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
Katy Spal, CRNA
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: April 2024
Katy has been with the Department of Anesthesiology for 12 years and spent the last 9 as a Pediatric Nurse Anesthetist. She previously earned dual-degrees in Spanish and Latin American Studies. While studying abroad in Guatemala, Katy was invited to join a Rotary International Group in Honduras as an interpreter. On this Medical Mission Trip, an enthusiastic and convincing nurse anesthetist planted the seeds for Katy to consider nursing as a profession, specifically anesthesia. Years later, she realized this dream by becoming a CRNA. Recently, she made it to the Dominican Republic. She was finally able to participate in a surgical service trip as a CRNA!
As an active member of the Division of Pediatric Anesthesiology, Katy is currently a PIA SAFE Champion and also a mentor for incoming pediatric hires at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Her involvement on the Pediatric Wellness Committee led to yoga in Forest Park and a well-attended rock-climbing evening at Upper Limits. Katy also enjoys keeping up and discussing books with fellow book club members in the peds division. Katy was previously engaged as a Peer Advocate for the Peri-Operative Space.
Outside of work, Katy enjoys yoga, fitness, outdoor adventuring, reading and nutritious food! She is also active in raising her three children (ages 9, 11, and 13). She enjoys supporting them in their activities, interests, and school communities. Fun Fact: As an exchange student, Katy visited so many countries she ran out of pages in her passport!
Bob Spatola, CRNA
Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: December 2019
Bob is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) in the department. He graduated from the Barnes Hospital School of Nurse Anesthesia in 1978 and has over 41 years of service in his profession. He is laying down his “tools of the trade” and retiring at the end of December. After retirement, Bob plans to keep busy with family and friends, cooking and barbequing, driving his Porsche Boxster, playing with his Airedale Terrier, Piper, landscaping and working around his home, traveling, reading, and finishing his wife’s “to do” list. He may even take up his first passion again, art, in the form of drawing, painting, and sculpting. Bob would like to thank his many friends and colleagues in the department for putting up with the “Old Guy” all these years!
Rebecca Speltz-Paiz, MD, PhD
Resident Physician, Class of 2027; ASAP Scholar
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: November 2024
Rebecca is a CA-2 resident in the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine. Originally from Central Wisconsin, she grew up as a competitive ice dancer, training intensively and eventually performing professionally with Disney On Ice. Over her three-year career with Disney, Rebecca toured extensively across the U.S. and Southeast Asia, visiting countries like Thailand, Singapore, Japan, and Malaysia.
Following a sports-related injury that ended her skating career, Rebecca shifted her focus to academics. She earned a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from Hamline University in Minnesota while working as a lab technician and junior scientist in pain research. Her passion for understanding pain mechanisms led her to the University of Minnesota, where she completed the Medical Scientist Training Program, earning both her MD and a PhD in neuroscience with a focus on basic pain research.
Now part of the ASAP training program at WashU Medicine, Rebecca is preparing to begin a fellowship in regional anesthesia in February. She plans to continue her research into pain modulation, specifically examining the spinal cord’s dorsal horn circuitry.
Joshua Spiro, MD
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology
Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: January 2024
Joshua Spiro, MD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology working primarily at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Spiro grew up in Arizona where he spent many summers working with kids as a camp counselor. After medical school at the University of Arizona, Dr. Spiro subsequently completed residency at the University of Pennsylvania and a pediatric fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. As an attending, he continues to love working with children and teaching in all capacities. When not at work, he enjoys reading science fiction, cooking, and asking his wife if she’s seen all the funny memes he sends her.
Fun Fact: Dr. Spiro started breakdancing while in college and still battles intermittently under his childhood nickname: “Brown Sugar.”