Dr Ravi Poorun

Ravi is a Paediatric Clinical Lecturer in the South West Peninsula Deanery, balancing clinical training as a paediatric registrar with research in neonatal and paediatric neuroscience, sleep and epilepsy.

He completed his undergraduate studies in physiology & pharmacology at King's College London before medical training at Guy's, King's College, and St Thomas' Hospitals Medical School. In 2011, he was awarded the London Pain Consortium Wellcome Trust MBPhD studentship and completed his DPhil from the University of Oxford under Professor Rebeccah Slater's supervision, focusing on the development of pain perception in the human nervous system and the potential long-term effects of early neonatal exposure to painful stimuli.

Currently, Ravi collaborates with Professor Marc Goodfellow at Exeter's Living Systems Institute, Professor Ela Chakkarpani at the University of Bristol, and Professors Rebeccah Slater and Caroline Hartley at the University of Oxford. He serves as Principal Investigator for several clinical trials at Exeter's Neonatal Unit, where he advocates for family-orientated developmental care approaches that optimise outcomes for vulnerable infants.

His recent work has focused on developing digital twins for brain development using EEG data and wireless neuromonitoring technologies. He has contributed to successful grant applications, including an NIHR i4i FAST project (£98,984) to optimise remote aEEG monitoring in newborns with acquired brain injuries and an EPSRC Health Technology Connectivity Award (£655,899) and EPSRC Impact Visionary Award (£263,555) aiming to predict and improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in vulnerable infants.

Clinically, Ravi aims to specialise in acute paediatrics, paediatric and neonatal neurology, epilepsy, and sleep medicine. His research goal is to develop practical approaches to improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in vulnerable infants through better understanding of early brain development and its relationship to later neurological conditions.

A significant aspect of Ravi's professional goals is to strengthen the capacity of academic paediatrics, mentoring the next generation of clinician-scientists and creating opportunities for trainees to engage in meaningful research alongside their clinical development.