Profiled

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2024

Jon is a first-year resident in the Department of Anesthesiology. He was born in North Jersey and raised in Salt Lake City where he grew up playing in the Wasatch mountains. He completed his undergraduate and medical education at the University of Utah before moving to St. Louis for residency with his wife, Alex, and their English Bulldog, Rosie. Jon and Alex enjoy so much of what St. Louis has to offer, including the fantastic food scene, historic architecture, charming neighborhoods, and Forest Park. When not in the hospital, Jon likes spending time with Alex, playing tug o’ war with Rosie, riding his bike, reading fiction, and baking bread.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: January 2026

Taylor Hathaway is a CA-2 resident in the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine. Born and raised in the Midwest, he received a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at Brigham Young University and attended medical school back home at Indiana University. He and his wife, Jenny, have three young children ages 6, 4, and 18 months, and another is on the way — due summer 2026! He plans on staying in St Louis after residency and working as a general anesthesiologist.

Outside of work, Taylor enjoys soccer and baseball, and often sports a Cincinnati Reds baseball scrub cap at work. He recently ran his first (and probably only) half-marathon and marathon this last year thanks to a challenge from another co-resident, Peter Wittl. In his free time (limited as it is), he enjoys reading epic fantasy fiction or sci-fi and is always open to new book recommendations.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: June 2020

Mike is the Compliance and Outreach Lead Nurse Practitioner with the Critical Care Division of the Department of Anesthesiology, and he has been with the department for 11 years. He was born and raised in central Illinois but moved to the St. Louis area for college and completed his undergraduate training at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and graduate training at Saint Louis University. Before going to grad school, Mike was a travel nurse for three years and lived in Arizona, South Florida, and Southern California. Outside of work, Mike has a passion for international travel, SCUBA diving, hiking, cooking, and spending time with family, friends, and his dog, Leo.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: November 2022

Mallory is a CA-2 resident in the anesthesia department. As a resident, every day is different. She can be found in the ORs of one of the PODs, in the cardiothoracic or surgical ICUs, in the pain clinic, or on the labor and delivery floor of at Saint Louis Children’s Hospital. Wherever she is assigned, she can be found learning any one of the many aspects of anesthesia from the amazing faculty, fellows, and co-residents here at WashU.

She grew up in Lake Villa, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. She attended undergrad at Notre Dame and medical school at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Even though she moved to St. Louis in the middle of a pandemic, she has made this her home and enjoys experiencing the city with her fellow residents. In her free time, she enjoys reading, biking in Forest Park, and relaxing by the pool. She is also a big fan of the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team, which can sometimes be challenging while living in the hometown of one of their biggest rivals!

She is very grateful for the experiences and training she has received thus far at WashU and cannot wait to see where the future takes her.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2022

Melissa was born and raised on the sunny island of Jamaica. She worked briefly as a high school teacher in Kingston, before deciding to follow her dream of becoming a physician-scientist. After studying Biochemistry at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts, she worked as a lab tech/manager in a cancer lab in Boston. She considers herself a Bostonian at heart. She migrated south to Duke University where she earned an MD and PhD in Pharmacology and Molecular Cancer Biology. There, she accidentally became a vascular biologist. At the same time, as a medical student, she discovered her love of all things cardiac anesthesia.

At WashU, she is in the ASAP Residency Research Track and has successfully completed her fellowship in cardiothoracic anesthesiology. She is currently in the dedicated research phase of her program, where she hopes to blaze the trail for anesthesiologists participating in life-saving basic and translational cardiovascular research. Her current project focuses on uncovering the mechanisms of inherited dilated cardiomyopathies, with the goal of developing precision medical therapies that extend and improve the quality of life for heart failure patients. She is a big proponent of interdisciplinary and team science, and enjoys her current collaborations with cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, biophysicists, and informaticians.

Outside of work, Melissa loves to travel and learn about diverse cultures, and hopes one to day to visit every continent. She is a tennis enthusiast and has been to all four Grand Slams. She’s always up for a game, as long as it’s >50F and not actively precipitating. She also likes to garden, paint, and spend time with her husband Shanti and seven-year-old daughter Gabi.

Department of Anesthesiology FAS Employee of the Quarter: June 2025

Abby has been in the St. Louis Metro area all her life but moved to St. Louis City in 2019. She has been with WashU Medicine for almost seven years. She has been with the Department of Anesthesiology for a year and a half and has loved every minute of it. Outside of work she loves learning history, reading, traveling, and spending time with her 3 cats.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: July 2019

Bernadette is the Director of CRNA Education and Research in the Department of Anesthesiology and is also Professor and Director of the Nurse Anesthesia Program at the Goldfarb School of Nursing at Barnes-Jewish College. Dr. Henrichs earned her MSN and PhD from Saint Louis University. Outside of work, Dr. Henrichs enjoys cycling. Several years ago she rode 200 miles in one weekend to raise money for multiple sclerosis.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: December 2024

Erin is proud to call herself a BJH/WashU lifer. Her journey began in 2005 as a night-shift patient care technician in the MICU, and this year, she is celebrating 20 years at BJH, now serving as an assistant professor in the School of Medicine. Over the years, she has held a variety of roles, including patient care technician, ICU nurse, student nurse, and now faculty. She feels incredibly fortunate to have had these opportunities and to work alongside such exceptional colleagues in a remarkable and inspiring department. Along the way, she has built lifelong friendships and connected with many incredible people.

A native St. Louisan and proud resident of the city, Erin can often be seen commuting to work—rain, shine, or cold—on her signature mint-green Vespa. She lives in the Shaw neighborhood with her husband, daughter, two dogs, and a giant African sulcata tortoise. She enjoys spending time outdoors, exploring her vibrant neighborhood, and walking through Tower Grove Park.

Outside of her professional life, Erin stays busy coaching soccer and leading a Girl Scout troop. She has a passion for traveling with friends and family, discovering new restaurants, and staying active at the gym. For her, working at WashU has been a cornerstone of her career, and she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: May 2026

Jessica Higginbotham, PhD, is a St. Louis native who left for a PhD – and came right back. After earning her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Saint Louis University in 2012, she completed her doctoral training in neuroscience at Washington State University before returning in 2019 as a postdoctoral fellow at WashU. She is now an instructor in the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine.

In the Moron-Concepcion Lab, Jessica develops novel approaches to understand the neural mechanisms of pain and maladaptive opioid use, with the ultimate goal of improving how these conditions are treated in the real world.

Outside the lab, she, her partner Robero, and their daughter Alivia, are usually on the move – trying new foods, traveling, kayaking, or engaged in fiercely competitive MarioKart races.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: July 2020

Alex was born and raised in Virginia. He graduated from the University of Virginia with bachelor’s degrees in psychology and biology. After medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Alex joined the department in 2013 as an anesthesia resident. He subsequently completed fellowships here in both obstetric anesthesiology and pain management. Combining these sometimes disparate interests, his research focuses on neuropathic pain, opioid analgesia, and management of the high-risk parturient. Clinically, Alex can be usually be found at Barnes Jewish Hospital on Labor and Delivery or in the ORs, though he also spends time at Missouri Baptist Medical Center and Progress West Hospital. He is particularly excited about his role as Chief of Fetal Surgery Anesthesiology, where he works in a large and talented interdisciplinary team to coordinate in-utero surgery on fetuses with a variety of complex pathologies. Outside of the hospital, Alex enjoys working out and taking in the St. Louis's greatest offerings, including the local craft beers, accessible hiking trails, and Sugarfire BBQ.