Read more about this physician's nomination story*:

Dr. Abhinav Agrawal is truly a Rising Star at Northwell. Having finished his pulmonary and critical care fellowship here in 2019, he became enamored with interventional pulmonology, realizing there was a gap at Northwell where pulmonologists could be doing more for patients who could have lung cancer, but are not being diagnosed in a timely manner. He left to finish specialized training in this, and came back to Northwell to formally start a system level Interventional Pulmonology (IP) specialty. He worked with multiple existing specialties, such as thoracic surgery and radiology, to figure out where the gaps were, and how IP could supplement and enhance, rather than take away from, their work. He understood everyone's concerns, from the surgeons and ORs and to the office staff, about how this niche specialty required new workflows and knowledge, and he addressed them head on in a collaborative manner. He worked diligently with OR staff as they all learned new terminology and equipment. He showed thoracic surgeons how IP could help their work and allow them to focus on things they are uniquely able to do better than anyone else. His work has made IP an integral part of a multi-specialty approach to lung disorders, something that did not exist beforehand. He has put LIJMC on the map for early lung cancer screening by bringing robotic bronchoscopy to LI, performing over 300 bronchoscopies using the Galaxy system in a few short years. This system allows the IP team to reach smaller lung nodules for earlier lung cancer diagnoses. His work leading the IP team's work for earlier lung cancer diagnoses furthers LIJMC and the Zuckerberg Cancer Center's goal of being the cancer hospital on LI. He is also leading the effort to start a valve program to help patients with end stage COPD live better lives when transplant may not be an option. He is looking to expand IP services to the Eastern Region, and working with Nuvance to better coordinate care going forward. As System Director of IP, he is doing truly remarkable work that helps patients. Dr. Agrawal also furthers the education of our fellows and residents. IP has now become a formal part of their education, allowing our fellows to graduate with a procedural skillset that makes them highly coveted graduates, not to mention better doctors with the knowledge they've gained. Dr. Agrawal is also highly published. A true scholar, he has worked on national guidelines (such as for central airway obstruction) along with other work - go ahead and look him up on pubmed! Lastly, his co-workers and patients all love him. He is genuinely a good person and wants to do the right thing. No matter how exhausted he is with late days, he is the first to go in at night when someone calls. "If I can help, why not?" is his motto. He is constantly looking for ways to provide better care for patients, and all this is just the beginning.

This nomination was submitted by Zubair Hasan, Director, Medical Intensive Care Unit, LIJMC.

*While only one nomination story is featured here, the physician may have been nominated more than once by multiple colleagues. Every nominee will receive all the nominations submitted on their behalf.