People

Medical School: Cairo University School of Medicine

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2022

Marie has been a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA) with the Department of Anesthesia for eight years. She completed her BSN from Southeast Missouri State University in 2006 and received her DNP/CRNA degree from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2014. Her DNP focused on using a multimodal approach to treating PONV relating to laparoscopic procedures.

Marie initially worked in BJH as a registered nurse in the SICU/Trauma Unit prior to anesthesia school. She was fascinated with the autonomy and research opportunities granted as a trauma ICU RN. Currently, Marie is in the float CRNA pool and practices in all PODS on the south campus, PVT, north campus, and the South County CAM. Additionally, she is an adjunct professor at the Goldfarb School of Nursing. She started as a CRNA working at Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital and the Orthopedic Center and transferred to the South division in 2018. She helped build the Epic Anesthesia electronic medical record from 2015-2018, and participated as both an instructor and a Super User during the “Epic Go Live” in 2018. Recently, Marie has joined the Case Review Committee (CRC) and looks forward to reviewing cases and guiding quality improvement initiatives to improve patient safety. She also has volunteered to be a mentor for the new CRNAs entering the department in 2022. She hopes she can help new CRNAs acclimate and excel in WUDA.

Within WUDA, Marie enjoys mentoring and teaching SRNAs during their clinical rotations. She is amazed at how the department has expanded, adapted, and persevered during the Covid-19 pandemic, and is grateful for being a vital component during the many challenges WUDA has endured. She is humbled by the collaboration and adaptability of all departments including both Washington University and BJH. The cohesiveness and support exchanged between both Washington University and BJH toward improving all aspects of patient care is what inspired Marie initially to join WUDA while working in the SICU. Marie feels empowered working in the Department of Anesthesiology. She drives to promote education, research, and safe evidence-based clinical practice every day.

Outside of work, Marie is married to her husband, a Saint Louis native, and has a 2.5-year-old daughter. She enjoys the outdoors, hiking, and going to the beach. She loves watching the Cardinals and is so excited to see Albert Pujols back in Saint Louis!

Fun fact, Marie grew up in New York, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. She received a full athletic college scholarship and played Division 1 softball (third- base)! She met her husband while playing for a co-ed softball team made up of her former SICU coworkers and surgeons.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: February 2026

Jeff is a research technician in the Creed Lab at the WashU Medicine Pain Center. Across multiple institutions, Jeff has contributed to research on how the brain works in motivation and decision-making. Before coming to St. Louis, Jeff graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Kansas in 2023, where he did research on stress and social anxiety. Then, he completed a research fellowship at the National Institutes of Health studying risk-taking and addiction. He joined the Creed Lab in July 2024, and studies how the brain is affected by chronic pain and how that leads to symptoms of depression. He hopes to stay in St. Louis and continue his research career by joining a neuroscience PhD program. Outside of the lab, Jeff enjoys reading, rock climbing, and spending time with his partner and their two cats.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: February 2023

Janice has worked in the Department of Anesthesiology for 44 years -- it will be 45 in December 2023. She attended college at Drake University in Des Moines, IA, but returned to back to University City — her hometown where she still resides. Outside of work, Janice enjoys spending time with her grandkids and loves the beach.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2025

Cesar Gonzalez, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and clinical psychologist at the Washington University Pain Center. He specializes in pre-surgical psychological evaluations, psychological assessments, and outpatient psychotherapy, with a focus on pain psychology. In addition to chronic pain, Dr. Gonzalez provides evidence-based care for anxiety, depression, insomnia, adjustment to chronic illness, and stress management, drawing on approaches such as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, and mindfulness-based strategies.

Outside of work, Cesar can usually be found at a Cinema St. Louis screening, hunting for records, checking out new restaurants, or trying to land a first serve on the tennis court.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: November 2020

Vivian is an Instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology. She grew up in Cuba where she graduated from the University of Havana with a B.S. in Biochemistry. She moved to Chile in 2003 and later obtained her PhD in Neuroscience from University of Valparaiso.

During her graduate program in Chile, she became engaged in studying fundamental biophysics of potassium channels which lead to joining the laboratory of Dr. Christopher Lingle at Washington University's Department of Anesthesiology in 2010. In the Lingle Lab, she has been studying the physiological roles of Ca2+ and voltage-regulated BK-type potassium channels and their regulatory subunits. Her current research focus is to understand how ion channels impact epithelial homeostasis and inflammation. This has led to the discovery that a particular form of BK channel is selectively expressed in goblet cells and protects against inflammation.

Outside of work she enjoys spending time with her husband and their two children, traveling, reading, visiting family and friends. She is a fan of St. Louis Cardinals. Fun fact: “This is the first time in my life that I am able to vote for a President (so excited!)”