Research Team
Senior Research Fellow
Raj Swaroop Lavadi, M.D.
About Raj
Raj S. Lavadi, M.D., joined the Agarwal Lab at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in May 2023. He has been under the able guidance of Dr. Agarwal since July 2022, when he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. His research focuses on personalizing the care of patients with spine disease as well as using advanced, diffusion imaging modalities to identify biomarkers in patients with traumatic brain injury. He aims to demystify the complexities of performing research as a medical trainee and frequently guides undergraduate and medical students in their own research efforts. Despite being raised in New Jersey, Raj went to medical school in India and received his degree from Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences & Research Centre. Before Raj joined the Agarwal Lab, he wrote blog posts for Chowder and Champions. He enjoys keeping up with the latest neurosurgical literature, exploring the outdoors with his family, peer mentoring, and playing Mridangam—a South Indian percussion instrument of which he has over two decades of experience. He also enjoys long-distance running and watching the Boston Celtics.
Principal Research Fellow
Rida Mitha, M.D.
About Rida
Rida Mitha, M.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine where she works under the guidance of Dr. Nitin Agarwal. Her research interests include Neurotrauma, Neurophysiology, Spine and Healthcare Disparities. She graduated from the Aga Khan University, one of the premier medical schools in Pakistan. Outside of medicine, she enjoys swimming, which she now does recreationally after having a decade long career as an athlete on the Pakistan Swim Team. On occasion, she coaches national swimmers in Pakistan, with a firm belief in giving back to the community she represented for many years.
Principal Research Fellow
Rohit Prem Kumar, M.D.
About Rohit
Rohit Prem Kumar, M.D., joined Dr. Agarwal’s lab in July 2023 as a research fellow. After concluding his fellowship, he will be returning to the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in Nutley, NJ to begin his fourth year of medical school. Prior to medical school, Rohit completed his undergraduate degree Biology at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Later, he worked as a data scientist at Bristol Myers Squibb analyzing drug safety trends. His primary interest is in implementing big data to improve outcomes in neurosurgery. Rohit is from Jackson, NJ. His hobbies include photography, reading and weightlifting.
Ayesha Waheed, M.B.B.S.
About Ayesha
Pending.
Medical Students
Ben Carnovale, B.S.
About Ben
Ben Carnovale has been an intern at the Agarwal Lab since December 2023. He is now a medical student (MS1) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and he intends on pursuing a career in Neurosurgery. His interests are in sports medicine and deformity.
William Rabon, B.S.
About Will
William Rabon is a neuroscience graduate from Carnegie Mellon University who recently joined SCOLI as a Research Assistant. With four years of college soccer experience, he focuses on sports medicine, deformity, and TBI research. He is currently a medical student (MS1) with aspirations in neurosurgery. Outside work, he enjoys weightlifting, hiking with family, and fly-fishing.
Taim Aizooky, B.S.
About Taim
Taim Aizooky is a medical student (MS3) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He intends on pursuing a career in neurosurgery. He is passionate about drug interaction and the intersection between medicine and humanity.
Interns
Aditi Choudhary, B.S.
About Aditi
Aditi Choudhary has been an undergraduate intern at SCOLI since December 2023. She is an honors undergraduate History and Philosophy of Science student at the University of Pittsburgh, and intends on pursuing a career in neurosurgery. She is passionate about AI and the intersection between medicine and humanity. She will begin her Master’s at the PITT School of Public Health in the Fall 2024.
Armani Manov
About Armani
Armani Manov studies at the University of Pittsburgh with a deep passion for research and discovery. He is interested in intersecting computational biology and AI/ML with neurosurgery.
Zayaan Trimizi
About Zayaan
Zayaan Tirmizi is an undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh, majoring in Neuroscience with a Minor in History. He is currently an intern with SCOLI. Zayaan’s research interests within neurosurgery include AI applications within surgery, socioeconomic health disparities, and nutritional factors affecting patient outcomes.
Alumni
Hanish Polavarapu, M.D., M.S.
Ashtah A. Das, B.S.
Souvik Roy, M.D.
Megan Rode, B.S.
Ray Funahashi, M.D.
