Ajay Pillai, Ph.D.

Dr. Ajay Pillai was a program director in the Division of Genome Sciences at the National Human Genome Research Institute from 2012 to 2025.​ He joined NHGRI's Extramural Research Program in 2006. He managed a portfolio of grants focused on data and knowledge resources, single cell biology, AI/ML methods development including approaches to development of ethical AI (co-leading a new NHGRI program MAGen), and other computational approaches. He co-lead two Common Fund programs: HuBMAP (single-cell mapping of “normal” human tissue and organs) and IDG (developing computational and experimental reagents to study under-studied proteins). He co-lead a trans-NIH effort on developing and sustaining data and knowledge resources. He also co-lead an NHGRI program, MorPhiC (Molecular Phenotypes of Null Alleles in Cells), that aims in the long-term to develop a consistent catalog molecular and cellular phenotypes for null alleles for every human gene by using in-vitro multicellular systems.

Prior to joining NHGRI, Dr. Pillai worked primarily in Pharma/Biotech developing computational methods for drug discovery and preclinical biomarkers using omics data.  

Dr. Pillai received his Ph.D. in Physics from UNC Chapel Hill and completed his postdoctoral research in the Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, UCSF.