Venkatakrishna Kakkilaya, M.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine, including neonatal ventilation.

Dr. Kakkilaya earned his medical degree at Karnatak University in India. He completed residency programs in pediatrics at Dr. V.M. Government Medical College in India and at LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport. He received advanced training in neonatal-perinatal medicine through a fellowship at LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport.

Board-certified in both pediatrics and neonatology, Dr. Kakkilaya is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of the Royal College of Physicians.

He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2011 and currently serves as Director of Quality Improvement for the Division of Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine.

Dr. Kakkilaya has delivered national and regional invited lectures and published numerous academic articles related to his areas of expertise. He serves as a reviewer for Pediatrics, The Journal of Pediatrics, Neonatology, and PLOS One.

In 2019, he earned the John Haven Emerson Award from the 36th Annual Advances in Therapeutics and Technology Conference.