Nitin Agarwal, MD, FACS

Neurological Surgery, Complex and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Spinal Deformity, Neurotrauma, Sports Medicine, Patient Education, Author, Entrepreneurship Nitin Agarwal, M.D. is an associate professor in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery with a secondary appointment in the University of Pittsburgh Department of Bioengineering and an affiliate faculty member at the McGowan Institute of Regenerative Medicine. As part of his educational mission, he serves as the associate program director of the University of Pittsburgh neurological surgery residency program and co-director of the department’s Complex and Minimally Invasive Spine Deformity Fellowship. On the clinical front, he is director of the department’s Minimally Invasive Spine and Robotics Surgery program. Dr. Agarwal received his medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. Afterwards, he completed his Neurological Surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. 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 a AO Spine and Committee on Advanced Subspecialty Training (CAST) approved minimally invasive and complex spine surgery fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. 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. He has funded investigations in four concentrations: neurotrauma outcomes after severe traumatic brain injury and acute spinal cord injury, spine outcomes, socioeconomic research, and patient education. To date, he has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and has spoken at several regional and national conferences with over 350 oral and poster presentations. In addition, he is an editor for the following books: Neurosurgery Fundamentals, Surviving Neurosurgery: Vignettes of Resilience, and The Evolution of Health Literacy: Empowering Patients through Improved Education. Dr. Agarwal also maintains an active role in organized neurosurgery advocating for trainee and patient education. 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 credits his training in martial arts with providing mental and physical discipline as well as adherence to a strict honor code.