Sofia Athanasopoulou, MD, MHS

Sofia G. Athanasopoulou, MD, MHS, is an Instructor in the Department of Pediatrics, Section of Emergency Medicine, at Yale School of Medicine. She is an attending physician in the Pediatric Emergency Department at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital and the Emergency Department at Greenwich Hospital. She earned her medical degree at the University of Athens and completed her pediatrics residency and pediatric emergency medicine fellowship at Yale, where she also earned a Master of Health Science in the Health Services, Policy and Outcomes track.

Dr. Athanasopoulou’s research focuses on improving care for critically ill children in general emergency departments, where most pediatric emergency care in the United States occurs. Using health services research and implementation science methods, she studies how care setting and pediatric readiness—the capacity to provide high-quality emergency care to children—influence guideline adherence and clinical outcomes. Supported by the Yale Pediatric Scholar Award, her work aims to develop and test strategies that improve care for critically ill children wherever they present.

Her educational work focuses on simulation-based resuscitation training. She serves as Case Creation and Innovation Lead for EmergencySimBox, a free, open-access pediatric simulation platform used in more than 120 countries, and as the academic medical center partner for the HRSA–Indian Health Service hybrid simulation program with Alaska EMS. She received the American Academy of Pediatrics Ken Graff Young Investigator Award for a mixed-reality pediatric resuscitation training intervention co-designed with pediatric champions in community emergency departments. She also developed an open-access pediatric trauma simulation curriculum for trainees and general emergency departments.

Dr. Athanasopoulou serves as Associate Director of Connecticut Emergency Medical Services for Children (CT-EMSC) and previously served on the Junior Board of the International Network for Simulation-based Pediatric Innovation, Research, and Education (INSPIRE). In 2025, she received the Yale Department of Pediatrics’ Eitan Neeman Outstanding Fellow Award.

Her longstanding commitment to global and refugee health includes serving as Associate Director of the Yale Pediatric Global Health Track and co-leading Y-HEALAR, a health education program for refugee and asylee families in New Haven. She has also provided care in Yale’s pediatric refugee clinic.