We are pleased to announce that Scott A. Brancolini, MD, MPH, has been promoted to Professor of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, effective August 1, 2025.
Dr. Brancolini earned his BS in Policy and Management with honors from Carnegie Mellon University, followed by an MPH from George Washington University and an MD from The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. He completed his Internal Medicine internship at Allegheny General Hospital in 2003 before coming to UPMC to complete both his residency in anesthesiology and fellowship in pain medicine.
Since joining our department’s faculty in 2007, Dr. Brancolini has been a cornerstone of UPMC Pain Management (commonly referred to as our Division of Chronic Pain Medicine), providing exemplary care for both adult and pediatric patients. His clinical practice currently spans UPMC St. Margaret and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Dr. Brancolini has received many accolades for clinical excellence, such as the Patient’s Choice Award from the American Registry in 2012 and the UPMC Excellence in Patient Experience Award in 2021 (one of only 50 recipients across UPMC’s specialties, comprising more than 4,000 UPMC physicians).
In addition to his clinical contributions, Dr. Brancolini has demonstrated exceptional leadership. He served as Associate Program Director of our Pain Medicine Fellowship from 2011-2014 and from 2020 -2024, and Director of the program from 2014 to 2020. He is currently Interim Medical Director of Pediatric Chronic Pain at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and long-term Director of our Chronic Pain Resident and Medical Student Rotations.
He is a highly accomplished educator and mentor, having trained and supervised over 580 trainees from multiple specialties and delivered more than 900 lectures. His teaching excellence has earned multiple departmental awards and national recognition, including induction into the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Academy of Distinguished Master Educators and receipt of the American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM) Pain Medicine Fellowship Excellence Award.
Dr. Brancolini’s research focuses on the areas of interventional pain medicine, pediatric pain medicine, and medical student, resident, and fellow education. He has contributed to over 30 scholarly publications. Notably, he was an editor of The Pain Procedure Handbook, published in 2023 and a #1 best seller in pain medicine on Amazon at the beginning of 2024.
His research and national service, especially through leadership roles in AAPM and the Association of Pain Program Directors (APPD), have contributed to advancing the field of pain medicine. He served as Chair of the APPD Pain Medicine Milestones Implementation Committee and was later elected to serve on the APPD’s Board and to the positions of Secretary/Treasurer, President Elect, and ultimately President of the Board from 2018-19. Dr. Brancolini currently co-chairs the APPD’s Education Committee, is an Associate Editor for the education and training section of AAPM’s journal Pain Medicine, and has served on the AAPM Review Committee for the Fellowship Excellence Award.
Dr. Brancolini exemplifies the values of academic excellence, compassionate care, and transformative mentorship. Congratulations to him on this well-earned promotion.