- V. V. Pillay is currently the Chief of Poison Control Centre & Clinical Forensic Medicine, Head of Dept of Analytical Toxicology & Forensic Biotechnology, and Professor of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology in Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, Cochin, Kerala.
- The Poison Control Centre at AIMS is one of only five centers recognized by the World Health Organization in India. The Analytical Toxicology Lab is the only NABL-accredited Clinical Toxicology Lab in India.
- Pillay obtained his MBBS and MD from Gandhi Medical College, Hyderabad, and a Diploma in Criminal Law from Annamalai University, Tamil Nadu.
- He has been one of the few toxicologists from India who is a Certified Instructor for the Advanced HAZMAT Life Support Course of the American Academy of Clinical Toxicology.
- Pillay has nearly a hundred publications in national and international scientific journals.
- He is also the author of several books, including the first ever Indian textbook devoted to medical toxicology (Modern Medical Toxicology), which fetched him the award for Best Indian Author on Toxicology from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi in 1998. In 2003, Dr. Pillay published the most exhaustive reference book on toxicology written by an Indian author (Comprehensive Medical Toxicology), receiving excellent reviews from toxicologists from around the world.
- Dr Pillay has also contributed a chapter each on toxicology for the API Textbook of Medicine, published by the Association of Physicians of India, and the Oxford Textbook of Medicine, published by Oxford University Press, UK (current edition).
- Pillay has lectured widely on toxicology in India and abroad.
He has been a referee on toxicology for journals such as the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India (JAPI), for which he won the VR Joshi Best Referee Award in 2006, and the National Medical Journal of India.
- He has served as Editor or Editorial Board Member of several reputed scientific journals, and in 2004, founded the Indian Society of Toxicology, of which he was the President for 8 years consecutively, and the Editor of its journal for 10 years.
- Pillay is a member of the
- Peer Review Committee of the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) of the World Health Organization, Geneva
- Representative Member for India, Global Issues in Clinical Toxicology (GICT), Melbourne, Australia
- He was a Member, Expert Panel of the Medical Council of India, constituted for modifying and updating the curriculum of forensic medicine and toxicology,Member, Expert Committee constituted by the Directorate of Forensic Science, Ministry of Home Affairs, Govt of India for drafting a Bill on Forensic Science Service including Forensic Toxicology.
