Skip to main content Skip to accessibility tools
Back to Consultant profiles

Dr. Sumita Pai is a microbiology consultant at Royal Papworth Hospital for the last 6 years.

Prior to joining the Trust, she completed her specialist training at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge.

She is the antimicrobial stewardship lead for the trust but also has a special interest in infections in Cystic Fibrosis.

Specialist Clinical Interests
  • Cardiothoracic microbiology, including:
    • Cystic Fibrosis
    • Chronic lung disease
    • Infective endocarditis
    • post-op surgical infection and transplantation microbiology.
  • Antibiotic Stewardship
Research Interests
  • Cystic Fibrosis Microbiology
  • Surgical wound infections
  • Antimicrobial stewardship
  • SIREN (SARS-CoV2 immunity and reinfection evaluation) study
Education and Training
  • MBChB (2004, Sheffield Medical University)
  • Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2008, Liverpool)
  • MSc Medical Microbiology (2011 QMUL)
  • FRCPath (2014)
  • 2005-2009 Paediatric training rotation (South Yorkshire)

  • 2009-2017 Medical Microbiology training (Cambridge)

  • 2015 Medical Microbiology Great Ormond Street Hospital, London

Current membership(s) of professional, national and regional bodies and university posts:
  • Royal College of Pathologists
  • Hospital Infection Society
  • British Infection Association
  • Part of the working group to update the Cystic Fibrosis Trust’s consensus document Laboratory standards for processing microbiological samples from people with cystic fibrosis.
Recent and Important Publications

Ali YM, Lynch NJ, Khatri P, Bamigbola IE, Chan ACY, Yabuki M, Demopulos GA, Heeney JL, Pai S, Baxendale H, Schwaeble WJ. Secondary Complement Deficiency Impairs Anti-Microbial Immunity to Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus During Severe Acute COVID-19. Front Immunol. 2022 Apr 27;13:841759. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.841759. PMID: 35572551; PMCID: PMC9094484.

Pai, Sumita, K. MB ChB, MSc, DTMH, FRCPath; Yang, Huina MBBS, FRCPath; Kappeler, A. Ruth M. MB ChB, MSc, FRCPath. Not All COVID-19: Importance of an Admission Diagnostic Bundle. Infectious Diseases in Clinical Practice 28(6):p e72-e73, November 2020. | DOI: 10.1097/IPC.0000000000000919

Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria in Cystic Fibrosis An infection control perspective (Oral presentation at Hospital Infection Society 2018)

Pai S, Enoch DA, Aliyu SH. Bacteremia in children: epidemiology, clinical diagnosis and antibiotic treatment. Expert Rev Anti Infect Ther. 2015, Sep;13(9):1073-88. doi: 10.1586/14787210.2015.1063418. Epub 2015 Jul 4.

Pai S, Bedford L, Ruramayi R, Aliyu SH, Sule J, Maslin D, Enoch DA. Pseudomonas aeruginosa meningitis/ventriculitis in a UK tertiary referral hospital. QJM. 2015 May 18. pii: hcv094. [Epub ahead of print]

de Graaf H, Pai S, Burns DA, Karas JA, Enoch DA, Faust SN. Co-infection as a confounder for the role of Clostridium difficile infection in children with diarrhoea: a summary of the literature. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis. 2015. Jul;34(7):1281-7. doi: 10.1007/s10096-015-2367-0. Epub 2015 May 1.

Pai S, Gouliouris T, Kappeler AR, Gillham MI. Disinfection of dynamic mattresses: highlighting an infection control issue. J Hosp Infect. 2015 Jun;90(2):172-3.

Laboratory evaluation of MALDI-ToF in the identification of isolates from positive (Oral presentation at Federation of Infection Society 2015)

Contact details:

SwitchBoard: 01223 638000

Secretary

Louise Caldecoat

Telephone: 01223 639116

Email: l.caldecoat@nhs.net

Back to Consultant profiles