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
Catherine Gould, PA-C
Physician Assistant
Parita Jani, MD
ACTA Fellow
Sherry McKinnon
Manager of Clinical Research, Regulatory and Compliance
Andrew Schaffer, MD
Resident Physician
Featured Anesthesiology Department Members Archive
Preet Singh, MD
Assistant Professor, Obstetric Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2020
Preet is an Assistant Professor in the department’s Obstetric division. Preet, along with his family, moved to St. Louis from Delhi, India, almost 2 years ago. His wife, Anuradha, is also a faculty in the department. He believes that the department’s international experts program is what makes the working environment so unique. “There are different ways of approaching a clinical problem, and this mix of international/national faculty gives me many different perspectives, expanding my thinking horizon.” Preet enjoys working on various statistical models in healthcare and exploring their implications clinically. He has a keen interest in basic sciences within anesthesiology and enjoys discussing these concepts with the residents during teaching sessions. During his free time, he likes to listen to music and play with his 4-year-old daughter, Anvi.
Pratik Sinha, MBChB, PhD
Physician Scientist
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: March 2023
Dr. Pratik Sinha has been in the Department of Anesthesiology since July 2020, joining in the midst of the pandemic which he says he has selective amnesia about. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and his medical degree from the University of Manchester, UK. After medical school he embarked on a journey of clinical and research training across three different continents including Europe, Australia, and North America.
He received his PhD from Imperial College London. While he trained in both Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine, he now works clinically as an intensivist only. Using a combination of novel biological measurements and state of the art data science approaches, Dr. Sinha runs a research program that seeks to change the way we identify and classify critically ill patients.
“If you want to do cool stuff and make a difference while doing it, come and work in my lab!” he says.
He likes to say he’s frequently mistaken for Brad Pitt — which we might never know since he’s been behind a mask since he’s moved to WashU — but we might just have to ask his wife, Rachel, about that one. When he has free time, he hangs out with his three kids Indali, Koshin and Aariona. They enjoy hiking and being in nature — both locally and around the world. Pratik also enjoys playing soccer, reading books, and collecting vinyl records (reggae, electronica, Jazz).
Gemma Smith
Executive Secretary, Critical Care Medicine
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: February 2020
Gemma is the executive secretary for Dr. Anne Drewry, Division Chief of Critical Care Medicine. She has been a part of the team for the last three years and thoroughly enjoys working with both staff and clinical providers in the continuously expanding Department of Anesthesiology. Gemma grew up in the United Kingdom and came to the United States to attend Missouri State University. She spent her time at Missouri State obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology and competing as a Division 1 track and field athlete specializing in long jump, triple jump and high jump. Gemma loves spending time with her family, especially her 1-year-old baby girl, Lainey.
Kendall Smith, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: February 2021
Before joining the anesthesiology and critical care faculty at WashU, Kendall received her her BA, MD, and PhD from the University of Kansas and completed residency and critical care fellowship training at Duke University. She currently spends her clinical time as an intensivist and as a member of the WashU trauma anesthesiology team.
Kendall is passionate about clinical education and research. She is Assistant Program Director for Residency Affairs and Associate Program Director for the Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine Fellowship Program. Her research focuses on circadian rhythms in perioperative medicine and their role in clinical outcomes such as delirium.
Outside of work, Kendall is a big fan of the Central West End where she is a new homeowner. She enjoys gardening, DIY home-improvement projects, and spending time with her partner in crime, Steven, and their very large Bergamasco Shepherd named Massimo!