 In 2005, when he was appointed as the director of Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) at the age of 44, he became the youngest director of a national research institution in India, and he holds the post till date.Pillai chairs the Institutional Committee for Stem Cell Research of Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology and sits in the research advisory panels, scientific advisory councils or academic committees of the National Institute of Immunology, India, National Centre for Cell Science, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute.He is an executive committee member of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, an autonomous body established to promote technological development n the state by the Government of Kerala.