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Amar Nijagal

MD

  • Assistant Professor, Surgery
  • Pediatric Surgeon

Biography

Amar Nijagal, MD is a pediatric surgeon in the UCSF Division of Pediatric Surgery. He completed his undergraduate degree at Duke University and obtained his MD from the University of CA, San Francisco School of Medicine (UCSF).

During his general surgery residency at UCSF, he spent three years researching immune responses to in utero stem cell transplantation. He completed his pediatric general and thoracic surgery fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital.

Education & Training

  • University of California, San Francisco, CA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion Training
  • Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery
  • University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA Department of Surgery
  • University of California , San Francisco, San Francisco, CA Maternal-Fetal Immunology
  • University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA Medicine
  • University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA Immunology

Research Activities & Funding

  • Defining the role of tumor associated myeloid cells in pediatric hepatoblastoma

    —

    Sponsor: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases N/A

    Role: PI

  • The cooperative relationship between neutrophils and monocytes during neonatal liver inflammation: insight into the pathogenesis of biliary atresia

    —

    Sponsor: Franklin H. Martin, MD, FACS Faculty Research Fellowship, American College of Surgeons N/A

    Role: PI

  • Single cell characterization and organoid development of pediatric choledochal cysts and hepatoblastoma to understand the link between liver development and hepatobiliary malignancy

    —

    Sponsor: American Cancer Society IRG-17-180-19

    Role: PI

  • The Role of Monocytes During the Resolution of Perinatal Liver Inflammation

    —

    Sponsor: UCSF Liver Center NIH P30 DK026743

    Role: PI

  • Investigating the Fetal Mechanisms of Liver and Bile Duct Repair: A Link to the Prenatal Origins of Biliary Atresia

    —

    Sponsor: American Pediatric Surgical Association N/A

    Role: PI

Publications

  • Pathak SJ, Ji H, Nijagal A, Avila P, Dai SC, Arain MA, Kouanda A. Index admission cholecystectomy for acute cholecystitis reduces 30-day readmission rates in pediatric patients. Surg Endosc. 2024 Mar; 38(3):1351-1357. PubMed
  • Alkhani A, Korsholm C, Levy CS, Mohamedaly S, Duwaerts CC, Pietras EM, Nijagal A. Neonatal Hepatic Myeloid Progenitors Expand and Propagate Liver Injury in Mice. J Clin Med. 2023 Jan 01; 12(1). PubMed
  • Mohamedaly S, Nijagal A. Advances in the Treatment of Neonatal Biliary Disease. Clin Perinatol. 2022 Dec; 49(4):981-993. PubMed
  • Mohamedaly S, Levy CS, Korsholm C, Alkhani A, Rosenberg K, Ashouri JF, Nijagal A. Hepatic Ly6CLo Non-Classical Monocytes Have Increased Nr4a1 (Nur77) in Murine Biliary Atresia. J Clin Med. 2022 Sep 08; 11(18). PubMed
  • Song H, Bucher S, Rosenberg K, Tsui M, Burhan D, Hoffman D, Cho SJ, Rangaswami A, Breese M, Leung S, Ventura MVP, Sweet-Cordero EA, Huang FW, Nijagal A, Wang B. Single-cell analysis of hepatoblastoma identifies tumor signatures that predict chemotherapy susceptibility using patient-specific tumor spheroids. Nat Commun. 2022 08 25; 13(1):4878. PubMed
  • Kelley-Quon LI, Shue E, Burke RV, Smith C, Kling K, Mahdi E, Ourshalimian S, Fenlon M, Dellinger M, Shew SB, Lee J, Padilla B, Inge T, Roach J, Marwan AI, Russell KW, Ignacio R, Fialkowski E, Nijagal A, Im C, Azarow KS, Ostlie DJ, Wang K. The need for early Kasai portoenterostomy: a Western Pediatric Surgery Research Consortium study. Pediatr Surg Int. 2022 Feb; 38(2):193-199. PubMed
  • Lopez-Ichikawa M, Vu NK, Nijagal A, Rubinsky B, Chang TT. Neutrophils are important for the development of pro-reparative macrophages after irreversible electroporation of the liver in mice. Sci Rep. 2021 07 22; 11(1):14986. PubMed
  • Alkhani A, Mohamedaly S, Nijagal A. The Role of Myeloid Populations during Perinatal Liver Injury and Repair. J Cell Immunol. 2021; 3(1):42-45. PubMed
  • Schwab ME, Braun HJ, Feldstein VA, Nijagal A. The natural history of fetal gallstones: a case series and updated literature review. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2022 Dec; 35(24):4755-4762. PubMed
  • Mohamedaly S, Alkhani A, Nijagal A. The relative abundance of monocyte subsets determines susceptibility to perinatal hepatic inflammation. J Clin Cell Immunol. 2020; 11(6). PubMed
  • Alkhani A, Levy CS, Tsui M, Rosenberg KA, Polovina K, Mattis AN, Mack M, Van Dyken S, Wang BM, Maher JJ, Nijagal A. Ly6cLo non-classical monocytes promote resolution of rhesus rotavirus-mediated perinatal hepatic inflammation. Sci Rep. 2020 04 28; 10(1):7165. PubMed
  • Ramirez JL, Kuhrau CR, Wu B, Zarkowsky DS, Conte MS, Oskowitz AZ, Nijagal A, Vartanian SM. Natural history of acute pediatric iliofemoral artery thrombosis treated with anticoagulation. J Vasc Surg. 2020 12; 72(6):2027-2034. PubMed
  • Schwab ME, Song H, Mattis A, Phelps A, Vu LT, Huang FW, Nijagal A. De novo somatic mutations and KRAS amplification are associated with cholangiocarcinoma in a patient with a history of choledochal cyst. J Pediatr Surg. 2020 Dec; 55(12):2657-2661. PubMed
  • Subbaraj L, Beleniski F, Courtier J, Vartanian S, Nijagal A. Congenital superior mesenteric artery aneurysm in a 6-week-old infant presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. J Vasc Surg. 2020 04; 71(4):1391-1394. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Perito ER. Treating Biliary Atresia: The Challenge Continues. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019 04; 68(4):464-465. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Perito ER. Editorial: Treating Biliary Atresia: The Challenge Continues. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2019 Feb 05. PubMed
  • Wolf LL, Nijagal A, Flores A, Buchmiller TL. Late-onset hypertrophic pyloric stenosis with gastric outlet obstruction: case report and review of the literature. Pediatr Surg Int. 2016 Oct; 32(10):1013-6. PubMed
  • Wegorzewska M, Nijagal A, Wong CM, Le T, Lescano N, Tang Q, MacKenzie TC. Fetal intervention increases maternal T cell awareness of the foreign conceptus and can lead to immune-mediated fetal demise. J Immunol. 2014 Feb 15; 192(4):1938-45. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Derderian C, Le T, Jarvis E, Nguyen L, Tang Q, Mackenzie TC. Direct and indirect antigen presentation lead to deletion of donor-specific T cells after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation in mice. Blood. 2013 May 30; 121(22):4595-602. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, MacKenzie TC. Clinical implications of maternal-fetal cellular trafficking. Semin Pediatr Surg. 2013 Feb; 22(1):62-5. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Jelin E, Feldstein VA, Courtier J, Urisman A, Jones KD, Lee H, Hirose S, MacKenzie TC. The diagnosis and management of intradiaphragmatic extralobar pulmonary sequestrations: a report of 4 cases. J Pediatr Surg. 2012 Aug; 47(8):1501-5. PubMed
  • Saadai P, Lee TH, Bautista G, Gonzales KD, Nijagal A, Busch MP, Kim CJ, Romero R, Lee H, Hirose S, Rand L, Miniati D, Farmer DL, MacKenzie TC. Alterations in maternal-fetal cellular trafficking after fetal surgery. J Pediatr Surg. 2012 Jun; 47(6):1089-94. PubMed
  • Saadai P, Jelin EB, Nijagal A, Schecter SC, Hirose S, MacKenzie TC, Rand L, Goldstein R, Farrell J, Harrison M, Lee H. Long-term outcomes after fetal therapy for congenital high airway obstructive syndrome. J Pediatr Surg. 2012 Jun; 47(6):1095-100. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Flake AW, MacKenzie TC. In utero hematopoietic cell transplantation for the treatment of congenital anomalies. Clin Perinatol. 2012 Jun; 39(2):301-10. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Fleck S, MacKenzie TC. Maternal microchimerism in patients with biliary atresia: Implications for allograft tolerance. Chimerism. 2012 Apr-Jun; 3(2):37-9. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Fleck S, Hills NK, Feng S, Tang Q, Kang SM, Rosenthal P, MacKenzie TC. Decreased risk of graft failure with maternal liver transplantation in patients with biliary atresia. Am J Transplant. 2012 Feb; 12(2):409-19. PubMed
  • Landsman L, Nijagal A, Whitchurch TJ, Vanderlaan RL, Zimmer WE, Mackenzie TC, Hebrok M. Pancreatic mesenchyme regulates epithelial organogenesis throughout development. PLoS Biol. 2011 Sep; 9(9):e1001143. PubMed
  • Jelin EB, Etemadi M, Encinas J, Schecter SC, Chapin C, Wu J, Guevara-Gallardo S, Nijagal A, Gonzales KD, Ferrier WT, Roy S, Miniati D. Dynamic tracheal occlusion improves lung morphometrics and function in the fetal lamb model of congenital diaphragmatic hernia. J Pediatr Surg. 2011 Jun; 46(6):1150-7. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Wegorzewska M, Le T, Tang Q, Mackenzie TC. The maternal immune response inhibits the success of in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation. Chimerism. 2011 Apr; 2(2):55-7. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Le T, Wegorzewska M, Mackenzie TC. A mouse model of in utero transplantation. J Vis Exp. 2011 Jan 27; (47). PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Wegorzewska M, Jarvis E, Le T, Tang Q, MacKenzie TC. Maternal T cells limit engraftment after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation in mice. J Clin Invest. 2011 Feb; 121(2):582-92. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Rand L, Goldstein R, Poder L, Miniati D. Intrauterine umbilical cord hemorrhage with associated jejunal atresia captured by real-time ultrasound. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2009 Mar; 200(3):e5-6. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Ozgediz D, Feldstein VA, Lee H, Harrison MR. Colonic atresia and choledochal cyst: a rare combination. Pediatr Surg Int. 2009 Jan; 25(1):113-5. PubMed
  • Anderson C, Nijagal A, Kim J. Molecular markers for gastric adenocarcinoma: an update. Mol Diagn Ther. 2006; 10(6):345-52. PubMed
  • Radu CG, Cheng D, Nijagal A, Riedinger M, McLaughlin J, Yang LV, Johnson J, Witte ON. Normal immune development and glucocorticoid-induced thymocyte apoptosis in mice deficient for the T-cell death-associated gene 8 receptor. Mol Cell Biol. 2006 Jan; 26(2):668-77. PubMed
  • Shu CJ, Guo S, Kim YJ, Shelly SM, Nijagal A, Ray P, Gambhir SS, Radu CG, Witte ON. Visualization of a primary anti-tumor immune response by positron emission tomography. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Nov 29; 102(48):17412-7. PubMed
  • Radu CG, Nijagal A, McLaughlin J, Wang L, Witte ON. Differential proton sensitivity of related G protein-coupled receptors T cell death-associated gene 8 and G2A expressed in immune cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Feb 01; 102(5):1632-7. PubMed
  • Nijagal A, Sydorak RM, Feldstein VA, Hirose S, Albanese CT. Spontaneous resolution of prenatal megalourethra. J Pediatr Surg. 2004 Sep; 39(9):1421-3. PubMed
  • Sydorak RM, Nijagal A, Sbragia L, Hirose S, Tsao K, Phibbs RH, Schmitt SK, Lee H, Farmer DL, Harrison MR, Albanese CT. Gastroschisis: small hole, big cost. J Pediatr Surg. 2002 Dec; 37(12):1669-72. PubMed
  • Sydorak RM, Nijagal A, Albanese CT. Endoscopic techniques in fetal surgery. Yonsei Med J. 2001 Dec; 42(6):695-710. PubMed
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