Dr. Hariharan Shankar

Hariharan Shankar, MD, has been selected as a 2024 Distinguished Service Award (DSA) recipient by the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine). This award will be presented at the  23rd Annual Pain Medicine Meeting on November 23, 2024, in Las Vegas, NV.

The DSA celebrates individuals who have made broad contributions to regional anesthesiology and/or pain medicine through scholarly activity, clinical teaching, and service to ASRA Pain Medicine or the scientific and medical specialties practiced by ASRA Pain Medicine members.

“My passion is teaching with a special interest in ultrasound imaging guidance for pain medicine,” Dr. Shankar expressed.

Dr. Shankar is a professor of anesthesiology at Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, WI, and is board-certified in anesthesiology and pain medicine. Since 2009, ASRA Pain Medicine has had the privilege of Dr. Shankar’s mentorship and teachings at annual meetings and course workshops, impacting today's and tomorrow’s pain physicians.

Early on in his academic career he became recognized for his teaching, receiving awards for Best Pain Staff (2006), and Teacher of the Year (2007, 2009). Later, Dr. Shankar received the 2012 Outstanding Faculty Service Award, and in 2019, the Lifetime Achievement in Pain Management Award from the VISN 12 Pain steering committee. In 2022, Dr. Shankar was honored with the Patient Care Achievement Coin from the National Veterans Integrated Service Networks Primary Care Leads Annual Meeting.

Dr. Shankar is an active member of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, and an integral member of ASRA Pain Medicine. He has worked relentlessly, sharing his expertise through his service on several ASRA Pain Medicine committees, teaching dozens of workshops and lectures, serving as faculty advisor for ASRA Pain Medicine residents and fellows, and training generations of physicians along the way.

Along with these sustained contributions to the study of pain medicine, Dr. Shankar adds, “As I complete my term as the Vice Chair of the Pain Medicine Examination, American Board of Anesthesiology, I am looking forward to taking on the role of Chair for the Pain medicine examination committee, a big honor, responsibility and to me the biggest compliment for a teacher.”

As he continues to make extraordinary contributions to the science, teaching, and practice of pain medicine worldwide, ASRA Pain Medicine awards him the deserving Distinguished Service Award.