Dr. Gaston Nyirigira is an academic physician, medical educator, and researcher serving as Chair of Postgraduate Medical Education and Assistant Professor at Africa Health Sciences University (AHSU), where he leads postgraduate training, competency-based curriculum development, faculty development, and institutional accreditation efforts. He also practices as a Senior Consultant Anesthesiologist and Pain Medicine Specialist at King Faisal Hospital Rwanda.

He holds adjunct academic appointments at Queen’s University (Canada), the University of Global Health Equity, and Dalhousie University, and serves as Senior Lecturer at the University of Rwanda. Nationally and internationally, he chairs the Rwanda Society of Anesthesiologists and Critical Care, presides over the Rwanda Pain Society, and founded the Rwanda Zero Pain Initiative. He also holds leadership roles with the International Association for the Study of Pain and the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists.

Dr. Nyirigira has led and collaborated on various funded research and quality-improvement projects supported by organisations including the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, IASP, IDRC, ANZCA, King Faisal Hospital Foundation, and the University of Global Health Equity. He has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications appearing in highly indexed journals. His research and advocacy focus on pain medicine, medical education, patient safety, and health-system strengthening in resource-limited settings.

His contributions have been recognized through several prestigious honors and awards, including the Medwell Wellness Research Award and the Operating Room Global Best Innovator Award. In recognition of his work advancing pain care in resource-limited settings, he received the IASP Award for Excellence in Pain Research and Management in Developing Countries. He has also been named an American Society of Anesthesiologists Global Scholar and a Bethune Round Table Global Scholar, reflecting his standing among the international community of scholars committed to global health equity.

Through his work, he continues to advance academic excellence, innovation, and patient-centered healthcare education across Africa and beyond.