Featured Anesthesiology Members

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: March 2026

Qin Liu is a professor of anesthesiology at WashU Medicine. She joined the Department of Anesthesiology in 2012 following her postdoctoral training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her research was focused on the neurobiology of pain, itch, and mechanosensation. Recently, she has developed a keen interest in the sensory biology behind sneezing, coughing, and weeping.

Qin and her husband have a seven-year-old son who is active in hockey, tennis, and chess. Most weekends, she serves as her son’s Uber driver, driving him to various hockey games and chess tournaments. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and cooking. She has recently enrolled in tennis classes and plans to start playing tennis in 2026.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: July 2025

Dr. Lizzo is an assistant professor in the Division of Critical Care in the Department of Anesthesiology. She practices as an intensivist at multiple hospitals within the BJC system caring for critical patient populations in the community on the ground and in a telemedicine role. She also practices in the surgical ICUs at BJH, caring for complex patients and providing high quality medical education at the bedside with a focus on providing excellent patient centered care with compassion.

She grew up in the Chicago area and attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for her undergraduate studies. She completed a Bachelor of Science in molecular & cellular biology there while beginning her journey into medicine as an EMT, volunteering in that capacity and teaching EMS courses. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she worked as a phlebotomist before ultimately going on to complete a Master of Arts in medical sciences from Loyola University Chicago and then added medical school at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria. She remained in Peoria for her residency in emergency medicine before going on to complete critical care fellowship at the University of Iowa, managing complex patients in multiple ICUs and doing additional training in ECMO and percutaneous tracheostomy during her training.

Dr. Lizzo enjoys traveling, a passion that began with a medical mission to San Jose, Costa Rica. Before starting her Master’s, she taught English to children in Italy through a homestay program. She continues to travel internationally, immersing in local cultures, cuisines, and languages. She also enjoys decompressing with yoga, and spending time with family and friends.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2023

Burk Loeliger, MD, is a CA-1 anesthesiology resident at Washington University. Originally from Baltimore, Maryland, he grew up close to the Chesapeake Bay with a strong love of the water along with seafood—particularly Maryland’s famous crabcakes. He completed undergraduate school at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and went on to medical school at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is very excited to be starting his journey into the world of anesthesia after recently completing his internship year. He enjoys any activity that gives him time out in nature, such as hiking, swimming, and sailing. He also loves exploring the local food scene, traveling when he can, as well as reading, watching TV shows, and playing video games. Fantasy and science fiction have always been his favorite genres.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: October 2019

Sunny is a resident physician in her third year of training in the Department of Anesthesiology. As a resident in the ASAP research track, she is looking forward to starting her clinical fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesia next year. Her research interests are in the areas of clinical informatics and quality improvement. Outside the hospital, Sunny enjoys cycling, hiking, and reading fantasy novels.