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
Christopher Palmer, MD
Co-Medical Director for the Tele-ICU; Assistant Professor, Critical Care Medicine and Emergency Medicine
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: January 2020
Chris is from upstate New York and went to medical school at SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. He completed an emergency medicine residency at the University of Cincinnati and went on to complete a critical care medicine fellowship here at Washington University. Since 2014, Chris has been an Assistant Professor for the departments of Anesthesiology (Critical Care) and Emergency Medicine and currently serves as a Co-medical Director of the Tele-ICU. Chris is passionate about developing and implementing a robust, integrated telemedicine infrastructure throughout the BJC network to provide on demand acute care services to improve health care outcomes and operational efficiency. He is a rabid Virginia Tech & Buffalo Bills fan and enjoys traveling and drinking wine, ultimate frisbee, weightlifting, biking, landscaping, and playing with his two cats, Allie and Ruca. He and his wife, Caitlin, are thrilled to be expecting a baby girl in July!
Hess Panjeton, MD
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology and Pain Management
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: June 2021
Hess was born and raised in Southwest Florida. He eventually found his way to Miami, where he attended the University of Miami to complete his undergraduate studies. He would later go on to start his medical school education at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and remain to complete his anesthesiology residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital. Having been in Florida for the greater part of his adult life, he and his wife, Regina, decided it was time to head up “north” where she took a position at the CDC, and he started his fellowship in interventional pain at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Having spent close to a decade in Georgia practicing as an interventional pain physician, Hess and his wife started a new chapter and moved to St. Louis. Hess is an assistant professor in anesthesiology and pain management and practices interventional pain and general anesthesia at Barnes West County Hospital.
He and his wife are quite the “foodies” and love to travel try out all culinary hot spots they can find. Hess is a huge sports fan and loves everything and anything related to basketball and soccer. When not dealing with chronic pain patients or playing pick-up basketball, Hess spends the majority of his time trying to keep up with his 4-year-old daughter and 10-month-old son at the various West County playgrounds.
Megan Para, MD
Resident Physician, Class of 2021
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: November 2019
Megan is a third year resident from southeast Michigan, re-establishing her home in the Midwest after spending four years of medical school at Duke University. When not working on house renovation projects, Megan and her fiancé are planning international trips such as their upcoming visit to Finland. She also loves reading all genres, especially historical fiction and has continued a lifetime of dance in St. Louis with an adult ballet class. One of her favorite aspects of residency at BJH is working on a quality improvement project for perioperative blood management. She plans to pursue a career in pediatric anesthesiology.
Alexis Parkinson
Project/Program Coordinator
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2025
Alexis has been a member of the department since 2018 and is currently serving as Project Coordinator in Division of Critical Care Medicine. In her role, she creates and manages ICU resident schedules, coordinates medical student rotations in the CTICU, and supports a variety of administrative projects as the division continues to grow. Prior to joining the department, Alexis studied Heath Sciences and Psychology at Mizzou.
Earlier this year, she welcomed her first baby, Sonny, on Valentine’s Day, and when she’s not at work, she’s exploring the outdoors and checking National Parks off her family’s travel list—Yosemite is next!