ProfessorMichael Nicholas

Associations

• Council Member of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Governing Council (2010-2016)
• Secretary of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP) Governing Council (2017-2019)
• Member of the Australian Pain Society since 1992
• Member of the Pain Network Executive for the NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI) (2013 - present), Co-Chair (2016-2022)
• Associate Editor of PAIN, Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation and the Scandanavian Journal of Pain.

Awards and Honours

• Awarded an Honorary Fellowship by the Faculty of Pain Medicine, Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists in 2009 in recognition of his contributions to Education in Pain Medicine. He is the only psychologist to have received this honour.
• Awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Sweden’s Örebro University and the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences in 2015 to celebrate his dedicated work on the influence of psychological factors on pain perception
• Swiss RE Excellence & Innovation in Return to Work Award 2015/2016 EML the insurance partner and joint funder of the Work Injury Screening and Early Intervention (WISE) study
• Joint winner of the Framework and Systems section of the 2016 icare TMF awards for the The Work Injury Screening & Early Intervention (WISE) study consortium: NSW Health, EML, icare and The University of Sydney - Pain Management Research Institute (PMRI)
• Recipient of the 2018 Distinguished Member Award from the Australian Pain Society for services to the promotion, treatment and science of pain management and lifelong contribution to the Australian Pain Society
• Dr. Michael Feuerstein Best Paper Award 2020 from the Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation for the paper 'Implementation of Early Intervention Protocol in Australia for ‘High Risk’ Injured Workers is Associated with Fewer Lost Work Days Over 2 Years Than Usual (Stepped) Care', by M. K. Nicholas, D. S. J. Costa, S. J. Linton, C. J. Main, W. S. Shaw, G. Pearce, M. Gleeson, R. Z. Pinto, F. M. Blyth, J. H. McAuley, R. J. E. M. Smeets & A. McGarity
• The Australian newspapers' 2020 and 2021 Australia's Research Field Leader for Pain & Pain Management(based on citations)
• Awarded the Rehabilitation Psychology Research Award in 2021 by the Australian Psychological Society's Rehabilitation Psychology of Injury, Chronic Illness and Pain Interest Group. This was in recognition of his ongoing significant contributions to research and practice in the field of Rehabilitation Psychology.
• Part of the Australian Post Group team who were awarded the NSCA Foundation's Best Return & Recovery at Work System at the 25th National Safety Awards of Excellence in 2022 - an outcome of the EMCAP project.
• Recipient of the 2022International Association for the Study of Pain’s John D Loeser Prize for Distinguished Lifetime Achievement in the Clinical Science of Pain
• The Australian newspapers' 2022 and 2023 Australia's Research Field Leader for Pain & Pain Management (based on citations)
• Inducted into the 2023 North Sydney Local Health District's (NSLHD) Board Honour Roll for 30 years of exceptional service in life-transforming programs for people living with chronic pain.