Manoj M Pillai, MBBS
Cards
About
Titles
Associate Professor of Medicine (Hematology)
Biography
I am a physician scientist with an interest in the regulation of hematopoiesis in the laboratory. Our group is specifically interested in how RNA mechanisms are important in normal bone marrow physiology and how it is altered in clonal myeloid disorders. Genome-wide transcriptomic techniques are used for these studies.
As a practicing hematologist, I see patients on the inpatient leukemia floor and stem cell transplant floor at the Yale New Haven Hospital.
Appointments
Hematology
Associate Professor on TermPrimaryPathology
Associate Professor on TermSecondary
Other Departments & Organizations
- Center for Biomedical Data Science
- Center for RNA Science and Medicine
- Genomics, Genetics, and Epigenetics
- Hematology
- Internal Medicine
- Molecular Medicine, Pharmacology, and Physiology
- Pathology
- Pillai Lab
- Yale Cancer Center
- Yale Combined Program in the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS)
- Yale Medicine
- Yale Stem Cell Center
- Yale Ventures
- YCCEH
Education & Training
- Instructor and Research Associate
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (2008)
- Fellow
- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/ University of Washington (2005)
- Resident
- Baylor College of Medicine (2002)
- MBBS
- All India Institute of Medical Sciences (1998)
Research
Academic Achievements and Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
With an interest in blood cells and how they develop, Manoj J. Pillai, MBBS (a medical degree awarded in several countries outside of the U.S.), always knew he would become a hematologist—a physician who treats blood, bone marrow, and lymph system disorders.
Blood production is a complex process that occurs within specific areas of bone marrow. Every day, healthy individuals produce more than a trillion blood cells. In blood disorders, like leukemia, the process of blood cell development is interrupted.
Dr. Pillai began his training at a time when next-generation sequencing, which allows researchers to quickly determine genetic ordering and structure, was at its start. Since then, Dr. Pillai and his team have integrated these fine-tuned approaches in their work, exploring what leads to oncogenesis—the mutation of regular blood cells.
This information leads to “precision genetic therapies,” which allow doctors to target specific approaches to a patient’s cancer based on their genetic make-up.
Cancer is not a single disease and so each type of cancer will respond differently, but the goal, ultimately is to develop targeted therapies that make toxic treatments such as chemotherapy a thing of the past, Dr. Pillai says.
Dr. Pillai’s research explores different ways blood cells develop abnormally and also specific mutations that can lead to cancers.
Clinical Specialties
Links & Media
News
- August 30, 2021
Dr. Manoj Pillai Shares Why He Works in Cancer Research
- March 10, 2021
Discoveries & Impact (March 2021)
Get In Touch
Contacts
Locations
Pillai Lab
Lab