Prof. Babita Ghai Elected IASP Councillor for Asia/Oceania and Australia
Chandigarh, September
2026:
In a significant achievement for PGIMER, Chandigarh, and India, *Prof. Babita Ghai,* Professor of Anaesthesia & Intensive Care and Consultant In-Charge, Pain Clinic, PGIMER, has been elected as a Councillor of the International *Association for the Study of Pain* (IASP), representing Asia/Oceania and Australiafor a six-year term, following a rigorous and competitive election process.
IASP is the leading international organisation in the field of pain, with around 10,000 members worldwide. *Prof. Ghai* is the second Indian woman and the youngest Indian to be elected to the IASP Council.
*Prof. Ghai* has been associated with IASP since 2004 and has served in several leadership roles, including the Global Advocacy Working Group, Presidential Task Force on Interdisciplinary Pain Treatment, Developing Countries/LMIC Working Group, Pain Education SIG, Acute Pain SIG and Pain Research Forum.
*With 27 years of post-MD experience, Prof. Ghai is the Course Coordinator of the Pain Medicine Fellowship at PGIMER.* She completed a Commonwealth Academic Staff Fellowship in Pain Management at Barts and The London NHS Trust, Queen Mary University of London, UK, in 2012. She has nearly 150 peer-reviewed publications, has led multiple funded research projects, delivered over 250 invited national and international lectures, and has been invited faculty at around 20 international conferences, including World Congresses on Pain.
A defining feature of her professional journey has been her commitment to taking healthcare beyond the hospital to underserved communities. She has organised numerous free health and pain-relief camps in rural and underserved areas, providing consultations, health screening, pain management and medicines, followed by community-based yoga programmes and referral for specialised care when required.
She has also developed an evidence-based yoga protocol for chronic low back pain and published an illustrated Back Care Booklet in Hindi, Punjabi and English, which has been distributed free of cost. *Her contribution to health education through Hindi was recognised with the National Hindi Award from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.* She has conducted extensive public awareness programmes through community organisations, FM radio and other public platforms and was also invited as a TEDx speaker on “Accessibility.”
She is currently conducting a DST KIRAN project where she is reached out to rural area and teaches Yoga to the chronic Low back pain patients. Her ICMR-funded community research on chronic low back pain has resulted in two large community studies examining its prevalence, disability and psychosocial and mental health impact, contributing valuable evidence for community healthcare planning.
Prof. Ghai’s contributions have been recognised through 16 national awards, including the President’s Appreciation Award of the Indian Society for the Study of Pain, and four international professional awards.
Her election to the IASP Council is a recognition not only of her contributions to pain medicine, education, research and advocacy, but also of PGIMER’s growing international leadership in pain care and academic medicine. Her work continues to strengthen the bridge between excellence in tertiary healthcare and compassionate, accessible care for the wider community.
