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
Aashay Patel, MD
Resident Physician, Class of 2026
Ruchik Patel, MD
Resident Physician, Class of 2023
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2020
Ruchik is a current CA-1 resident and was born in Chicago and grew up in Naperville, Illinois. He studied genetics, healthcare management, and American Culture here at Washington University. He received his MD from New York Medical College, where he concentrated in patient safety and quality improvement. In addition to joining a diverse and supportive academic department, he moved back from midtown Manhattan to St. Louis for residency knowing that he still had access to his favorite things: a large park, Whole Foods, and live music. In his free time he loves to eat pastries… and then run them off.
Shaan Patel, MD, MPH
Resident Physician
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: May 2026
Shaan Patel, MD, MPH, is currently a CA-2 Anesthesiology resident at WashU Medicine. Born in Oklahoma City, he completed his undergraduate and medical degrees through the six-year BA/MD program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and later earned a Master of Public Health in New York City at Columbia University. He is in the process of completing his anesthesiology residency at WashU Medicine, where he chose to remain for his subspecialty fellowship training in Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology.
Outside of the hospital, Shaan is a dedicated Kansas City Chiefs and OKC Thunder fan who enjoys playing basketball and pickleball. Shaan loves to travel internationally and trying the local food scene with his wife, Karina, who is also a resident in the department. They also enjoy walking their dog, Rocky, in various parks throughout the city.
Whitney Payne
Grant Specialist I
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2022
Whitney started at WashU in the Department of Anesthesiology pre-pandemic in 2020 as an Administrative Coordinator in the Division of Clinical and Translational Research. With the transition to working remotely, she began helping out in other parts of the department, finding a home with the research administration team, and she now has a shared role as a Grant Specialist I.
Whitney has worn many hats, from bartending to dog grooming to teaching. Most interestingly, she is, what she calls, a recovering archaeologist, and has her masters in bio-archaeology from Ole Miss. She spent this time excavating prehistoric and historic sites in the southeastern United States and doing stress-fueled rewrites of her thesis over and over.
Outside of work, Whitney enjoys hanging out with her husband, their one-year-old son, and their mutt, Baloo. When life is less chaotic, she likes to get outdoors for a hike with her hiking group, the Ladies of the Wilderness, and she is looking forward to her annual fall hiking trip.