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
Andrew Griesbaum, ACNP
Nurse Practitioner
Qin Liu, PhD
Professor of Anesthesiology
Jake Meinkoth
Clinical Informaticist
Sydney Tyler, MD
Resident Physician
Featured Anesthesiology Department Members Archive
Erin Hooper, CPNP-PC
Nurse Practitioner
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: December 2023
Erin Hooper is a board-certified pediatric Nurse Practitioner who recently joined the Pediatric Pain Management team in the Department of Anesthesiology. She helps manage patients with acute pain on the inpatient Pediatric Pain service as well as with Chronic Pain conditions in the outpatient setting.
Prior to working with the Department of Anesthesiology department, Erin worked in the neonatal intensive care unit, and also coordinated care for children with medical complexity and special health care needs. Erin enjoys translating research into practice through education, and being a resource for patients and families.
Outside of work, Erin enjoys spending time with her husband Robert, and their three children Violet, Layla, and Brett, and keeping up with their busy schedules, sports events, and activities.
Hongzhen Hu, PhD
Associate Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2019
Hongzhen is an Associate Professor of Anesthesiology. Dr. Hu earned his PhD from The Ohio State University. He joined the Center for the Study of Itch in the summer of 2014. His lab aims to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying somatic and visceral hypersensitivity in the skin and visceral organs focusing on ion channels as drug targets. Outside of work, besides gardening, he also enjoys running and traveling with his family.
Dake Huang, MD
Resident Physician
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2025
Dake is a third-year anesthesia resident originally from southern California. He received his undergraduate degree in neuroscience at UCLA. He then went on to earn his medical degree from the University of Iowa. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his partner and their two dogs. In his free time, Dake loves running, binge-watching TV shows, and traveling as much as possible.
Jiaxin Huang, MD
Resident Physician, Class of 2022
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: June 2020
Jiajia is currently a CA1 resident. She was born in Beijing, China and moved to Michigan when she was 3 years old. She completed her undergraduate and medical degrees at the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and then came to St. Louis shortly after. She was very happy to start residency at WashU. So far her CA1 year has allowed her to work with many wonderful faculty on challenging cases and has exposed her to exciting potential career paths. Outside of work, she loves traveling to new places. Over the last year, she was able to go hiking in the French Alps and also spent a week in Barcelona, Spain. She enjoys playing tennis, watching movies at the local Chase Theater, and exploring St. Louis restaurants with her co-residents.