Neurological Surgery, Complex and Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Spinal Deformity, Neurotrauma, Sports Medicine, Patient Education, Author, EntrepreneurshipNitin Agarwal, M.D. serves as the Director of Neurotrauma and is an Assistant Professor of Neurological Surgery and Orthopedic Surgery at the Washington University School of Medicine. 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 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 250 peer-reviewed articles and has spoken at several regional and national conferences with over 225 oral and poster presentations. His health literacy research has been published in several high impact factor journals including JAMA Internal Medicine and 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, 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 medical student 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 has been deeply dedicated to martial arts, specifically the disciplines of 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.