Newswise — The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA) has named Chad Brummett, MD, its 2019 Presidential Scholar. The award was established in 2018 to recognize mid-career members who have demonstrated outstanding scientific and sustained contributions to regional anesthesia and pain medicine in the last 10 years.

“I am deeply honored to accept the ASRA Presidential Scholar Award. About 15 years ago as a resident member of ASRA, I was able to meet leaders in our field, including Jim Eisenach, Joe Neal, and Peter Gerner, and they provided mentorship and support in my early career,” Brummett said. “The commitment to research and the family feel of ASRA are what make it special.”

Nominees must be members of ASRA with less than 15 years of experience post-training. They should be actively involved in research and academically gifted, with a track record of high-impact publication and a significant body of work on a topic relevant to regional anesthesia and/or pain medicine. Dr. De QH Tran, MD, FRCPC, was the first recipient of the award in 2018.

Dr. Brummett is an associate professor of anesthesiology and director of the Anesthesia Clinical Research and Division of Pain Research departments at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. An accomplished researcher, author, and presenter, Dr. Brummett received the ASRA Chronic Pain Medicine Research Grant in 2011 for his study on “The impact of centralized pain on the analgesic response to facet interventions.” He has received funding for a number of grants from the NIH, Medicaid, SAMHSA, and the CDC addressing opioid prescribing and dependence after surgery. His research interests include phenotypic and genotypic predictors of acute and chronic pain after surgery, the impact of central pain on responsiveness to minimally invasive pain interventions, and acute and chronic opioid management, among others.

“Few researchers in the pain medicine community have accomplished what Dr. Brummett has this early in his career,” said nominator Joseph M. Neal, MD, who is this year’s Gaston Labat Award recipient. “He has … participated frequently as a lecturer who is known for his insightful, critical, and evidence-based interpretation of the literature.”

Dr. Brummett will accept his award at the 44th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting being held April 11-13, 2019, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV.