Ladan Eshkevari Faculty Profile


Ladan Eshkevari, PhD, CRNA, L.Ac., FAAN is the Program Director and Professor in the Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice program at Georgetown University. Dr. Eshkevari has been a professor at Georgetown University for over two decades and has made vast contributions to the CRNA profession. Her achievements include:

  • Inducted as a Fellow in the prestigious American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) (2017)
  • Invited to join the Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee (MEDCAC). Note: MEDCAC is an advisory committee for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
  • ‘Researcher of the Year Award (new window)’ from the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society in Nursing (2013) 
  • ‘John Garde Researcher of the Year Award’ from the AANA (2014)

In her role as Program Director, Dr. Eshkevari has been successful in imparting innovative pedagogical methodologies using cadavers, anesthesia patient simulation, implementing online educational programs, and managing School and University-wide projects. Although Dr. Eshkevari is in a leadership role, she maintains an integral role in the didactic and simulation-based education of the students and is the course director for several of the DNAP courses. She also oversees doctoral research projects as a first reader and advisor to Georgetown DNAP students. Additionally, she has appointments in the Departments of Pharmacology and Physiology at Georgetown University. Dr. Eshkevari’s educational preparation includes: 

  • BS; Nursing (with Honors); University of Maryland
  • MS; Nurse Anesthesia; Columbia University
  • Diplomate Acupuncture; Maryland Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine
  • PhD Physiology & Biophysics; Georgetown University Graduate School
  • Certificate ‘Corporate Executive Leadership;’ Georgetown University

She is an expert in the areas of anesthesia, pain management, and alternative medicine. Dr. Eshkevari is a physiologist, a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA), as well as a licensed acupuncturist (L.Ac). She has expertise in anesthesia, pain management, and physiologic mechanisms of the stress response. Her specific area of research involves identifying physiologic markers for chronic stress that are modulated by acupuncture. Dr. Eshkevari maintains her bedside practice as a CRNA in the community. Since 1995, she has been providing anesthesia and pain management services in acute care and outpatient settings in Washington, DC, and Maryland. 

Dr. Eshkevari has published in the journal Experimental Biology and Medicine, and Journal of Endocrinology, and Endocrinology, which have stimulated international interest in her research. Her work has been recently highlighted in numerous news outlets such as National Geographic, Time Magazine, and National Public Radio. Her publications include: 

  • L. Eshkevari. Acupuncture and pain—a review of literature. AANA Journal October 2003; 71(5):361-70. 
  • L. Eshkevari. J. Heath. Use of acupuncture for chronic pain: Optimizing clinical practice. Journal of Holistic Nursing. September/October 2005; 19 (5):217-221. 
  • L. Eshkevari. B. Baker. Knotting of Pulmonary Artery Catheter: A Case Study. AANA Journal 2007 Dececember;75(6):423-8. 
  • L. Eshkevari. Lixing Lao, Rupert Egan, Dylan Phillips, Idalia Cruz, Eva Permaul, Tiffany Mueller, Susan Mulroney. Effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on cold stress-induced increases in peripheral and central (paraventricular nucleus-PVN) HP axis hormones. Abstract. The American Acupuncturist. Spring 2011;55(2):33.* 
  • L. Eshkevari. Rupert Egan, Dylan Phillips, Idalia Cruz, Tiffany Mueller, S.E. Mulroney. Effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on stress-induced increases in central HP axis hormones. Abstract. FASEB J. March 17, 2011 25:849.3.* 
  •  L. Eshkevari. Idalia Cruz, Tiffany Mueller, Susan Mulroney. (2011) Effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on stress-induced increases in peripheral HP axis hormones. FASEB J March 17, 2011 25:852.2.* 
  •  L. Eshkevari. Rupert Egan, Dylan Phillips, Jason Tilan, Elissa Carney, Hakima Amri, Susan Mulroney. Acupuncture at ST36 prevents chronic stress-induced increases in Neuropeptide Y in rat. Experimental Biology and Medicine. January 2012 237(1):18-23.* 
  •  L.Eshkevari, E Permaul, S. Mulroney. Acupuncture blocks cold stress-induced increases in the hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal axis (HPA) in the rat. J of Endocrinology. 2013 Mar 15;217(1):95- 104.* 
  • A. Hupman, and L. Eshkevari. Propofol and Ketamine for Targeted Muscle Reinnervation after Limb Amputation. Anesthesia e Journal. 2013 May 2(1):1-4. 
  • L. Eshkevari. KK Trout. Management of Post-Partum Pain. J of Midwifery and Women’s Health 2013 Nov-Dec 58(6):622-31.# 
  • L. Eshkevari. The effects of electroacupuncture on chronic cold painful stress-induced increases in peripheral and central HPA hormones in a rat model of chronic stress. J of Integrative Med. 2014. (12)3:270-71.* 
  • L. Eshkevari, S. Mulroney, R. Egan, L. Lao Effects of acupuncture, RU-486 on the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal axis in chronically stressed adult male rats. Endocrinology 2015. doi:10.1210/EN.2015-1018. 
  • Gu, X., Eshkevari, L., Powell, T., Titus, A., O’Guin, C. (2021) Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists’ management of the perioperative do-not-resuscitate order: Evaluating trends in required reconsideration. AANA Journal, 89, (6). 491-500.
  •  L. Eshkevari. D. Jasinski. Pharmacokinetics in Nurse Anesthesia, 3rd Edition. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier/Saunders Press. (2005). 
  • L. Eshkevari. D. Jasinski. Pharmacokinetics in Nurse Anesthesia, 4th Edition. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier/Saunders Press. (2008). 
  •  L. Eshkevari. D. Jasinski. Pharmacokinetics in Nurse Anesthesia, 5th Edition. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier/Saunders Press. (2012). 
  •  K. Trout and L. Eshkevari. Pain management in the parturient in Varney’s Midwifery. 5th Edition. Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning (2013). 
  •  L. Eshkevari, C. Horvath, D. Tola, D. Jasinski. Preoperative Cardiovascular Risk Assessment and Evaluation for Noncardiac Surgery in The Advanced Practice Nurse Cardiovascular Clinician. 1st Edition. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company (2015). 

In addition to her work publishing, Dr. Eshkevari has been on the Editorial Board for the Journal of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (J AANA). She has also been a peer reviewer for professional journals in various disciplines. These journals have included: 

  • Journal of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (J AANA) 
  • Journal of Experimental Biology and Medicine (J EBM)
  • Complementary Therapies in Medicine (CTIM)
  • Acupuncture in Medicine 
  • Journal of Medical Acupuncture 
  • Journal of Endocrinology (JOE) 
  • Public Library of Science (PLOS ONE) 
  • Journal of Intensive Care Medicine 

Dr. Eshkevari serves on several national boards, including the AANA Foundation, and Medicare Evidence Development & Coverage Advisory Committee.  She serves as an Ambassador for the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research (FNINR), the only CRNA to ever serve in this capacity. Within the University, she serves on a number of committees within the Nurse Anesthesia Program, the Department of Nursing, and at the Institutional level. She has been an invited speaker to many national and international meetings.