Dr. Paul and Sheryl Hoehner


Dr. Hoehner is currently serving as a Visiting Professor with the Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. He is also a Professor of Christian Ethics at Washington University of Virginia’s Neal T. Jones Seminary in Annandale, VA and serves as an Adjunct Professor in the College of Theology at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ and Reformed Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. He was formerly a Professor and Chairman of the Board for Chesapeake Theological Seminary in Maryland.

Dr. Hoehner received his undergraduate and medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University, where he also did his residency in Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and a fellowship in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anesthesiology. He did a research fellowship in neuropharmacology at Janssen Pharmaceutica in Belgium and a clinical fellowship in emergency and critical care medicine at St. Jan Hospital in Brugge, Belgium. For several years Dr. Hoehner ran an NIH-funded receptor physiology laboratory at Johns Hopkins, studying the role of calcium channels on cerebral blood flow and the mechanism of anesthetic agent depression of myocardial function. He has held academic positions as an Associate Professor at the University of Mississippi, University of Virginia, and The Johns Hopkins University schools of medicine and for 30 years specialized in anesthesia for adult and pediatric cardiac surgery and transplantation.

Dr. Hoehner is now engaged in a dual-career combining medicine, theology, and ethics. In a mid-career turn, Paul attended seminary, graduating from Reformed Theological Seminary with a MA in theological studies. He then went on to pursue a PhD at the University of Virginia in theology, ethics, and culture where he defended his doctoral dissertation on the theological ethics of Jonathan Edwards. He still works in the OR part-time, but also writes and teaches in the areas of Christian ethics, bioethics ethics, the intersection of science and religion, and historical theology. He serves as a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations on their National Medical Ethics Advisory Committee, Speaker Bureau, and was the Maryland State Representative to CMDA’s House of Representatives. Dr. Hoehner is also a member of the Health Care Ethics Council at the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity, and served on the State of Virginia House of Delegates Stem Cell Research Commission, the Westchester Institute Forum on Stem Cell Research, and was a consultant to the President’s Council on Bioethics. He is an ordained Elder in the Presbyterian Church in America and member of the First Congregational Church of Woodstock.

Paul lives with his wife and love of his life, Sheryl, near Washington, DC. Sheryl is a licensed and registered dietitian with a career spanning research in human nutrition with the USDA, clinical nutrition at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Walter Reed Medical Center, and food service at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis and now has her own consulting private practice. Sheryl is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the US Army Reserves. Paul and Sheryl met in the Maryland Army National Guard where Paul was a Major in the Medical Corps. Yes, it was love at first “gun-sight”! Sheryl runs a CMDA Side-by-Side Ministry to the wives of medical students and interns at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Paul and Sheryl together have led programs in medical marriage and family counselling. They have three grown children: Christian (32) is the Deputy Policy Director for the US Congressional House Oversight and Rules Committee in Washington, Timothy (28) is a Field Engineer for L.F. Jennings Co. in Richmond, and Carolyn (26) is currently the Program Director for the Jewish Film Festival in Washington and a professional modern dancer and choreographer.

When not in the OR, you can find Paul and Sheryl hiking, playing golf or tennis, or riding bikes. Paul is also an avid amateur magician and actually studied professionally at the McBride Magic and Mystery School in Las Vegas. He loves baseball and played in college and in the minors for Detroit. His favorite teams are the Washington Nationals, the Detroit Tigers, and whoever is playing the New York Yankees.