Dr. Karin Chakwas

Doctor Chakwas is the human doctor of the SSV Normandy. She enlisted in the Alliance soon after she graduated from medical school, seeking "exotic adventure", though she quickly realized that military life was not as romantic as she had imagined it to be. However, she stayed with the Alliance in order to do her duty and serve humanity. Though she sometimes considers starting her own private practice, or going to work at a medical center on one of the colonies, she feels that "there is something special about working on soldiers", and believes she would be abandoning them if she did not stay.

Like most Alliance doctors, she has taken courses in alien biology, enabling her to treat the non-human crew members, particularly Liara. Commander Shepard can replenish the squad's medi-gel stocks from the infirmary where she is usually working.

Doctor Chakwas is voiced by Carolyn Seymour.

Shepard encounters Doctor Chakwas when she and Corporal Jenkins are chatting outside the comm room. The doctor finds Jenkins amusing - she teases that the 'action' he craves usually ends with her patching soldiers up in the medical room. After the mission on Eden Prime, when the Prothean Beacon knocks Shepard unconscious, Kaidan and Ashley carry the commander back to the Normandy to be treated by Doctor Chakwas, because she has more experience than the civilian clinics on Eden Prime. She has a very calm bedside manner, assuring Shepard that everything looks normal, though she is perturbed by the commander's vision and decides to add it to her report.

Shepard can talk to Doctor Chakwas later. She has worked with Captain Anderson on several missions, and respects his judgment: "he knows when to let things slide and when to crack the whip." The commander can also ask how well she knows Lieutenant Alenko, but Chakwas responds that she hasn't worked with him before. She can offer an explanation of the medical problems L2 biotics suffer, which provides some background for assignments later on.

After the mutiny, Doctor Chakwas says it is strange being a fugitive from the Alliance. She tells Shepard that the crew has sacrificed everything for the commander's mission: "don't let us down."

Mass Effect 2
Dr. Chakwas is present on the SSV Normandy SR-2 and can be found in the Medical Lab.

Trivia
'Chakwas' is an anagram of 'hacksaw'.