Honoring Women in Anesthesia This September 2025

In honor of Women in Medicine Month, the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS) proudly recognizes the remarkable women in anesthesia who generously share their time, expertise and leadership with our organization and the global anesthesiology community. Through research, education, mentorship and volunteerism, these women play a vital role in advancing our mission and shaping the future of the specialty. We are deeply grateful for their ongoing contributions and commitment.

Join us for Women in Physician Scientist and Clinical Leadership Roles in Anesthesiology and Critical Care: Pathways, Barriers, and the Role of Sponsorship, a Women in Medicine Month webinar co-sponsored by the Early-Stage Anesthesiology Scholars (eSAS). Hear female leaders share insights on overcoming barriers and the power of sponsorship in academic medicine.

September 16 | 4-5 PM ET

Register Today

	Moderator: Sylvia Ranjeva, MD, PhD, Critical Care Fellow, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Speakers
	Rebecca Minehart, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, Vice Chair, Faculty Development; Division Chief, Obstetric Anesthesia, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI
	Beverley Orser, OOnt, MD, PhD, FRSC, FRCPC, FCAHS, Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto; Anesthesiologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
	Kimberly Rengel, MD, MSCI, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
	Katarina Ruscic, MD, PhD, Director of Anesthesia for Plastic, Reconstructive and Breast Oncology Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Learn more about this webinar.

Join us for Women in Physician Scientist and Clinical Leadership Roles in Anesthesiology and Critical Care: Pathways, Barriers, and the Role of Sponsorship, a Women in Medicine Month webinar co-sponsored by the Early-Stage Anesthesiology Scholars (eSAS). Hear female leaders share insights on overcoming barriers and the power of sponsorship in academic medicine.

September 16 | 4-5 PM ET

Register Today

Moderator: Sylvia Ranjeva, MD, PhD, Critical Care Fellow, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA

Speakers

Rebecca Minehart, MD, Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, Vice Chair, Faculty Development; Division Chief, Obstetric Anesthesia, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI

Beverley Orser, OOnt, MD, PhD, FRSC, FRCPC, FCAHS, Chair of the Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Toronto; Anesthesiologist, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Kimberly Rengel, MD, MSCI, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN

Katarina Ruscic, MD, PhD, Director of Anesthesia for Plastic, Reconstructive and Breast Oncology Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA

Learn more about this webinar.

The Women in Anesthesia Online Community, supported by IARS, is dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive space for women anesthesia providers to discuss advocacy, mentorship, and other topics pertinent to the success of women practicing in the field of anesthesia. Join the conversation at https://tinyurl.com/iarswiacomm.

President-Elect
Vivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD

Secretary and Treasurer
Meredith Adams, MD, MS, FASA, FAMIA

Board Member
Julie K. Freed, MD, PhD

Board Member
Jessica Spence, MD, PhD

Laurette McMechan, assistant editor of Anesthesia & Analgesia, was known affectionately as the “Mother of Anesthetists.” Along with her husband, IARS founder Dr. Francis McMechan, she played a crucial role in the organization of anesthesiology as a specialty. From the organization’s founding until her death in 1964, Laurette remained dedicated to the IARS mission and to the anesthesiology specialty as a whole.

Adena Dutton, MD – not pictured
Judith Donegan, MD, PhD – not pictured
Joy Hawkins, MD
Patricia Kapur, MD
Colleen Koch, MD, MS, MBA, FACC
Laura Niklason, PhD, MD
Beverley Orser, OOnt, MD, PhD, FRSC, FRCPC, FCAHS
Debra Schwinn, MD
Eleanor Seymour, MD – not pictured
Denise Wedel, MD

Angela Enright, OC, MB BCh, FRCPC
Executive Editor and Section Editor – Global Health

Nathalia Jimenez, MD, MPH
Executive Editor

Amanda M. Kleiman, MD
Executive Editor

Anna Woodbury, MD, MSCR, C.Ac
Section Editor – Chronic Pain Medicine

Lisa Q. Rong, MD, MSCE, FASE, FACC
Section Editor – Cardiovascular and Thoracic Anesthesiology

Lisbeth Evered, BS, MBiostat, PhD
Section Editor – Geriatric Anesthesia

Jill M. Mhyre, MD
Section Editor – Obstetric Anesthesiology

Christina Pabelick, MD
Section Editor – Basic Science

Carole Torsney, PhD, FHEA
Section Editor – Pain and Analgesic Mechanisms

​​​​Jennifer Weller, MD, MClinEd, MBBS, FANZCA, FRCA
Section Editor – Patient Safety

​​​Jarna Shah, MD
Social Media Editor

​​​​​Emily E. Sharpe, MD
Social Media Editor

BobbieJean Sweitzer, MD, FACP
Executive Editor

Christina L. Jeng, MD, FASA
Associate Editor

Joanna Kountanis, MD
Assistant Editor

Chair
Julie K. Freed, MD, PhD, FAHA, FCVS

Members

Anne Cherry, MD
Lena Dohlman, MD MPH
Kimberly Howard-Quijano, MD, MS, FASE
Angela Jerath, MSc, FRCPC, FANZCA, MD, BSc
Ines Koerner, MD, PhD, FNCS
Christa Nehs, PhD
Jennifer Rabbitts, MD, ChB
Kristin Schreiber, MD, PhD
Elizabeth Whitlock, MD, MS

Vivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD
Meredith Adams, MD, MS, FASA, FAMIA
Julie K. Freed, MD, PhD
Jessica Spence, MD, PhD
Xueqin Ding, MD, PhD
Jennifer Elia, MD
Cynthia Lien, MD
Vidya Raman, MD, MBA, FASA, FAAP
Kathryn Rosenblatt, MD
Kendall Smith, MD, PhD
Susana Vacas, MD, PhD
E. Railey White, MD, PhD

Co-Chair, Membership Committee
Vivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD

Co-Chair, Outreach, Retention and Engagement Subcommittee
Kimberly Rengel, MD

Xueqin Ding, MD, PhD, FASA
Lena E. Dohlman, MD, MPH
Mada Helou, MD
Annemarie Chrysantia Melati, MD
Marina Moguilevitch, MD
Kristin L. Schreiber, MD, PhD
Shagun Bhatia Shah, MBBS, DA, DNB, FIMSA, MNAMS, Cert. TEE
Coridalia Wald, MD
Xinyan Wang, MD

Krishma Adatia, BSc, MBChB, FRCA
Jill F. Arthur, MD, FAAP
Sharon Ashley, MD, MPH, MBA, DABA, FASA
Ofeoritse Murphy-Akpieyi, MBBS
Sara Timerga Nemani, BSc, MSc, MPH
Kathleen Gage Parr, MD, FASA
Journal Liaison: Jarna Shah, MD
Shalini Shah, MD

Co-Chair
Kimberly Rengel, MD

Members
Folayemi Faponle, MBChB, FWACS, FMCA, MD
Natalie Jane Koons, DO
Nadia Lunardi, MD, PhD
Adamina G. Podraza, MD, FASA, FAAP
Katie Schenning, MD, MPH, MCR

Emily Methangkool, MD, MPH
Cardiac Anesthesia

Youn-Hoa Jung, MD
Critical Care Medicine

Carole Lin, MD
Multimedia

Elizabeth Mahanna Gabrielli, MD
Neuroanesthesia

Jaime Daly, MD
Obstetric Anesthesia

Shalini Shah, MD, MBA
Pain Medicine

Melody Anderson (Herman), MD
Regional Anesthesia

Jina Sinskey, MD
Pediatric Anesthesia

Kanupriya Kumar, MD
Social Media

Kristine E. W. Breyer, MD
Summaries

Seema Deshpande, MBBS
Cardiac Anesthesia

Ellen Richter, MD, FASE
Cardiac Anesthesia

Betelehem Asnake, MD
Global Health Equity

Elizabeth Malinzak, MD
Liaison to Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation

Julia A. Gálvez, MD, MBI
Liaison to Society for Technology in Anesthesia

Diana Ayubcha, DO, MS
Neuroanesthesia

Deepa Kattail, MD, MHS, FAAP
Pain Medicine

Leena Adamian, MD
Pediatric Anesthesia

Elisha Peterson, MD, Med, FAAP, FASA
Pediatric Anesthesia

Jamie Rubin, MD
Pediatric Anesthesia

Katherine Zaleski, MD
Pediatric Anesthesia

Esperanza Sotta, MD
Pediatric Spanish Education

Vera Winograd Gómez, MD
Pediatric Spanish Education

Ying Hui Low, MD
Point-of-Care Ultrasound

Emily Lin, MD, MS
Regional Anesthesia

Theresa Lii, MD, MS
Lichy Han, MD, PhD

Rachel Gioscia-Ryan, MD, PhD
Amanda J. Naylor, MD, MPH

Archana Bharadwaj, MD, MPH, CHES
Young May Cha, MD, MS

Zara Adamou, MD
Nida Aftab, MD
Sasha Anronikov, BS
Nicole Arkin, MD
Diane Armenta, MD, MS
Rebecca Aslakson, MD, PhD, FAAHPM, FCCM
Karam Atli, MD, MS
Odmara Barreto Chang, MD, PhD
Emily Bergbower, MD, PhD
Nidhi Bhatia, MD
Stefanie Blain-Moraes, PhD
Kimberly Blasius, MD
Christina Boncyk, MD, MPH
Kaitlyn Brennan, DO, MPH
Lindsay Brown, MD
Sydney Brown, MD, PhD
Anna Budde, MD
Paola Calderon, MD, PhD
Lucy Chen, MD, PhD
Varina Clark Onwunyi, MD
Faith Collins, BS
Elizabeth Cotter, MD
Elizabeth Cox Williams, MD
M. Creel-Bulos, MD
Allison Dalton, MD
Dana Darwish, DO
Callie Diesch, BS
Xueqin Ding, MD, PhD
Divya Dixit, MD
Jasmine Dowell, MD
Angela Enright, MB, FRCPC
Krisztina Escallier, MD
Bronwyn Finney, MD
Julia Galvez Delgado, MD, MBI, FASA
Annery Garcia-Marcinkiewicz, MD, MSCE
Lakshmi Geddam-Jonna, MD
Chelsia Gillis, MSc, PhD, RD, CNSC
Carol Girgiss, MD
Andrea Gomez Morad, MD
Lauriane Guichard, MD
Rachel Hadler, MD
Christina Hayhurst, MD
Melina Heine, MD candidate
Emma Huebner, MD
Allison Janda, MD
Christina Jelly, MD, MS
Christina Jeng, MD, FASA
Linjia Jia, MD
Nathalia Jimenez, MD, MPH
Judith Jones, MD
Courtney Jones, MD
Meredith Kato, MD
Nita Khandelwal, MD, MS
Amanda Kleiman, MD
Ines Koerner, MD, PhD
Effrosyni Kontari, MD
Sohee Kwon, MD, MPH
Grace Lim, MD, MSc
Mckenna Longacre, MD
Hannah Lonsdale, MBChB
Sunny Lou, MD, PhD
Ying Hui Low, MD
Emily Mackay, DO, MS
Robina Matyal, MD
Mary Ellen McCann, MD
Tina McKay, PhD
Kelly Michaelsen, MD, PhD
Marina Moguilevitch, MD
Johanna Moore, MD, MSc
Emily Naoum, MD
Ariana M. Nelson, MD
Jennifer Neva, MD
Sara Neves, MD
Ireana Ng, MD
Christine Nguyen-Buckley, MD
Beverley Orser, OOnt, MD, PhD, FRSC, FRCPC, FCAHS
Sarah Osmundson, MD, MS
Mengchan Ou, MD
Mukadder Ozcan, MD
Jenny Pennycuff, MD, MS
Isabel Podolski, MD candidate
Jennifer Rabbitts, MD
Ekta Rai, MBBS, MRCA, MD
Lana Ramic, MD
Sonali Rao, MD
Meg Rosenblatt, MD, FASA, FASRA
Kathryn Rosenblatt, MD, MHS
Alisha Sachdev, MD
Shiri Savir, MD, MPH
Julia Scarpa, MD, PhD
Kristin Schreiber, MD, PhD
Margaret Sedensky, MD
Mara Serbanescu, MD
Shagun Bhatia Shah, MBBS, DA, DNB, FIMSA, MNAMS, FRIOASD, LMINSC, FOAPM
Lucy Shang, BA
Jessica Spence, MD, PhD
Sandra Emily Stoll, MD
BobbieJean Sweitzer, MD
Briana Syed, BS
Justine Tang, MD
Vivianne Tawfik, MD, PhD
Uchenna Umeh, MD, FASA, FASRA
Emily Vail, MD, MSc
Kathleen Vincent, PhD
Margaret Vo, BS
Coridalia Wald, MD
Ellen Wang, MD
Jennifer Weller, MD, MBBS, MClinEd, FANZCA, FRCA
Sarah Wernimont, MD, PhD
E. Railey White, MD, PhD
Elizabeth Whitlock, MD, MSc
Theodora Wingert, MD
Ellene Yan, HBSc
Lara Zador, MD
Yiying (Laura) Zhang, MD, PhD

A group of women in anesthesia gathered together for an insightful conversation during the session, “Women Anesthesiologists: Challenges Navigating in the Modern World” at the 2025 Annual Meeting. These leaders addressed unique obstacles faced by women in the anesthesiology specialty, including gender bias, work-life balance and career advancement. The session was followed by a happy hour where the group was able to connect more informally and share advice.

Richa Dhawan, MD, MPH, FASE
Allison Fernandez, MD, MBA
Julie Freed, MD, PhD
McKenzie Hollon, MD, FASE
Marta Kelava, MD
Lynn Kohan, MD
Yvette Martin McGrew, MD, PhD
Linda Mason, MD, FASA, FCAI
Kelly McQueen, MD, MPH, FASA
Rebecca Minehart, MD
Ariana M. Nelson, MD
Jennie Y. Ngai, MD
Beverley Orser, OOnt, MD, PhD, FRSC, FRCPC, FCAHS
Vidya Raman, MD, MBA
Sylvia Ranjeva, MD, PhD
Kimberly Rengel, MD
Katarina Ruscic, MD, PhD
Kristin Schreiber, MD, PhD
Kara Siegrist, MD
Jessica Spence, MD, PhD, FRCPC
Kristin Trela, MD
Xinyan Wang, MD
Elizabeth Whitlock, MD, MSc