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
Lauren LaChance
Assistant to the Chair
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: October 2025
Lauren joined the department in January of 2023, starting as a Program Coordinator and advancing to her current role as the Assistant to the Chair. Her role is expansive, which keeps things dynamic and different every day. Some of her responsibilities include keeping the Chair’s calendar in check, coordinating faculty appointments and promotions, and facilitating department events. The ability to see the grand scale and inner workings of the department has provided her with a great understanding and passion for supporting all the mission areas that make up the department.
Lauren was born and raised in St. Louis and had the joy of working as a hospice music therapist for nearly 10 years before joining the Department of Anesthesiology. She still lives in St. Louis City with her husband, Will, their 20 month old son, Charlie, cats, Hector and Moira, and dog, Piper. She loves spending time with her family, going to local parks, watching scary movies, and listening to music.
Anand Lakshminarasimhachar, MD
Associate Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2020
Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar is an Associate Professor and works in the Cardiothoracic and General Anesthesiology divisions. He is the POD leader in Parkview and also the Director of Resident Education. He grew up in Bangalore, the silicon valley of India, where he went to medical school. After completing my anesthesia residency in India, Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar went on to complete his FRCA from Kings College Hospital, London, where he did his Cardiac and Liver Transplant fellowships. He came to St. Louis in 2004 and has been working in the department for the last 16 years. His current interest is using Point of Care Ultrasound in the perioperative care of patients.
“It has been a wonderful journey and working with the residents and other trainees in our tertiary care center is a very rewarding experience,” said Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar. “The best thing about WashU is that all the specialties are under one roof and it is a one-stop-shop for training. Teaching is my passion, and there is no better place than WashU to teach – there are so many smart and dedicated residents around eagerly willing to learn.”
Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar is blessed with a very caring wife and two wonderful kids. In his free time, he loves to play tennis and listen to Indian classical music. He is also very interested in Indian philosophy and Yoga and has been teaching high school students for the last 2 years at a Sunday School in the Hindu Temple in St. Louis.
Amber Lewis, ACNP-BC
Nurse Practitioner
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: October 2020
Amber was born and raised in a small-town (Perry, Missouri) up near Mark Twain Lake. She joined the department in 2013 after graduating from Goldfarb School of Nursing as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. She started her nursing career in critical care 20 years ago and pursued her master’s after my twins started kindergarten in 2010.
“I take pride in my ability to connect with my patients and try to always make the best of any situation,” says Amber. “I serve as the Co-Director of the CTICU APP group and work really hard to ensure our environment is a sustainable, happy, and healthy work environment. I am honored to be part of such an amazing team.”
In her spare time, Amber enjoys working on DYI projects, spending time with her twins (Hannah & Gavin), her dogs, friends, and family. She loves being outdoors, cooking, and traveling in her spare time.
Kim My Li, MD
Resident Physician, Class of 2023
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: June 2020
Kim My Li is a CA-1 in the department. She was born in Pittsburgh, PA, and moved to Columbus, OH, when she was seven years old. She attended the Ohio State University for undergraduate education and the University of Cincinnati for medical school and was thrilled when she found out she matched to WashU for anesthesia residency. During her free time, she loves walking her 50lb. German Shepherd/Blue Heeler around Forest Park. She also loves cooking, baking when she has the chance, and hanging out with her co-residents.