Raju Poolacherla

Dr. Yuva Raju Poolacherla is a Consultant Pediatric Anesthesiologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesia & Pain medicine at the University of Toronto. He is also the Medical Director of the Pediatric Chronic Pain Program at the Hospital for SickKids, Toronto. He also worked as Associate Professor in the Department of Anesthesia & Perioperative Medicine at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. He served as Director of Pediatric Anesthesia and Medical Director of the Pediatric Chronic Pain Program at Children’s Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, and is an Associate Scientist at the Lawson Research Institute. His clinical and academic focus spans pediatric anesthesia, acute and chronic pediatric pain, perioperative innovation, and interdisciplinary medical education.

Dr. Poolacherla earned his MBBS from Stanley Medical College, Chennai, in 1992, and subsequently completed advanced anesthesia training in the United Kingdom, including Specialist Registrar training with the Bristol School of Anesthesia (Severn Deanery) and an Advanced Fellowship in Pediatric Anesthesia at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA, 2003) and holds a Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) in Anesthesia from the United Kingdom (2007). He further trained as a Clinical Associate in Pediatric Chronic Pain at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), University of Toronto, in 2015.

Following seven years as Consultant Pediatric Anesthetist at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol (2007–2014), Dr. Poolacherla joined Western University in 2014. He has led the development of several first-of-their-kind programs in Southwestern Ontario, including the Pediatric Chronic Pain Program — one of only four provincially funded pediatric chronic pain programs recognized by the Ontario Ministry of Health — built on a biopsychosocial “3P” model of care (Pharmacology, Physical, Psychosocial). He subsequently spearheaded the Transitional Pediatric Pain Program, an integrated service linking surgical, inpatient, and outpatient pain care with an emphasis on opioid stewardship and interventional therapies.

His systems-level innovations include the Minor Procedure Room (MPR) model, recognized as a leading practice by Health Standards Organization for reducing delivery costs by 30–40% and shortening surgical waitlists by 25–30%; the Children’s Anesthesia and Light Mobile Sedation (CALMs) team; and an Indigenous Pain Pathway that integrates traditional healing practices into culturally safe pediatric pain care. In 2018 he founded and chaired Southwestern Ontario’s inaugural Pediatric Pain Conference, launching the regional “Comfort Promise” initiative. As an educator, Dr. Poolacherla serves as Educational Supervisor of the Pediatric Pain Residency Program and is actively collaborating with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and peer institutions — including the University of Toronto — to standardize and advance pediatric anesthesia fellowship training nationally. He has held leadership roles as Chair of the Pediatric Physician Leadership Council, Chair of the Clinical Teachers’ Association Faculty Development Fund, and member of the Ontario Pediatric Chronic Pain Network Advisory Board. He completed Harvard’s International Leadership Development Program for Physicians and Management Principles for Physicians at the Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre in 2019.

Dr. Poolacherla’s peer-reviewed scholarship includes recent work on the pharmacodynamic effects of cannabinoids and opioids, the safety of the laryngeal mask airway in adenotonsillectomy, and national surveillance of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome in children. He has contributed to multi-year funded research partnerships with CIHR, the Children’s Health Foundation, and the Lawson Health Research Institute, examining the trajectory from acute pediatric pain to chronic pain in adulthood.

His career, now spanning more than three decades across India, the United Kingdom, and Canada, reflects a sustained commitment to clinical excellence, equitable access to pediatric pain care, and the mentorship of the next generation of anesthesiologists and pain physicians.