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Amar Nijagal, M.D.

Amar Nijagal, M.D.

Assistant Professor of Surgery
Division of Pediatric Surgery

Contact Information

Box 0570
550 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94158
amar.nijagal@ucsf.edu

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Education

  • 1996-2000, Duke University, B.A. Philosophy
  • 2000-06, University of California, San Francisco, M.D.

Residencies

  • 2006-07, University of California, San Francisco, Intern, General Surgery
  • 2007-13, University of California, San Francisco, Resident, General Surgery
  • 2013-14, University of California, San Francisco, Chief Resident, General Surgery

Fellowships

  • California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Clinical Fellow (2009-2012)
  • 2014-16, Boston Children's Hospital, Fellow, Pediatric General and Thoracic Surgery

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Surgery, General Surgery

Program Affiliations

Clinical Expertise

  • Hepatobiliary surgery Neonatal surgery Minimally invasive surgery Pediatric Surgery

Research Interests

  • Immunology at the maternal-fetal interface

Biography

Amar Nijagal, M.D. 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.

Awards & Honors

  • Esther Nusz Achievement Award, UCSF Department of Surgery, 2014
  • Medical Student Teaching Award, UCSF Department of Surgery, 2014
  • Medical Student Teaching Award, UCSF Department of Surgery, 2013
  • M. Judah Folkman Memorial Award-Best Podium Presentation, American Pediatric Surgical Association, 2012
  • M. Judah Folkman Memorial Award-Best Podium Presentation, American Pediatric Surgical Association, 2011
  • Camille Vandenberge-Storz Young Investigators' Award, International Fetal and Maternal Surgical Society, 2011
  • Clinical Fellow Research Training Award, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, 2009-2012
  • Resident Research Award, Association of Academic Surgeons, 2009
  • Alpha Omega Alpha, UCSF School of Medicine, 2005
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Research Overview

Our lab is studying the intersection and relationship between immunology and fetal development. Specifically, we are interested in understanding the role of the maternal immune system in regulating the developmental pathways that guide fetal tissue and organ formation.  We have chosen to focus our investigations on maternal microchimerism, which is the naturally occurring phenomenon by which maternal cells travel into the fetus during pregnancy.  Our hope is to understand the basic biology of maternal microchimerism and determine whether maternal immune cells influence fetal development.
 
The major goals of our laboratory are:
  1. To characterize the types and localization of maternal immune cells in the fetus
  2. To understand how maternal cellular trafficking into the fetus is regulated
  3. To determine the function of maternal cells in the fetus and whether they play a role in regulating fetal tissue development

Research Pathways

Publications

Most recent publications from a total of 24
  1. 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. View in PubMed
  2. 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. View in PubMed
  3. 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. View in PubMed
  4. Nijagal A, MacKenzie TC. Clinical implications of maternal-fetal cellular trafficking. Semin Pediatr Surg. 2013 Feb; 22(1):62-5. View in PubMed
  5. 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. View in PubMed
  6. 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. View in PubMed
  7. 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. View in PubMed
  8. 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. View in PubMed
  9. 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. View in PubMed
  10. 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. View in PubMed
  11. View All Publications
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Abstracts

  1. A Nijagal, M Wegorzewska, T Le, TC MacKenzie. Fetal intervention triggers the activation of paternal antigen-specific maternal T cells. American Pediatric Surgical Association 43rd Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, May 2011. accepted.
  2. A Nijagal, S Fleck, NK Hills, S Feng, Q Tang, SM Kang, P Rosenthal, TC MacKenzie. Maternal liver transplantation in patients with biliary atresia leads to lower risk of graft failure. American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Conference, Boston, MA. 2011.
  3. A Nijagal, T Le, M Wegorzewska, A Tucker, TC MacKenzie. Peripheral tolerance mechanisms are important for the maintenance of donor cell engraftment after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation. American College of Surgeons 97th Annual Clinical Congress, San Francisco, CA. 2011.
  4. A Nijagal, M Wegorzewska, T Le, J Gonzalez, TC MacKenzie. The maternal adaptive immune response against paternal antigens incites fetal demise after detal intervention. American Pediatric Surgical Association 42nd Annual Meeting, Palm Springs, CA, May 2011.
  5. G Bautista, KD Gonzales, A Nijagal, C Ward, DN Miniati, H Lee, S Keating, P Norris, TH Lee, M Busch, TC MacKenzie. Maternal-fetal cellular signaling mechanisms in severe congenital giaphragmatic hernia. American Pediatric Surgical Association 42nd Annual Meeting, Palm Springs, CA, May 2011.
  6. A Nijagal, T Le, M Wegorzewska, A Tucker, Q Tang, TC MacKenzie. Regulatory T cells establish and maintain chimerism after in utero hematopoietic cell transplantation, IMMUNOLOGY 2011. 98th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, San Francisco, CA 2011.
  7. A Nijagal, M Wegorzewska, T Le, A Tucker, Q Tang, TC MacKenzie. Altered T cell profiles in uterine draining lymph nodes of mice with preterm labor, IMMUNOLOGY 2011. 98th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, San Francisco, CA 2011.
  8. M Wegorzewska, A Nijagal, T Le, A Tucker, Q Tang, TC MacKenzie. Preterm labor leads to activation and proliferation of maternal T cells which recognize the paternal alloantigen via the indirect pathway, IMMUNOLOGY 2011. 98th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Immunologists, San Francisco, CA 2011.
  9. A Nijagal, S Fleck, SM Kang, P Rosenthal, TC MacKenzie. Improved outcomes of living related liver transplantation with maternal donors in patients with biliary atresia, American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA 2010.
  10. TC MacKenzie, A Nijagal, T Le, M Wegorzewska, Q Tang. Indirect antigen presentation following in utero HSC transplantation leads to clonal deletion of antigen specific T effector cells with formation of Tregs. International Society for Stem Cell Research 8th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. June 2010.
  11. L Landsman, A Nijagal, WE Zimmer, T MacKenzie, M Hebrok. Transgenic studies reveal essential roles for embryonic pancreatic mesenchyme. Cold Spring Harbor Vertebrate Organogenesis, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. April 2010.
  12. A Nijagal, M Wegorzewska, E Jarvis, T Le, Q Tang, and T MacKenzie. The maternal immune response limits engraftment after in utero hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. California Institute for Regenerative Medicine 2010 Grantee Meeting. San Francisco, CA. March 2010.
  13. T MacKenzie, E Jarvis, A Nijagal, T Le, M Wegorzewska, and Q Tang. The maternal immune response to in utero hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The American Society of Hematology, New Orleans, LA. . December 2009.
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In the News

  • Pediatric Surgeon Amar Nijagal Receives Jay Grosfeld MD Scholar Award from APSAF

    UCSF Pediatric Surgery - Richard Barg - May 14, 2018
    Amar Nijagal, M.D., assistant professor of Surgery in the Division of Pediatric Surgery, received the Jay Grosfeld MD Scholar Award from the American Pediatric Surgical Association Foundation (APSAF) at the 2018 APSA annual meeting. Dr. Nijagal was one of two junior faculty honored with the highly competitive award for his grant proposal, "Investigating the fetal mechanisms of liver and bile duct repair: a link to the prenatal origins of biliary atresia". The Department of Surgery is also [...]

  • Mother’s Stem Cells Likely Key To Treating Genetic Disease Before Birth

    UCSF Pediatric Surgery - January 18, 2011
    UCSF News reports on fetal stem cell transplantation, taking healthy cells from the bone marrow of a donor, and transplanting them into the fetus through ultrasound-guided injections with the goal of having the implanted cells, or graft, replenish the patient's supply of healthy blood-forming cells. UCSF researchers have tackled a decade-long scientific conundrum, and their discovery is expected to lead to significant advances in using stem cells to treat genetic diseases before birth. [...]

 
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