The American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA Pain Medicine) has awarded Ban C.H. Tsui, BSc, BPharm, MSc(Pharm), MD, FRCP(C), with the prestigious 2025 Gaston Labat Award. Dr. Tsui is a professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine at Stanford University in Stanford, CA.
Recently, Dr. Tsui was recruited by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, as an associate dean (Clinical Innovation & Translational Research), Chair and Chief of the Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, and was then shortly promoted to the position of Executive Associate Dean of the School of Medicine. His mission is to cultivate a new generation of physician leaders who will excel in China and the international medical community.
Given annually, the award honors regional anesthesia pioneer Gaston P. Labat, MD, (1876-1934) and is given to individuals who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to the development, teaching, and practice of regional anesthesia. Dr. Tsui will present the Gaston Labat Lecture at the 50th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting during the awards luncheon on May 3.
“Dr. Tsui has been an innovator and a pioneer in the field of regional anesthesia and acute pain medicine over the past three decades,” said Professor Rakesh V. Sondekoppam, MBBS, from the University of Iowa in Iowa City and one of seven people to recommend Dr. Tsui for the award. “[He] has led the advances in the seminal aspects of the way we practice regional anesthesia and [has] improved the safety of our practice,” Sondekoppam said.
M. Kwesi Kwofie, MD, FRCPC, Associate Professor and Director of Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain Medicine at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, Canada, wrote of Dr. Tsui, “His 2007 textbook, Atlas of Ultrasound and Nerve Stimulation-Guided Regional Anesthesia, is a classic and served as the authoritative reference when our institution was first starting a regional anesthesia service and block room in the late 2000s.” He added that Dr. Tsui’s textbook, Complications of Regional Anesthesia: Principles of Safe Practice in Local and Regional Anesthesia, “is simply the very best book on the subject.”
Dr. Tsui developed the epidural stimulation test, demonstrating the electrophysiological effect of dextrose 5% in water on nerve stimulation. He also “re-discovered” the catheter-over-needle technique for peripheral nerve blocks, his nominators said. A frequent faculty member with ASRA Pain Medicine, Dr. Tsui helped create the widely-held ASRA Pain Medicine Ultrasound-Guided Regional Anesthesia Course. He is a founder of ASRA Pain Medicine’s Green Anesthesia and Regional Anesthesia Cardiothoracic Enhanced Recovery Special Interest Groups (SIGs). He has served on many committees over the years. In 2022, Dr. Tsui was also honored with the ASRA Pain Medicine Distinguished Service Award, an annual recognition given to leaders who have made significant contributions to the field of regional anesthesia and pain medicine.
Academically, Dr. Tsui has been a prolific writer; he has written more than 300 academic articles, four books, and a number of book chapters. He served over 12 years as a member of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia editorial board. Dr. Tsui is an editor for the ASRA Pain Medicine journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine.
In 2015, Dr. Tsui received the highest award for research from the Canadian Anesthesiologists’ Society – the CAS Research Recognition Award. This award is presented annually to a senior investigator who has contributed to and sustained significant contributions in anesthesia research in Canada and worldwide.
In addition to earning a diploma in engineering from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, Dr. Tsui holds bachelor-of-science degrees in mathematics and pharmacy. He earned his master’s degree in pharmacy and his medical degree from Dalhousie University as well. He is certified in medical acupuncture and also holds a postgraduate diploma in perioperative and critical care echocardiography.
Nominator Richard W. Rosenquist, MD, chairman of the Pain Management Department at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation described Dr. Tsui as “one of the most innovative clinical translational researchers, clinicians, educators, and anesthesia leaders.”
The 50th Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting will be held May 1-3, in Orlando, FL. This milestone event is marking 2025 the Golden Jubilee of the ASRA Pain Medicine Spring Meeting. ASRA Pain Medicine is the largest organization of its kind with approximately 5,000 members committed to supporting research that promotes the treatment of pain. Its mission is to advance the science and practice of regional anesthesia and pain medicine to improve patient outcomes through research, education, and advocacy. It accomplishes its mission and vision by addressing the clinical and professional educational needs of physicians and scientists, ensuring excellence in patient care utilizing regional anesthesia and pain medicine, and investigating the scientific basis of the specialty.
