Nalini Vadivelu

Dr. Nalini Vadivelu is a Professor Emeritus of Anesthesiology at Yale University’s School of Medicine. She holds a MBBS from Christian Medical College, followed by residency training in Anesthesiology at the University of Southern California and a Pain Management fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Her career has focused on advancing ambulatory pain control, perioperative pain management, and medical device innovation. Key contributions include developing the Gnana Laryngeal Airway (GLA) devices with multiple patents worldwide. Dr. Vadivelu’s research emphasizes opioid-sparing strategies, pain education in medical curricula, and managing substance use disorders in surgical patients.

Her work spans clinical practice, education, and device invention. Notable inventions include the GLA4 laryngeal mask and improved nasogastric tubes, reflecting her commitment to patient safety. Collaborative efforts with Yale’s Ambulatory Surgery Center address challenges in pain management for chronic pain patients, palliative care, and opioid-dependent populations. She has also championed pain education integration into medical school curricula to improve global pain management standards.

Research interests are organized into eight core areas: perioperative pain in ambulatory surgery, alternative therapies, analgesic optimization, regional blocks, pain education, substance abuse management, surgery-specific pain protocols, and palliative care in ambulatory settings. Over 135 publications and patents underscore her impact in anesthesiology and pain science.