ASA Excellence in Education Award

The ASA Excellence in Education Award recognizes ASA members who have made outstanding contributions through demonstrated excellence in teaching, development of new teaching methods, and/or implementation of innovative educational programs in anesthesiology. The nominee for this award must be an active ASA member in good standing who teaches students, residents, fellows, or faculty in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited (or international equivalent) anesthesiology or subspecialty training program. Physicians from academic or community practices who have training programs are eligible. Nominees should have a minimum of five years of experience in resident and/or continuing medical education.

Those who wish to submit nominations should include the following:

• A one-page cover letter summarizing why he or she believes the nominee should receive this recognition
• A copy of the nominee's current resume or curriculum vitae
• A letter of support from the nominee's department chair
• Any additional supporting materials that are essential to impact the final decision of the Committee on Professional Education Oversight in selecting the reward recipient.

Call for nominations runs through May 31, 2026, and the award recipient is announced in June. Submit all nominations and supporting materials to m.bussan@asahq.org for consideration. 

The recipient will receive a plaque, an honorarium, reimbursement for hotel and travel, and per diem to accept the award at the ANESTHESIOLOGY^® annual meeting.

Recipients of the Excellence in Education Award 

2025 – Carin A. Hagberg, MD, FACHE, FASA, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
2024 – Keith H. Baker, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
2023 – Santhanam Suresh, MD, MBA, FASA, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
2022 – Steven H. Rose, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
2021 – Jed T. Wolpaw, MD,  The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
2020 – Albert J. Varon, FCCM, M.D., FASA, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
2019 – Jerome M. Klafta, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2018 – Alex S. Macario, MD, MBA, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
2017 – Arnold S. Berry, MD, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2016 – Paul G. Barash, MD, MBA Yale University, New Haven, CT