Manoj M Pillai, MBBS, 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.