She obtained her doctorate degree from McMaster University (Kinesiology) where she examined the role of adapted exercise interventions for persons with progressive multiple sclerosis. Professor Pilutti completed a post-doctoral fellowship in the Exercise Neuroscience Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She went on to become an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at UIUC before joining the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa.