Nelson J. Aquino, DNP, MS, APRN, CRNA, FAANA, FAAN
2026-2028 President-Elect, Chair of Governance Committee, Membership Committee, CRM Advisor, Mentor, Founder’s Club Member, Former Vice-President, Chair of Membership Committee 2023-2025
FANAS Bio
Nelson Aquino, DNP, MS, CRNA, FAANA, FAAN
Dr. Nelson Aquino is a Senior Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA) at Boston Children’s Hospital, with expertise in pediatric, cardiac, and perioperative anesthesia. He began his career at Boston Children’s in 1999 as a nurse in the pediatric Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and has practiced as a CRNA since 2009. He earned degrees from Seton Hall University and Northeastern University.
Dr. Aquino founded the Gender-Affirming Surgical Perioperative Program (GASPP) at Boston Children’s and developed the first gender-affirming Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) pathway for chest masculinizing surgery. His research addresses a critical evidence gap in perioperative care for transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) young adults, including anesthesia and recovery protocols, pain management, bleeding prevention, and postoperative nausea and vomiting. His published work is cited in international teaching and practice resources, including the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists Anaesthesia Tutorial of the Week and American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (AANA) practice and policy considerations.
He is Principal Investigator of the Outcomes Registry for Transition Anesthesia Care (ORTAC), a multicenter registry led by CRNAs across six institutions that tests whether single-center findings hold across institutions, procedures, and age groups. His work also includes the Perioperative Gender-Diverse Assessment Tool (PGDAT), developed through expert consensus, and collaborations with Boston Children’s Dentistry on oral health and dental anesthesia care for TGD patients.
Dr. Aquino serves as Clinical Coordinator of the Pediatric Nurse Anesthesia Fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital. He precepts student registered nurse anesthetists and mentors nurse anesthesia, Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), physician, dental, and master’s trainees in perioperative outcomes research. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) and a Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology (FAANA), and he received the 2025 AANA Foundation John F. Garde Researcher of the Year Award.
A founding member of the Filipino-American Nurse Anesthesiology Society (FANAS), Dr. Aquino serves as President-Elect and helped lead the organization’s inaugural medical, surgical, and dental mission to Narra, Palawan, Philippines. He is committed to mentoring and opening doors for the next generation of Filipino-American nurse anesthesiology leaders.