People

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: October 2019

Nic is the web developer for the Department of Anesthesiology. He joined the Department IT group in 2003 as a member of the helpdesk before moving to web developer in 2013. He earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from Southeast Missouri State University. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Jill, and two kids, Emma and Lucas.

Executive Administration Office

Assists Dr. Michael Avidan

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: October 2025

Lauren joined the department in January of 2023, starting as a Program Coordinator and advancing to her current role as the Assistant to the Chair. Her role is expansive, which keeps things dynamic and different every day. Some of her responsibilities include keeping the Chair’s calendar in check, coordinating faculty appointments and promotions, and facilitating department events. The ability to see the grand scale and inner workings of the department has provided her with a great understanding and passion for supporting all the mission areas that make up the department.

Lauren was born and raised in St. Louis and had the joy of working as a hospice music therapist for nearly 10 years before joining the Department of Anesthesiology. She still lives in St. Louis City with her husband, Will, their 20 month old son, Charlie, cats, Hector and Moira, and dog, Piper. She loves spending time with her family, going to local parks, watching scary movies, and listening to music.

 

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2020

Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar is an Associate Professor and works in the Cardiothoracic and General Anesthesiology divisions. He is the POD leader in Parkview and also the Director of Resident Education. He grew up in Bangalore, the silicon valley of India, where he went to medical school. After completing my anesthesia residency in India, Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar went on to complete his FRCA from Kings College Hospital, London, where he did his Cardiac and Liver Transplant fellowships. He came to St. Louis in 2004 and has been working in the department for the last 16 years. His current interest is using Point of Care Ultrasound in the perioperative care of patients.

“It has been a wonderful journey and working with the residents and other trainees in our tertiary care center is a very rewarding experience,” said Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar. “The best thing about WashU is that all the specialties are under one roof and it is a one-stop-shop for training. Teaching is my passion, and there is no better place than WashU to teach – there are so many smart and dedicated residents around eagerly willing to learn.”

Dr. Lakshminarasimhachar is blessed with a very caring wife and two wonderful kids. In his free time, he loves to play tennis and listen to Indian classical music. He is also very interested in Indian philosophy and Yoga and has been teaching high school students for the last 2 years at a Sunday School in the Hindu Temple in St. Louis.

Admin: Shirley Vaughn

Medical School: University of Connecticut School of Medicine

Residency: Yale New Haven Hospital