Dr. Aggarwal is a professor of medicine at University of Pittsburgh and medical director of Arthritis and Autoimmunity Center at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. He is the co-director of UPMC Myositis Center. His research and clinical areas of interest are clinical and translational research in inflammatory muscle diseases (myositis) and associated interstitial lung disease. He is the past-chair of the medical advisory board of The Myositis Association (TMA) as well as past-chair of the scientific committee of IMACS, which are the largest patient and physician groups working in the field of myositis, respectively.
Dr. Aggarwal is an established independent clinical investigator with significant funding from NIH, foundations and industry and currently leading several collaborations internationally with other key leaders in the world. He has maintained an extremely high publication record and received national and international recognition of his work. He continues to be a leader in disease criteria and outcomes measures in myositis as well as in clinical trials of novel therapeutic agents for myositis. He is currently the principal investigator or member of the steering committee for several international phase 2/3 clinical trials in the area of myositis and associated ILD. Dr. Aggarwal is also mentoring future generation of rheumatologist with great success and attracting younger rheumatologist towards myositis research for the advancement of the field. Dr. Aggarwal lectures at various international conferences and promotes patient education through his YouTube channel.
Dr. Aggarwal's primary clinical interest includes all forms of myositis such as Polymyositis (PM), Necrotizing myopathy (NM), Dermatomyositis (DM), anti-syntheses syndrome (ASSD), inclusion body myositis (IBM), Overlap Myositis (OM). Dr. Aggarwal specializes in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) or pulmonary fibrosis associated with various autoimmune diseases or connective tissue disease. Dr. Aggarwal also runs a general rheumatology clinic including patients with rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Sjogren syndrome, vasculitis, psoriatic arthritis, sarcoidosis, etc.
Dr. Aggarwal's educational interests include myopathies including Polymyositis, Dermatomyositis, Inclusion body myositis and overlap syndrome and mixed connective tissue disease. Also autoimmune or connective tissue disease related interstitial lung disease or pulmonary fibrosis.
- MD, University College of Medical Science, 2003
- CRTP (clinical research), University of Pittsburgh, 2007
- MS - clinical research, Rush University, 2009
- Residency - Internal Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, 2007
- Fellowship - Rheumatology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 2009
Education & Training
Kocoloski, A., Aggarwal, R., Lienesch, D. Successful management of secondary cryofibrinogenaemia using bosentan therapy. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2018
Schiffenbauer, A., Faghihi-Kashani, S., O'Hanlon, T. P., Flegel, W. A., Adams, S. D., Targoff, I. N., Oddis, C. V., Ytterberg, S. R., Aggarwal, R., Christopher-Stine, L., Shamim, E. A., Dellaripa, P. F., Danoff, S. K., Mammen, A. L., Miller, F. W. The effect of cigarette smoking on the clinical and serological phenotypes of polymyositis and dermatomyositis. Semin Arthritis Rheum. 2018; pii: S0049-0172(17): 30630-30633.
Aggarwal, R., Indiran, V., Maduraimuthu, P. Different etiologies of an unusual disease: Colouterine fistula - Report of two cases. Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2018; 28(1): 37-40.
Rider, L. G., Aggarwal, R., Machado, P. M., Hogrel, J. Y., Reed, A. M., Christopher-Stine, L., Ruperto, N. Update on outcome assessment in myositis. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2018; 14(5): 303-318.
Doyle, T. J., Dhillon, N., Madan, R., Cabral, .F, Fletcher, E. A., Koontz, D. C., Aggarwal, R., Osorio, J. C., Rosas, I. O., Oddis, C. V., Dellaripa, P. F. Rituximab in the Treatment of Interstitial Lung Disease Associated with Antisynthetase Syndrome: A Multicenter Retrospective Case Review. J Rheumatol. 2018; 45(6): 841-850.
Oddis, C. V., Aggarwal, R. Treatment in myositis. Nat Rev Rheumatol. 2018; 14(5): 279-289.
Aggarwal R, Marder G, Koontz DC, Nandkumar P, Qi Z, Oddis CV. Efficacy and safety of adrenocorticotropic hormone gel in refractory dermatomyositis and polymyositis. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018; 77(5): 720-727.
Tjärnlund, A., Tang, Q., Wick, C., Dastmalchi, M., Mann, H., Tomasová Studýnková, J., Chura, R., Gullick, N. J., Salerno, R., Rönnelid, J., Alexanderson, H., Lindroos, E., Aggarwal, R., Gordon, P., Vencovsky, J., Lundberg, I. E. Abatacept in the treatment of adult dermatomyositis and polymyositis: a randomised, phase IIb treatment delayed-start trial. Ann Rheum Dis. 2018; 77(1): 55-62.
Schneider, F., Yousem, S. A., Oddis, C. V., Aggarwal, R. Pulmonary Pathologic Manifestations of Anti-Alanyl-tRNA Synthetase (Anti-PL-12)-Related Inflammatory Myopathy. Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2018; 142(2): 191-197.
Aggarwal, R., Gautam, R., Jhamb, D., Sivasankar, R. Diagnosing thoracic venous aneurysm: A contemporary imaging perspective. Indian J Radiol Imaging. 2017; 27(3): 350-353.
- Institute for “Clinical Research Education Distinguished Mentor Award”, 2018
- UPMC ACES award for “Commitment and Excellence in Service, 2018
- Hind Ratan “Jewel of India” Award. For scientific contribution by person of Indian Origin. Non-Resident Society, in association with Government of India, 2017
- The Pacemaker Award as Medical Director for Excellence in Patient Care by Arthritis and Autoimmunity Center, 2013
- Best Junior Faculty Investigator Award, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 2012
- Top Rheumatologist in Pittsburgh, PA by International Association of Health Care Professionals (IAHCP), 2011
- Faculty honor recognition at Annual Honors Convocation by Provost, University of Pittsburgh, 2010
- American College of Rheumatology Research Workshop, Top Rank, Scholarship, Chicago, 2008
