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
Kelsey Arends, MBA
Marketing & Communications Specialist
Department of Anesthesiology FAS Employee of the Quarter: January 2024
Kelsey Arends is a member of the Marketing & Communications team within the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine. With a Bachelor of Journalism from the Missouri School of Journalism, Kelsey thrives on the art of storytelling and content creation, crafting captivating stories that bring her colleagues’ work to life.
Prior to transitioning to the Medical School, Kelsey served on the Danforth Campus in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions as a marketing and communications strategist. During this time, she pursued her MBA part-time at Olin Business School, graduating in 2023. She has enjoyed using this new skillset in her role at WUDA.
In her free time, Kelsey enjoys being outside, whether that’s running, walking her dog, Willa, traveling to places where she can hike, reading a good book, or spending time with the people she loves in the sunshine. She is running 50 (half or full) marathons in every state, so you can find her running the perimeter of Forest Park on any given morning.
Kelsey is so thankful to work with such amazing colleagues and is honored to be the Q2 2024 Employee of the Quarter. She is looking forward to many more years at WashU!
Umeshkumar Athiraman, MD, MBBS
Director of Neuroanesthesia; Associate Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: May 2024
Dr. Umeshkumar Athiraman is currently an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology and Neurological Surgery and the Director of Neuroanesthesia. His laboratory research is focused on understanding the underlying mechanisms of anesthetic conditioning-induced neurovascular protection and developing anesthetic conditioning as a therapeutic tool for various central and peripheral nervous system disorders. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and children.
Jake AuBuchon, MD
Medical Student Director; Associate Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2020
Jake grew up on a horse farm in Union, MO. His father worked as a part-time horse trainer, so much of his childhood was spent cleaning stalls, fixing fence, and going to horse shows around Missouri. He completed the combined degree program at the University of Missouri – Kansas City (Go Kangaroos!). After medical school, Jake completed his anesthesiology residency, pain management fellowship, and pediatric anesthesiology fellowship at Washington University. He also spent three months at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for additional pediatric pain medicine exposure. Jake is currently the Director of Pediatric Pain Management at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and his clinical practice focuses on pediatric acute and chronic pain management in addition to still providing OR pediatric anesthesia. He also enjoys being involved in medical student and resident education. Outside of work, he loves spending time with my his wife, Sarah, and his 3 children (Owen, Bella, and Lucy). Family days usually involve going on hikes, biking, and being active.
Ramya Baddigam, MD
Resident Physician, Class of 2023
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: February 2020
Ramya is a current second-year resident originally from southeast Michigan. She has slowly been moving further south to warmer climates following medical school at Ohio State University. She is currently undecided about which fellowship to pursue but is excited to complete CA-1 year to see the other subspecialties of anesthesia. Outside of work, Ramya is a foodie and enjoys exploring new restaurants both in St. Louis and abroad. She is also recently trying out rock climbing.