Dr. Arun Bhaskar is a distinguished medical professional with a rich background in pain medicine. Graduating from the University of Kerala medical school, India, he completed his specialist training at the north-west deanery, UK, in 2006. His consultant career commenced at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust in Manchester.

Dr. Bhaskar holds Royal College fellowships in anaesthesia, pain medicine, and intensive care, as well as a fellowship in interventional pain practice. His expertise lies in complex pain, encompassing neuropathic pain, cancer pain, visceral and pelvic pain, pain interventions, and neuromodulation.

With a specific focus on opioid management in complicated cancer pain, Dr. Bhaskar is actively involved in addressing opioid dependence and its management within the pain patient population. He has contributed significantly to various clinical trials, including those related to cancer pain and neuropathic pain in cancer, such as chemotherapy-induced neuropathy.

Apart from his clinical work, Dr. Bhaskar is dedicated to education and research. He serves on the faculty of prestigious courses, including the European Pain School, and is an examiner for the European Diploma in pain medicine and the FIPP examination for the World Institute of Pain. Additionally, he regularly contributes to publications, writing a column in the European Pain News and serving as a section editor for the Journal of Observational Pain Medicine.

Dr. Bhaskar is actively involved in pain societies and committees, holding elected positions and leadership roles. He is the honorary secretary of the Neuromodulation Society of the UK and Ireland (NSUKI) and co-chairs the neuromodulation for pain guidelines committee of the British Pain Society and NSUKI. As the present chairman of the UK section of the World Institute of Pain, he plays a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of pain medicine.

His influence extends to guideline development, as he advises the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) on interventional procedures, cancer pain, and was a co-opted member of the guideline development group for care of the dying. Dr. Bhaskar has been actively contributing to the field, being a contributing author for the British Pain Society’s ‘cancer pain management’ document in 2010 and currently co-chairing the committee for the cancer pain management guidelines.

Dr. Bhaskar’s leadership is evident in his roles as the co-chair of the OPEN Consensus group for opioid analgesic dependency, immediate past-chair of the Northwest Pain Clinicians, UK, and involvement in significant events such as the scientific committee for the European Pain Federation, EFIC 2017, co-chair of the International Meeting of the Spinal Interventional Society, London 2018, and president-elect of the British Pain Society. His multifaceted contributions make him a respected figure in the field of pain medicine and a key influencer in shaping guidelines, research, and education.