GOLD Speakers

Céleste Johnston, OC, RN, DEd, FCAS

• Speaker Type: 2025 Main Presentations
• Country: Canada

Biography:

Céleste Johnston, OC, RN, DEd, FCAHS, is Emerita Professor of McGill University. Her research, spanning four decades, has focused primarily on pain in neonates, particularly those born preterm. She was among the first to systematically describe a multidimensional pain response in healthy infants. Thereafter, most of her neonatal studies focused on pain experiences of preterm neonates. She determined the effectiveness of some  non-pharmacological interventions to relieve acute procedural pain in neonates.

Her most recent research examined the effectiveness of skin-to-skin contact, or Kangaroo Care, for reduction of acute pain response. She has held key leadership roles including being Secretary of SIG for Pain in Childhood, Council Member of IASP and President of the Canadian Pain Society. She has received numerous awards for her research including Honorary Member of IASP, Distinguished Career Award and Mentorship Award of the Canadian Pain Society, Jeffrey Lawson Award for pain advocacy in children from the American Pain Society.. Most recently Céleste was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in honour of her lifelong accomplishments in the area of pain in neonates. Her pride and joy has been the outstanding students with whom she was privileged to work.