Profiled

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: July 2021

Nicole was born and raised in the suburbs of Chicago. She completed her residency at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in 2005 and followed her husband to St. Louis, where she completed her Obstetric Anesthesiology fellowship under Dr. Barbara Leighton in 2006. After fellowship, Nicole left St. Louis for two years and returned to our department in 2008. She spends her clinical time at Missouri Baptist Hospital, which she often refers to as “her home away from home.” In 2015, Nicole was appointed director of obstetric anesthesiology at Missouri Baptist.

Nicole and her husband George have a 13-year-old son, Drake, who attends Chaminade College Preparatory School and an 11-year-old daughter, Nina, who attends Oak Hill School. They spend their family time outdoors in Forest Park, playing tennis and golf at Norwood Hills, and traveling with their son Drake’s hockey team. The Durkos also love dining out and discovering new local places to enjoy with friends and family.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: April 2023

Daniel Eddins is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) with over 15 years of experience in healthcare. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Sports Medicine (Exercise Science) from Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, where he played soccer all four years. After his first bachelor's degree, Dan obtained his BSN at Barnes Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing in St Louis. He then matriculated to Goldfarb's CRNA program from 2017 to 2019.

During his career, he completed the Barnes Jewish Nurse Residency Program and was named Rookie of the Year in 2014. He was awarded the Tsugie Watanabe Award for outstanding CT SRNA in 2019. He also maintains his Critical Care Registered Nurse Certification. In addition to his professional achievements, Dan was named a Missouri Baptist University Athletics NAIA Champion of Character in 2008-2009 and received the NAIA Academic All-American award in soccer in 2008 and 2009.

In 2020, Dan joined the Washington University in St. Louis Department of Anesthesiology as a CRNA where he continues to provide anesthesia care to patients primarily in vascular, thoracic, and the cardiac procedure center.

Outside of his work, Dan enjoys watching and playing soccer, running, listening to music, and spending time with his family and friends. He has been married to his wife Christina for eight years and they have a beloved golden retriever. He truly loves providing anesthesia for his patients and is thankful for the opportunity to work at a world-class institution.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: April 2025

Jacob (Jake) is a first-year anesthesiology resident at WashU Medicine. A Missouri native, he grew up in Cape Girardeau, just 100 miles south of St. Louis, where he spent many weekends at Busch Stadium cheering on the St. Louis Cardinals. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Vanderbilt University and completed medical school at the University of Colorado. Thrilled to return to Missouri, Jake values the opportunity to continue his medical education at a top institution close to friends and family.

Jake’s medical interests include sustainability within anesthesiology, focusing on reducing environmental impact while delivering high-quality patient care. While keeping an open mind about subspecialties, he is developing an interest in cardiothoracic anesthesia.

Outside of medicine, Jake stays active through cycling, tennis, and discovering new coffee shops around St. Louis. This spring, he and his wife are working on starting a vegetable garden. A devoted Cardinals fan, he never misses a chance to catch a live game and aims to visit every Major League Baseball stadium—he’s already checked off 12 of 30!

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: June 2020

David was raised on his family’s farm near Troy, MO, (about an hour northwest of Barnes-Jewish hospital), and his parents still live on the farm planting crops and raising cattle. David had a great childhood playing lots of sports, working around the farm, and spending time with family – all things he still enjoys. David followed in the footsteps of his brother and two sisters and attended the University of Missouri. After a short stint as a respiratory therapist, he attended Saint Louis University for his BSN and then, ultimately, on to Goldfarb School of Nursing for the Nurse Anesthesia program. David joined the CRNA group in 2009 after his graduation and considers it one of the best decisions of his life because of the great people he has met and worked with. He recently took on the role of Director of CRNA Activities, which he considers an honor and a privilege. The other best decision of his life was marrying his wife Kahra and having three wonderful kids: Owen (11), Helene (9), and Barrett (6). He spends much of his free time with his family and coaching three of his kids' sports teams. He loves being active and being outside and looks forward to lighting the grill every Sunday afternoon for his weekly “meal prep.”

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: May 2022

Sam Erlinger is a current resident physician in the Department of Anesthesiology. For Sam, who is from St. Charles, WashU was the launching point a career in medicine when he was offered an opportunity while in high school at SLUH to work with physician-scientist mentors through a WUSM scholars program. Following this, he obtained his undergraduate degree in Biology and Spanish at Vanderbilt University and then went on to earn his MD at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before returning home to St. Louis for residency. He is thrilled to be training at a leading institution with great mentors while also being near family and friends.

Clinically, he values the opportunity to provide safe care to critically ill patients, see a broad range of anesthetics and surgeries and work with faculty with diverse backgrounds and interests. Outside of the hospital, he enjoys backpacking, hiking, cycling, reading sci-fi, and playing guitar. He recently moved to Benton Park and is looking forward to exploring the area.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: January 2023

Greg Feilner has been a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) within the Department of Anesthesiology since 2019. He is a 'float CRNA' within the general division, but primarily works between Pod 4 and the Center for Advanced Medicine-South County. He enjoys working with the students and teaching the SRNAs in the OR.

To answer the famous St. Louis question, he went to Lindbergh High School before obtaining his BSN from the University of Missouri-Columbia, M-I-Z!!. Greg then came to work at Barnes-Jewish Hospital where he has held numerous positions. As a new grad, he started in the ED at BJH where he loved the fast-paced trauma environment and the comradery of his peers. After a few years, Greg transferred to the SICU in 44ICU when it doubled in size from the old 84ICU. During that time, he also worked as a Flight Nurse for Air Evac Lifeteam covering all the bases across Missouri. Greg had the privilege of caring for patients in the helicopter, bringing them to Barnes, and then continuing that care during his shifts in the ICU. After that, Greg delved into management and obtained an MSN in Nursing Administration from Webster University in 2014. He worked as a house supervisor at BJH where he covered house operations, staffing, and a number of other administrative issues. He then switched directions and received his Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 2019 and came back to Washu and BJH as a CRNA.

Greg and his wife Marla have been together since high school and have a son Jack (9) and a daughter Penelope (7) that love sports and spending time as a family. They have two dogs, Sarge, a chocolate Lab, and River, a Catahoula-Beagle. Greg and his family love staying active and being outdoors. He enjoys competing in mountain bike races each year and coaching his son’s wrestling team. He and his wife enjoy doing construction projects together and trying all the cuisine that St. Louis has to offer.

Department of Anesthesiology – APP of the Quarter: September 2022

Joshua Fender (He/Him) has been an APP with the department since 2021. He has a BS in Fire Paramedicine from Lindenwood University. He obtained his MSN with an emphasis on quality improvement informatics, education, and leadership from Sant Louis University. Josh recently graduated with his AGACNP post-master's certificate from Goldfarb School of Nursing. He has been a recipient of St. Louis Magazine's Excellence in Nursing and March of Dimes Nurse of the Year. In his free time, you can find him mushroom hunting, cooking, and spending time with his partner Eric and their two golden doodles Riley and Zion.

Josh was named the Q3 2022 APP of the Quarter!

His nominator says, "Josh is an incredible team player. He is always helping with schedule changes and picking up extra moonlighting. He is always positive and easy to work with. He will lend a helping hand without being asked and he provides compassionate care to his patients."

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: July 2024

Meredith joined the department in 2018 after Graduating from the Goldfarb School of Nursing with her master's degree in anesthesia. Meredith is currently a pod leader in Pod 3 with the cardiothoracic and vascular teams.

Meredith grew up in St. Louis and returned home after graduating from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, where she played field hockey. She currently lives in Webster Groves with her husband, son, and 2 dogs. In her free time, outside of work, Meredith is an avid boxer and golfer, and loves to travel with her family!

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: September 2023

Dr. Daniel Fernandez is an Assistant Professor in the Divisions of Regional & Ambulatory Anesthesiology and General Anesthesiology in the Department of Anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine.

Dr. Fernandez is a proud St. Louis native, returning after attending Southern Methodist University for his undergraduate studies in chemistry and biology before completing medical school at Indiana University. He graduated from the Washington University School of Medicine Anesthesiology Residency Program in 2020 and stayed to complete his fellowship in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain in 2021. He joined as faculty, and divides his time between the academic campus downtown and many of the community sites. He is also a Pod Leader in the ORs at the academic campus focusing on orthopedic, general, trauma, and plastic surgery working with surgeons and perioperative partners to improve patient care. He is passionate about bedside teaching, especially regional anesthesia.

Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Michelle, and their dog, Buster. His hobbies include cooking, brewing beer, relaxing with video games (he swears it helps with his ultrasound guided blocks), and 3D printing.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: August 2024

Gabrielle is a CA-2 anesthesiology resident and was born and raised in St. Louis. She earned her BA at Miami University in Oxford, OH, studying psychology and Spanish linguistics. She then earned her MD at the University of Toledo. She is enjoying making connections and delving deeper into the field of anesthesiology here at WashU Medicine.

Outside of work, Gabrielle spends much of her time between her kitchen and Tower Grove Park. She enjoys concerts and traveling, and she is teaching herself how to grow tomatoes and speak Italian.