Manoj M. Pillai, MD

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.