Profiled

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: November 2024

Anne is currently one of the two executive directors of business operations in the Department of Anesthesiology. She earned a bachelor’s degree from WashU and attended law school at SLU before starting her career in book publishing on the east coast. Anne then moved into philanthropy, where she spent almost seven years with the WashU Medicine Advancement team before shifting to the grant side of funding as the director of research and graduate education at SLU’s College of Public Health and Social Justice. Anne returned to WashU Medicine in 2013 as the director of research and business administration for 10 years prior to her current role.

Outside of work, Anne loves spending time with family and friends, volunteering with several nonprofits around town, cooking, gardening, reading, and working on her 100-year-old house. She is also a music fanatic and tries to attend as many concerts as humanly possible.

Fun fact: Anne has ghost written several coffee table books and has seen Ben Folds perform live more than 40 times.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: October 2022

Ding Ding is a current resident physician in the Department of Anesthesiology. She was born and raised in China. In her early years, Dr. Ding demonstrated talents in the field of physics, mathematics, and computer engineering. She received a bachelor's degree in modern physics from the University of Science and Technology of China and a master's degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder. She then worked at the FPGA pioneer Xilinx Inc. as a project lead for a number of years.

After realizing her deep desire to become a physician and have a more personal role in helping others, she resigned from this position to enter medical school. She graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 2019 with honors and publications in high-impact journals. Dr. Ding has shown a dedication to maintaining her high professional standard and pursuit of excellence while being a single parent and with additional obligations of caring for her aging parents.

Outside of work, she enjoys time with family, hiking, cooking, performing arts, and traveling. She will be pursuing a fellowship in regional and acute pain at WashU after residency.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: January 2024

Avi Dobrusin is a CA-3 and Chief Resident in the Department of Anesthesiology at WashU Medicine. Originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan, he attended Emory University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology and Human Biology. Following graduation, Avi worked as an emergency medical technician in Atlanta and then went to Central Michigan University for medical school before moving to St. Louis for residency. Next year, he will start fellowship training in cardiothoracic anesthesiology and critical care medicine. He looks forward to pursuing a career in academic anesthesiology and medical education.

Outside of work, Avi enjoys cycling, hiking, geocaching, and cooking. His lifelong goal is to travel to visit every national park - so far he is at 15!

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: February 2023

Julie Drobish, MD, MA, is an assistant professor of anesthesiology at Washington University School of Medicine. Originally from Pennsylvania, she earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from the Pennsylvania State University Schreyer Honors College. She completed her medical degree and master’s degree in neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in 2009. She trained at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for her anesthesiology residency, followed by fellowship training in pediatric anesthesiology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Drobish practiced general and pediatric anesthesia at Hershey Medical Center for two years before returning to St. Louis to join the Washington University faculty in 2016. She now practices pediatric anesthesia at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, and Shriners Hospital for Children. She became the director of pediatric liver transplant anesthesia in 2019. Her clinical interests include anesthesia for liver and kidney transplants, management of congenital cardiac disease for noncardiac surgery, and volunteering for medical outreach trips.

Department of Anesthesiology Featured Member: June 2026

Ashley DuBois is a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist who joined WashU Medicine in 2023 after earning her Doctorate of Nurse Anesthesia Practice from Webster University. Prior to becoming a CRNA, she gained critical care experience at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in the Cardiothoracic ICU.

In her current role, Ashley works closely with surgical teams to provide anesthesia care for patients across a variety of procedures, and she floats across the Barnes-Jewish campus to multiple procedural and surgical pods. Ashley enjoys caring for a wide variety of patients and embraces the challenges of acute and critical care environments often associated with complex surgical settings such as trauma cases, emergent procedures, and critically ill ICU patients.

Outside of work, Ashley enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and two dogs, as well as trying new restaurants, enjoying good food, and traveling whenever possible.

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.