Pramod Puligandla

Senior Associate Scientist, The SickKids Research Institute

Dr. Puligandla joined the Division of General and Thoracic Surgery at SickKids in July, 2026. He attended medical school at Western University, graduating as a member of its Hippocratic Council Honor Society. Staying at Western, he completed his general surgery training concurrently with an MSc in Respiratory Physiology. He then went to the Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH) of the McGill University Health Center to complete accredited fellowships in both pediatric critical care medicine and pediatric surgery.  Dr. Puligandla was subsequently recruited as attending staff at the MCH where he remained for over two decades, practicing the full breadth of both pediatric surgery and pediatric critical care, and attaining the rank of Professor in Pediatric Surgery, Pediatrics and Surgery at McGill University. While at the MCH, Puligandla held several key positions, leading Perioperative Services as well as the Extracorporeal Life Support program. He was most recently the Director of the Harvey E. Beardmore Division of Pediatric Surgery. Dr. Puligandla has been recognized for his contributions to pediatric surgical education across North America. He has published extensively in the leading journals in his field on a wide variety of topics. Moreover, through the intersection of expertise in critical care and surgery, he has garnered an international reputation in the management of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. 

Research

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a rare anomaly in which abdominal contents move into the chest through a hole in the diaphragm, thereby preventing the normal development of the lungs and heart which are small and dysfunctional. At birth, these babies are critically ill as they have difficulty delivering enough oxygen to the rest of the body. Despite receiving state of the art care, 20-30% of all CDH infants still die. Moreover, survivors not only experience problems with the lungs and heart, but also other organs, including the brain, and the musculoskeletal and digestive systems. These problems can persist over the lifetime of the patient, significantly affecting their quality of life. 

Dr. Puligandla's long-term research focus has been to improve the survival and long-term outcomes of CDH patients. Indeed, he led the development of Canadian CDH management guidelines, incorporating "best practices and innovation" to produce standards of care for these patients. He also developed a smartphone app for health professionals to have ready access to best care recommendations in CDH. A new area of research focus has been his investigation of the multisystem morbidity experienced by these patients and their need for standardized health surveillance from childhood into adulthood, with the goal to reduce the long-term health effects of CDH and to improve quality of life.

Education and experience

• 2026-present - Attending Staff, Division of General and Thoracic Surgery, The Hospital for Sick Children
  2026-present - Professor, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine
  2018-2026 - Professor of Pediatric Surgery, Pediatrics and Surgery, McGill University
  2008-2018 - Associate Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, McGill University
  2003-2008 - Assistant Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, McGill University
  2003-2026 - Attending Staff, Pediatric Surgery and Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Montreal Children's Hospital
  2001-2003 - Fellow, Pediatric Surgery, Montreal Children's Hospital
  2000-2002 - Fellow, Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Montreal Children's Hospital
  1995-2000 - Resident, General Surgery, Western University
  1997-1998 - MSc, Respiratory Physiology, Western University
  1991-1995 - MD, Western University
  1991-1995 - BSc (Hon), Pharmacology, University of Alberta