2015 Jeffrey Lawson Award for Advocacy in Children’s Pain Relief

C. Céleste Johnston, DEd RN FCAHS

C. Céleste Johnston is emeritus professor in the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill University, Montreal and Scientist at the IWK Health Centre, Halifax. She has associate appointments at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and Ste. Justine’s Hospital, Montreal. She is a past president of the Canadian Pain Society, a past Ssecretary of the Special Interest Group for Pain in Children of International Association for the Study of Pain, and was elected councillor to that association in 2008–2014. She is the recipient of several awards for her research on pain in infants including, among others, the Distinguished Career Award of the Canadian Pain Society and Canadian Nurses Association Centennial Award. Her research, funded mostly by Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is focused on measurement and nonpharmacological management of pain in preterm neonates, animal models of neonatal pain, and changing healthcare professionals’ practices related to pain management for infants.

The Jeffrey Lawson Award was established in 1996 in memory of Jeffrey Lawson, whose mother, Jill, brought to the attention of professional organizations the practice of performing surgery and other procedures on children without the benefit of analgesia. The award recognizes advocacy efforts to improve management of pain in children.