Congratulations to Drs. Shanthanna & Forero on Promotion to Professor!

The Department of Anesthesia is so proud of your wonderful achievement!

Dr. Harsha Shanthanna, Professor (July 2023)

Dr. Shanthanna’s area of expertise is in Pain Medicine. He is a certified Fellow in Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP) from the World Institute of Pain and a European Diplomate in Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain from European Society of Regional Anesthesia (EDRA).

Dr. Shanthanna maintains an active research program in perioperative and chronic pain which includes evidence-based perioperative analgesia and therapies for chronic pain. He is actively involved in a highly productive program of clinical scholarly activity. Within the last 5 years he has published more than 50 publications. He has been part of 46 grant applications totaling 17 million CAD in funding. He is a member of the Cochrane Cervical Overview for Neck Pain, and the Cochrane Perioperative Group. He has been an external reviewer for more than 25 journals and an Associate Editor for 3 journals.

Dr. Shanthanna is an internationally recognized researcher and expert in regional anesthesia and pain management. His study on the use of gabapentinoids in chronic low back pain indicated that they are not only ineffective but can be harmful. This was recognised as an important evidence-based document impacting clinical practice by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE), UK. His review article detailing appropriate “perioperative opioid use and the issue of opioid free versus opioid sparing management” was selected by the journal editors as one of the 10 most significant clinical papers published in Anesthesiology in 2021.

Dr. Shanthanna is the recipient of several local, national, and international awards, including the Career Scientist Award (2018) and the Dr. James Beckstead Award (2022) from CAS (Canadian Anesthesiologist’s Society). Other awards include the RCT Mentoring Award in 2015 from the Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR); The Carl Koller Memorial Research Grant Award in 2016 from the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA).

Dr. Mauricio Forero, Professor (July 2023)

Dr. Mauricio Forero’s expertise is in Pain Medicine. He is a certified Fellow in Interventional Pain Practice (FIPP) from the World Institute of Pain and an associate faculty member for the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA).

Dr. Forero’s most outstanding clinical scholarly contribution has been his pioneering work on the Erector Spinae Plane (ESP) block, a novel regional anesthesia technique. Development of this technique led to him to author the first paper in the literature describing the effective clinical use of this block: “The Erector Spinae Plane Block: A Novel Analgesic Technique in Thoracic Pain”, published in 2016 in the Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Journal. Since this seminal publication, he has researched and advanced its use with many collaborations around the world. He has published 29 peer reviewed articles on the topic.

As the founder of the ESP block technique, Dr. Forero is regarded as a leader in the field of regional anesthesia and perioperative pain management. Since the pioneering of this technique, it has generated significant interest in the scientific community worldwide which has resulted in 1000 publications.

He is a highly sought-after speaker and instructor presenting at over 90 local, national, and international conferences. In 2021 he created a YouTube Channel with video tutorials for techniques in regional anesthesia and chronic pain. These videos are reviewed by anesthesia residents, pain residents, chronic pain fellows as well as for dissemination to practitioners outside of McMaster University. In 2016, he initiated an online international community of practice of chronic pain management experts called “Chronic Pain Killers” that contributes to knowledge dissemination and translation and to advance care. This group has included 200 chronic pain experts and leaders in chronic pain management worldwide which has allowed knowledge sharing to benefit chronic pain patients.

Dr. Forero has been recognized with a number of awards including the St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Miracle Workers Awards in 2013 and 2015, RMA awards in 2011, 2015, and 2018 as well as special recognition from the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia for the Most Cited Article in 2018.