Jeffries Receives the Alumni Achievement Award

Penn State University alumna Maggie Jeffries, who holds an M.D. degree and works as an anesthesiologist in northeast Florida, has been honored with the Alumni Achievement Award, which is given by the Penn State Alumni Association to outstanding alumni under the age of 35. Jeffries lives with her husband, Shawn Williams, and three rescue dogs in Amelia Island, Florida.

Before joining Avalon Anesthesia, which provides service to hospitals in Florida, Jeffries was an assistant professor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, where she focused on pediatric and neuroanesthesia. While there, she chaired the Debakey High School mentorship program, coordinated a monthly journal club, and served as the coordinator for resident-education programs. Committed to community outreach, Jeffries also works with local high-school and college students, allowing them to shadow her at her practice in the operating room. She has presented research at national anesthesia meetings throughout the country and has published articles in Anesthesiology News, Journal of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, the Neurologist, and Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine. In addition, she contributed a book chapter called "Be Aware of the Drugs that Require Slow Intravenous Administration," to Avoiding Common Anesthesia Errors, which was published in 2008.

Jeffries has been a Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research Resident Scholar, and she is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, the Golden Key National Honor Society, and the Order of Omega Leadership Society. Her professional memberships include the American Society of Anesthesiologists, the American Society of Regional Anesthesia, the American Medical Association, and the Nassau County Medical Society. Jeffries served on the Eberly College of Science Alumni Society Board from 2000 to 2003, and she is a member of the Penn State Alumni Association.

Jeffries, who earned a B.S. degree in biology at Penn State in 1999, attended medical school at Drexel University and graduated in 2003 with high honors. In that same year, she began a residency program at Metrowest Medical Center, a Harvard Community Hospital, and completed her training at Johns Hopkins University in 2007.