Meet Dr. Agarwal | Nitin Agarwal, MD, MBA, FACS

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 the Acting Chief of Neurological Surgery at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, where he leads neurosurgical care for the nation's veterans. He previously served as an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery, where he was associate program director of the UPMC/University of Pittsburgh neurological surgery residency program, co-director of the department's Complex and Minimally Invasive Spine Deformity Fellowship, and director of the Minimally Invasive Spine and Robotics Surgery program.

Dr. Agarwal has funded investigations across four concentrations: neurotrauma outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury and acute spinal cord injury, spine outcomes, socioeconomic research, and patient education. He has published over 275 peer-reviewed articles and delivered more than 300 oral and poster presentations at regional and national conferences. His health literacy research has appeared in high-impact journals including JAMA Internal Medicine, and has been featured by outlets such as Reuters Health.

Books

Editor and author across neurosurgical education, resilience in training, premedical preparation, and health literacy.

Honors & Awards

A selection of scholarship, teaching, research, and young-investigator recognitions.

2023 Faculty Teaching Award University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery
2023 Young Surgeon Travel Grant UPMC Department of Neurological Surgery
2022 SpineLine 5th Annual 20 under 40 Class North American Spine Society
2022 Young Surgeon Grant and Educational Track Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Annual Forum
2022 Young Clinician Investigator Award NREF and the Academy of Neurological Surgeons
2022 Thomas A. Zdeblick Best Paper Award Lumbar Spine Research Society
2022 Harold Rosegay Award San Francisco Neurological Society
2021 Educator of the Year Award Congress of Neurological Surgeons
2021 CSRS Resident and Fellow Scholarship Cervical Spine Research Society Annual Meeting
2021 Young Surgeon Grant and Educational Track Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Annual Forum
2021 Resident Teaching Award University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery
2021 Branch Research Award AANS/CNS Joint Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves
2021 SRS North American Meeting Scholarship Scoliosis Research Society
2021 Young Surgeon Grant International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery
2021 AO Spine North America Fellowship Award UCSF Department of Neurological Surgery
2020 Distinguished Junior Mentor Award University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2020 NREF Travel Grant European Association of Neurosurgical Societies Spine Training Course
2019 Young Surgeon Grant Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery Annual Forum
2019 Young Investigator Award 12th Annual Society of Lateral Access Surgery Meeting
2019 First Place History E-poster Award 87th AANS Annual Scientific Meeting
2019 Young Surgeon Travel Grant 16th Annual Meeting: State of Surgery Think Tank
2018 Top Paper of the Year, Socioeconomics, Health Policy & Law NEUROSURGERY® / Annual CNS Meeting
2018 Journalistic and Academic Neurosurgical Excellence (J.A.N.E.) Award 34th Spine Summit
2017 First Place Socioeconomic E-poster Award 85th AANS Annual Scientific Meeting
2016 Charlie Kuntz IV Scholar Award 32nd Spine Summit
2014 Peter W. Carmel, MD, Award in Neurological Surgery Outstanding Academic Achievement
2014 Kenneth G. Swan, MD, Memorial Award NJMS Student Affairs
2011 Class of 1979 Scholarship NJMS Alumni Association Grant
2007 Armstrong Engineering Scholarship Award Scholastic Merit Based Grant
2007 Oval Society Award Community Service Distinction