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
Seantika Oliver
Accounting and Purchasing Assistant II
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: April 2023
Seantika joined WashU and the Department of Anesthesiology in August 2019. She is part of the research administration team as an accounting clerk for purchasing where she submits travel reports for PI’s, pays invoices, creates and approves orders, and handles day-by-day expenses for labs. Before joining WashU, Tika worked as a customer service manager and accountant for Walmart for five years while attending school at Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville, IL.
As a child, Seantika was born with a rare spine disorder and club foot, and she had to undergo over 20 surgeries before the age of 15. She uses a wheelchair to get around outside of her home for long distances and to support her spine. Despite this, she recently bought a car where she has hand controls installed for more freedom and independence!
Seantika is currently enrolled as a part-time student at WashU working toward a certification in Clinical Research Management. This past fall semester, she finished a financial accounting class to better develop her skills and knowledge of her current position in purchasing. In her free time, Tika loves perfecting her cosmetology skills as a makeup artist and she enjoys watching suspenseful series and movies on Netflix. She also enjoys home decorating for her new house in O’fallon, IL!
Arvind Palanisamy, MD, FRCA
Chief, Obstetric Anesthesiology; Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: July 2019
Arvind is the Division Chief and Professor of Obstetric Anesthesiology. Dr. Palanisamy completed his anesthesiology residency at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India followed by the FRCA degree from the Royal College of Anaesthetists in London. His current research interest is to understand the impact of maternal exposure to drugs (anesthetic agents, oxytocin) on fetal neurodevelopment. Though not an avowed omphaloskeptic, Dr. Palanisamy enjoys meditation, mindfulness, and a profound curiosity for all things under the sun and beyond.
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.