladaptive opioid use, with the ultimate goal of improving how these conditions are treated in the real world.
Outside the lab, she, her partner Robero, and their daughter Alivia, are usually on the move – trying new foods, traveling, kayaking, or engaged in fiercely competitive MarioKart races.