Menaka Pai
Professor, Medicine

Menaka Pai is a Professor of Medicine at McMaster University, and a hematologist and thrombosis medicine physician at Hamilton Health Sciences. She is also Quality Lead for Transfusion Medicine, and a Consultant Laboratory Hematologist in the Core Laboratory in the Hamilton Regional Laboratory Medicine Program. Dr. Pai is Clinical Lead for Hematology in the Ontario Laboratory Medicine Program.

Dr. Pai completed her medical training at McMaster University and the University of Toronto. She holds a Masters Certificate in Healthcare Management from York University's Schulich School of Business and a Masters degree in Health Research Methodology from McMaster University. Her graduate work in hemostasis and thrombosis was supported by fellowships from Thrombosis Canada and the Canadian Hemophilia Society. Dr. Pai is a member of the McMaster Centre for Transfusion Research (MCTR). She has held leadership roles in Thrombosis Canada, the American Society of Hematology (ASH), and the Ontario Regional Blood Coordinating Network, where she has worked to further quality improvement, stewardship of healthcare resources, and guideline development. She served on Ontario's COVID-19 Science Advisory Table from 2021 to 2022, and was Co-Chair of its Clinical Practice Guideline Working Group.

Dr. Pai has rich and varied clinical, educational, and research portfolios. Her scholarly interests include venous thromboembolism, laboratory hemostasis, transfusion medicine, public scholarship, and quality management. She has deep expertise in clinical practice guideline development, and has led local, national, and international efforts to support clinicians, policy makers, and patients in making evidence-informed decisions. She has published over 100 peer reviewed papers, contributed to medical textbooks as well as educational materials for the lay public, and delivered talks around the world. Dr. Pai maintains a busy clinical practice as well; as a benign hematologist, she has a particular interest in thrombotic and bleeding disorders, rare hematologic diseases, and the care of equity seeking populations.