Dr. Sara Pai

Biography

Sara Isabel Pai, MD, PhD, is a surgical oncologist specializing in head and neck cancers associated with human papillomavirus (HPV), as well as thyroid and parathyroid cancers and disorders. She employs a combination of surgical techniques and immunotherapy to improve patient outcomes. Dr. Pai's academic journey began with graduation Summa Cum Laude from Dartmouth College, where she majored in biochemistry and molecular biology. She completed her MD/PhD program at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, focusing her doctoral research on cancer immunology and vaccines. Following her residency in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital, she joined the faculty there from 2007 to 2014. Dr. Pai has since been recognized as a national and international expert in HPV-associated head and neck cancers and cancer immunotherapy, leading clinical trials and authoring over 120 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Her pivotal work contributed to the FDA’s orphan drug designation of pembrolizumab for treating recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, a rare condition caused by HPV. In her role at Yale School of Medicine, she continues to advance the understanding of how HPV evades the immune system and aims to develop strategies to reactivate the immune response against HPV-related cancer cells.

Research Interests

Experience