Jennifer Stinson, RN-EC, PhD, CPNP, FAAN, is the recipient of the 2025 Peter Gilgan Canada Gairdner Momentum Award. This award recognizes two investigators working in Canada who have produced exceptional scientific research contributions with continued potential for impact on human health in the last six years of active work.
Dr. Jennifer Stinson is internationally recognized for leadership in digital therapeutics and training initiatives focused on childhood illness-related pain assessment and self-management for conditions such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis, sickle cell disease, chronic pain and cancer. Dr. Stinson is a Nurse Clinician-Scientist at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, where she serves as Co-Director of the Pain Management, Research and Education Centre and as a Nurse Practitioner in the Chronic Pain Program. She is also the inaugural Mary Jo Haddad Nursing Chair in Child Health, a position jointly held between the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing and SickKids.
With her experience and position, Dr. Stinson has been able to spearhead national and international initiatives training the next generation in pain management and research. She emphasizes promoting self-management strategies among children and their families, knowledge translation, patient engagement and interprofessional pain education.
By incorporating a multidisciplinary approach between research and clinical practice, Dr. Stinson has improved pain management strategies for children and adolescents. She has integrated innovative technologies into clinical practice, facilitating better communication between patients, families, and health-care providers, leading to more personalized and effective care.
Her significant contributions to enhancing pain education have also strengthened the capacity of health-care teams around the world to address complex pediatric pain issues. Dr. Stinson leads the Pain in Child Health (PICH) clinical research training program, which has involved more than 400 international clinicians and trainees. PICH alumni and trainees have contributed to more than 700 publications on children’s pain. She is also the founding lead of Pediatric Project ECHO, an Ontario Ministry of Health-funded initiative to train interprofessional community providers in the management of complex pediatric health conditions, such as acute and chronic pain, complex care, palliative care, and obesity.
“Dr. Stinson has made an impact with her work as a Nurse Clinician-Scientist by incorporating the same, strong, multidisciplinary ethos we share at IASP,” said Andrew S.C. Rice, IASP President. “I extend my warmest congratulations to Dr. Stinson and applaud her work, which has had a major and tangible clinical impact, improving the lives of children globally.”
The global multidisciplinary community that represents IASP is thrilled that the work of a fellow member has been recognized with such a prestigious award. Dr. Stinson has been a member of IASP since 1996 and currently serves on the IASP Council.