Clinical Team | Nitin Agarwal, MD, MBA, FACS

Enfolded Clinical Fellows

Ricardo Fernández-de Thomas, M.D.

Ricardo J. Fernández-de Thomas, M.D., is a neurosurgeon who joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery residency program in 2021. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor's degree in cellular and molecular biology and completed his medical education at the University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine with magna cum laude distinction. After medical school he completed a four-year neurosurgery residency at the University of Puerto Rico. Dr. Fernández-de Thomas is dedicated to community outreach and has volunteered in health clinics in Puerto Rico and Central America. Outside of medicine he enjoys spending time with family and friends, practicing martial arts, playing various sports, and engaging in outdoor activities.
Joseph Scott Hudson, M.D.

Joseph Scott Hudson, M.D., is a neurosurgeon who joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery residency program in 2019. He graduated with research distinction from the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, where he also obtained his undergraduate degree with honors in biology. His research has focused on cerebrovascular neurosurgery with contributions to the understanding of intracranial aneurysms, device development, and neurovascular imaging. Currently he is specializing as a complex and minimally invasive spine fellow.
Andrew D. Legarreta, M.D.

Andrew D. Legarreta, M.D., joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery residency program in July of 2019 after receiving his medical degree from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. He received his undergraduate degree from Duke University, completing a B.A. in history. During medical school, Dr. Legarreta studied the effects of sport-related concussion in high school athletes, examining predictors of post-concussion syndrome and structural and functional neuroimaging findings in football players.
Hansen Deng, M.D.

Hansen Deng, M.D., joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery residency program in July of 2019. Dr. Deng graduated with distinction from the UCSF School of Medicine, where he was elected into Alpha Omega Alpha. His research in TRACK-TBI investigates the discriminatory ability of biomarkers to provide precise assessment of injury severity and assist with prognostication after injury. At the Brain Trauma Research Center he investigates the role genetic factors play in the secondary pathophysiology of neurotrauma.
Gautam M. Nayar, M.D.

Gautam M. Nayar, M.D., joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery residency program in July of 2018. After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in computer science, he completed his medical education at Duke University School of Medicine. Dr. Nayar cultivated an interest in spinal outcomes research focusing on minimally invasive approaches, radiation reduction protocol, and identification of pre-operative risk factors. His work on the clinical efficacy of ultra-low radiation imaging protocols was awarded the 2017 AANS Donald Quest Clinical Science Award.
Jeffrey Head, M.D.

Jeffery Head, M.D., joined the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery residency program in July of 2020. He graduated from Colgate University in 2012 with honors in cellular neuroscience and earned his medical degree from Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in 2020, cum laude and AOA. Prior to medical school he spent two years at the NIH studying developmental neurobiology in zebra fish. His medical-school research covered spinal cord stimulation for chronic low-back pain, surgical approaches for OPLL, distal-circulation thrombectomy, and EVD infection risk.
David J. McCarthy, M.D.

David J. McCarthy, M.D., completed his residency at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery in 2020 and holds a master's degree in clinical and translational research with a focus on statistics from the University of Miami. His research interests encompass neurosurgical epidemiology, treatment trends, neuroendovascular devices, and the molecular physiology of cerebral aneurysms, with ongoing work applying AI and machine learning to aneurysm assessment.

Fellowship Alumni

Galal A. Elsayed, M.D.

Galal A. Elsayed, M.D., is an award-winning neurosurgeon specializing in endoscopic, minimally invasive, and complex reconstructive spine surgery. He earned his undergraduate degree in molecular microbiology and his medical degree from the University of Central Florida, completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and finished a fellowship in complex and minimally invasive spinal deformity at Washington University in St. Louis. A former postgraduate fellow with SCOLI, he is now an Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine, practicing at Och Spine at NewYork-Presbyterian. His work pioneers three-dimensional surgical planning in virtual reality alongside augmented reality and robotics, and his research has been recognized with the Griffith R. Harsh III Research Award, the Richard B. Morawetz Research Award three years running, and selection as a University of Alabama at Birmingham Clinical Research Buchalter Scholar.
James H. Mooney, M.D.

James H. Mooney, M.D., completed his fellowship in complex and minimally invasive spine deformity surgery under Dr. Agarwal at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery. He earned his bachelor's degree in neuroscience, cum laude, from Amherst College and his medical degree from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, then completed his neurosurgery residency at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where he received the Richard B. Morawetz, M.D. Resident Prize for Research. He is now an Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery in the Division of Spine Surgery at Virginia Commonwealth University, specializing in complex and minimally invasive spine deformity surgery.
Manan Shah, M.D.

Manan Shah, M.D., is a neurosurgery resident at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He grew up in Parsippany, NJ and graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers with a double major in molecular biology & biochemistry and psychology. He completed medical school at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School with AOA honors, then trained for four years at Detroit Medical Center / Wayne State University before returning to Rutgers to finish residency. His current interests include spinal cord injury and neurotrauma.