The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine John J. Bonica Award is presented annually at the Annual Pain Medicine Meeting to an individual for their outstanding contributions to the development, teaching, and practice of pain medicine in the tradition of John J. Bonica, MD, a champion of multidisciplinary collaboration in the evaluation and treatment of patients with pain.
The award honors the abundant contributions Dr. Bonica made to the field of pain medicine. Dr. Bonica championed the collaboration of specialists from multiple disciplines in the evaluation and treatment of patients with pain. He wrote the first comprehensive
textbook devoted to pain management, mentored clinicians and colleagues, and started the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). Nominees for this award should embody the ideals of John Bonica and his passion for pain medicine as manifested
through their contributions by way of research, teaching, and clinical practice.
The nominee does not have to be a member of ASRA Pain Medicine. Current members of the Board of Directors are not eligible (see full list here). Nominations must be made using the John J. Bonica Award nomination form.
Dr. John J. Bonica
Oscar de Leon-Casasola, MD
2021 John J. Bonica Award Recipient
Past Winners
| 1988 | Michael J. Cousins, MD, FANZCA |
| 1989 | Tony Yakish, PhD |
| 1990 | Daniel C. Moore, MD |
| 1991 | Kenneth L. Casey, MD |
| 1992 | Stephen E. Abram, MD |
| 1993 | Henrik Kehlet, MD |
| 1994 | Laurence E. Mather, PhD |
| 1995 | John D. Loeser, MD |
| 1996 | Robert A. Boas, MB |
| 1997 | David H. Chestnut, MD |
| 1998 | Allan I. Basbaum, PhD |
| 1999 | Robert Elde, PhD |
| 2000 | Geral Gebhardt, PhD |
| 2001 | Donna L. Hammond, PhD |
| 2002 | Maria Fitgerald, PhD |
| 2003 | Christopher M. Bernards, MD |
| 2004 | Daniel B. Carr, MD |
| 2005 | James C. Eisenach, MD |
| 2006 | Howard L. Fields, MD, PhD |
| 2007 | John C. Rowlingson, MD |
| 2008 | Fernando Cervero, MD, PhD, DSc |
| 2009 | P. Prithvi Raj, MD |
| 2010 | Srinivasa N. Raja, MD |
| 2011 | James P. Rathmell, MD |
| 2012 | Jianren Mao, MD, PhD |
| 2013 | Richard L. Rauck, MD |
| 2014 | Steven P. Cohen, MD |
| 2015 | Richard Rosenquist, MD |
| 2016 | Honorio Benzon, MD |
| 2017 | Michael Stanton-Hicks, MD |
| 2018 | Charles Berde, MD |
| 2019 | Nagy Mekhail, MD, PhD |
| 2020 | Philip Peng, MBBS, FRCPC, Founder (Pain Medicine) |
| 2021 | Oscar de Leon-Casasola, MD |