Meet Dr. Agarwal

I care for my patients akin to how I care for my family — do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

Nitin Agarwal, MD, MBA, FACS, serves as Acting Chief and Site Residency Program Director of Neurological Surgery at the Veteran Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Dr. Agarwal received his medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Afterwards, he completed his neurological surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh. During this time, he also completed an enfolded fellowship in sports medicine as well as in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery. He then completed an AO Spine and Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST) approved minimally invasive and complex spine surgery fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco with dual training from orthopedic and neurosurgical mentors. Dr. Agarwal then served as the Director of Neurotrauma at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with a clinical focus in spinal deformity surgery. After he served as the Director of Minimally Invasive Spine and Robotics Surgery program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as well as the Associate Program Director for the Neurological Surgery Residency and Director for Complex and Minimally Invasive Spine Deformity Fellowship. He received his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and completed advanced training as an educator in health professions through the Harvard Macy Institute of Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Agarwal also serves as a director for the Spine Computational Outcomes Learning Institute (SCOLI), a hub for cutting-edge clinical and translational science that enhances neurosurgical patient care. SCOLI has funded investigations in four main domains: neurotrauma outcomes, spine outcomes, socioeconomic research, and patient education. To date, Dr. Agarwal has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and has spoken at several regional and national conferences with over 350 oral and poster presentations. His health literacy research has been published in several high-impact factor journals, including JAMA Internal Medicine, and he has also been featured by prominent healthcare-oriented news outlets such as Reuters Health. In addition, he is an editor of the following books: Neurosurgery Fundamentals, Neurosurgery Fundamentals for Advanced Practice Providers, Neurosurgery Infographics, Operative Fundamentals in Neurological Surgery, Surviving Neurosurgery: Vignettes of Resilience, Pre-Medicine: The Complete Guide for Aspiring Doctors, and The Evolution of Health Literacy: Empowering Patients through Improved Education.

Dr. Agarwal also actively participates in organized neurosurgery advocating for medical student and patient education. Locally, under the SCOLI umbrella, he runs a weekly education and research conference for trainees. He also runs a quarterly patient support group focused on spine and scoliosis. Moreover, he has pledged his commitment to advancing neurosurgery as a member of the Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation Cushing Circle of Giving.

Outside of neurological surgery, Dr. Agarwal has been deeply dedicated to martial arts, specifically Taekwondo, Krav Maga, and Jiu-Jitsu. For over a decade, he served as a certified instructor, national judge, and school owner. Dr. Agarwal credits martial arts with providing mental and physical discipline as well as adherence to a strict honor code.