Nitin Agarwal, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Associate Professor, Neurological Surgery
Directors
Description
"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, FACS, 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 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. Afterward, he completed his neurological surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh. During this time, he also completed an enfolded fellowship in sports medicine and 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. Before joining the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Agarwal served as the director of neurotrauma at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis with a clinical focus on spinal deformity surgery. He is currently pursuing an executive MBA at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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 for the following books:
Neurosurgery Fundamentals, 2nd Edition
Surviving Neurosurgery: Vignettes of Resilience
The Evolution of Health Literacy: Empowering Patients through Improved Education, 2nd Edition
Pre-Medicine: The Complete Guide for Aspiring Doctors
The Infographic Guide to Neurosurgery
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 as well as a research internship for undergraduate students who are interested in pursuing medical school. 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.
Research Interests
- • Minimally invasive spine surgery
- • Artificial disc replacement
- • Robotic spine surgery
- • Navigation-assisted surgery
- • Endoscopic spine surgery
- • Awake outpatient surgery
- • Brain and spine trauma
- • Sports medicine
- • Cervical deformity
- • Scoliosis surgery
Board Certifications
- • American Board of Neurological Surgeons
Hospital Privileges
- • Pittsburgh Veterans Affairs Medical Center
- • UPMC Presbyterian
Professional Organization Membership
- • American Association of Neurological Surgeons
- • American Association of South Asian Neurosurgeons
- • American Medical Association
- • American Spinal Injury Association
- • AO Spine
- • Association of Veterans Affairs Surgeons
- • Cervical Spine Research Society
- • Congress of Neurological Surgeons
- • Council of State Neurosurgical Societies
- • Lumbar Spine Research Society
- • North American Spine Society
- • Scoliosis Research Society
- • Society of Neurological Surgeons
- • Society for Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery
Professional Activities
- • Associate Member, AO Spine Knowledge Forum Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
- • Social Media Representative, AO Spine Knowledge Forum Spinal Cord Injury (SCI)
- • Member-at-Large, AANS Neurosurgery, PAC Board of Directors
- • Chair, Congress of Neurological Surgeons Caucus, CSNS
- • Social Media Chair, CSNS
- • Website Chair, CSNS Communication and Education Committee
- • AANS Early Career Member, CSNS
- • Advisory Member, UPMC Spine Value Analysis Committee
- • UPMC Graduate Medical Education Committee
- • UPMC Spine Value Analysis Committee
- • UPSOM Curriculum Committee Executive Subcommittee
- • Faculty-At-Large Member, UPSOM Educational Policy Council
- • Associate Program Chair, Neurosurgical Society of Pittsburgh
- • Positional Member, Society of Neurological Surgeons
- • Medical Student Committee, Society of Neurological Surgeons
Education & Training
- • BS, Biology, The College of New Jersey, 2010
- • MD, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, 2014
- • Enfolded Fellowship, Sports Medicine, UPMC, 2019-20
- • Enfolded Fellowship, Minimally Invasive and Complex Spine Surgery, UPMC, 2018-20
- • Neurological Surgery Residency, UPMC, 2014-21
- • Fellowship, Minimally Invasive and Complex Spine Surgery, AO Spine/CAST Fellowship, University of California, San Francisco, 2021-22
Honors & Awards
- • Research All-Star for Neurosurgery and Spine, Avant-garde Health, 2025
- • Implementation Award, Penn Wharton Innovation Fund, 2025
- • Emerging Technologies Fellowship, Scoliosis Research Society, 2023
- • Faculty Teaching Award, University of Pittsburgh Department of Neurological Surgery, 2023
- • Young Surgeon Travel Grant, UPMC Department of Neurological Surgery, 2023
- • 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, 2022
- • 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 for Residents and Fellows, Scoliosis Research Society, 2021
- • Young Surgeon Grant, International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery Annual Conference, 2021
- • AO Spine North America Fellowship Award, University of California, San Francisco, Department of Neurological Surgery, 2021
- • Distinguished Junior Mentor Award, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, 2020
- • Neurosurgery Research and Education Foundation Travel Grant, European Association of Neurosurgical Societies Spine Training Course, 2020
- • 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 American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting, 2019
- • Young Surgeon Travel Grant, 16th Annual Meeting: State of Surgery Think Tank, 2019
- • Socioeconomics, Health Policy, & Law NEUROSURGERY® Publications Top Paper of the Year, Annual Congress of Neurological Surgeons Meeting, 2018
- • Journalistic and Academic Neurosurgical Excellence (J.A.N.E.) Award, 34th Spine Summit, 2018
- • First Place Socioeconomic E-poster Award, 85th American Association of Neurological Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting, 2017
- • Charlie Kuntz IV Scholar Award, 32nd Spine Summit, 2016
- • Peter W. Carmel, MD, Award in Neurological Surgery, Outstanding Academic Achievement, 2014
- • Kenneth G. Swan, MD, Memorial Award, NJMS Student Affairs, 2014
- • Class of 1979 Scholarship, NJMS Alumni Association Grant, 2011
- • Armstrong Engineering Scholarship Award, Scholastic Merit Based Grant, 2007
- • Oval Society Award, Community Service Distinction, 2007