Dr. Venugopalan is among the seniormost anaesthetist in Kerala. He did his MBBS from Kozhikode Medical College in 1976, completing his House Surgeoncy in 1977. He then joined the Army where he worked for 7 years. During this, he did his DA from AFMC, Pune. His last 3 years in the Army was as an Anaesthetist. He resigned in 1984 as a Major.

He has 38 years of experience as an anaesthetist which includes 2 years in Libya. He has various fields of interest in Anaesthesia with Pain Management being an area of special interest. He enjoys reading.