Jill S. Waibel, M.D.

A globally acclaimed pioneer and authority in laser-based dermatologic surgery.

1. Jill, what made you choose medicine? When did you know that you wanted to become a doctor?

I was a cheerleader, stellar student and class president. I originally wanted to be a scientist. In junior high school, I was allowed to have a bottle of vodka and inject it into a mouse to learn about the fetal effects. I also did RNA sequencing of corn.

While president of my class there was a young man named Ryan White who had AIDS. Because I was the student president, I was asked to drive him to school. At that time, people were afraid of AIDS and part of that request was to show you could not contract the disease just by being around someone. During this time, Surgeon General Dr. Everett Koop and Dr. Martin Kleinman treated Ryan. This experience inspired me to become a doctor. I was living in Indiana but actually saw medicine change with Dr. Kleinman treating Ryan. People feared that if they lived around someone with AIDS, they would contract the disease, but of course they didn’t.

 I knew I wanted to become a doctor in high school/college. Ryan changed the world – he was the face of AIDS. He was someone that didn’t want to be in the public but did it to help others. I got close to Drs. Koop and Kleinman and also met Elton John and Michael Jackson because of Ryan. Medicine changed before my eyes during this time of AIDS. From fear of AIDS to knowledge of AIDS. That inspired me.

2. Who were some of the most influential people in your life that shaped you and your career path?

Ryan White shaped my career path. Ryan (the patient who had AIDS) did not seek attention but was a high influencer. Dr. Koop was an influencer too. Through time with Dr. Koop, I learned about the global state of medicine. I received global exposure through Dr. Koop. Initially, I wanted to be a surgeon so I could fix people. When I was a resident, Dr. Turk was Chief of Surgery at the University of Cincinnati/Dayton. He was very tough. We would have rounds starting from 4:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. I was one of two students he selected to go to his home to learn more. He would serve us dinner and lecture until midnight. I would get up and do it all over again every day. He called me aside one day at his home and said, “Jill you should be a dermatologist because you are really smart and great with your hands and because surgery will be changing”. He sent me to Dr. George Haney, and I spent the day with him as a dermatologist. The first thing I saw with Dr. Haney was lasing children to remove port wine stains using a laser. I was hooked. Technology using light and helping kids…

3. I see that you have targeted treatment of some of the most severe issues within your field of medicine.  What specifically attracted you to the areas of scarring and traumatic burn injuries?

I was matched in dermatology and doing 100 hours a week for my internship.  Also, I continued to visit Dr. George Haney to learn more about lasers. He was one of the early pioneers and it was the early stage of lasers in medicine. I was fortunate enough to learn from people too like  Dr. Tina Alster, Washington DC, Dr. Mary Lupo,  New Orleans, LA, Dr. Mitch Goldman, San Diego, CA. I was able to spend a month with each one to learn more.

In my residency, there were 11 men and myself. So, they assigned me to do lasers in dermatology. When I went there, they had ordered every laser, but they were all boxed. I had to assemble them, which I had never done before. I stayed up all night assembling them. The next day I was crazy busy, I had 50 patients waiting for me. Then a patient came in with burns on her face. She had been misinformed and when a fire started, she used oil on her face. Her husband was also trying to help her and ended up throwing the pan of oil on her. She went down to the ground and rolled to stop the burns. She had 60-80% of her body burned and was in a coma for 7 months. When she came in to see me, she was almost angry and demanded that I fix her. She said I was the only laser available in Ohio. So, I used the Fraxel and the result was incredible. Because of this success, I was on an airplane and was asked to talk at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc. and became well-known at a very young age. I was  and am motivated by my patients and outcomes.

4. I understand that you have over 90 lasers in your practice.  Why have lasers been so important to you and your team?

I was very blessed. I’m generation 2.5 in lasers. My mentors gave these lasers to me. I was in my own class if you will. I got out of residency in 2000 and the company I worked for in Ohio bought all of the new lasers that existed. I was involved in all facets of laser companies in research and development, studies, boards, indications of use, everything. There are probably only 20-30 people in the world that have the number of lasers I have. That’s why BellaMia has such a fabulous Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) team because no one has the experience we have. Our SAB has such an edge over others because they are world experts in lasers and know all facets of them. When most people have 1-5 lasers, they have 70-100, so they know exactly. I view BellaMia as having such an edge over others because they have access to those world experts and are guided by them on what to build. And, BellaMia has some of the world's experts in engineers who can execute. Lasers use light to heal, which could never be done before. There are so many medical things that lasers can do that could not be done before.

5.  What new developments in dermatology are the most exciting to you either now or in the near future?

I am an innovative person, and I get excited about things that are better today than they were yesterday. I have a strong interest in regenerative medicine, robotics and artificial intelligence. These fields hold the potential to enhance the quality of care that the doctors can provide to the patients. I am very excited about robotics, such as those that BellaMia is developing.

6. I know that you are a wife and mother of four.  How do you balance the incredible practice and medical responsibilities that you have with your personal life?

Balance is not the right word. My kids are my motivation. My husband is very supportive and helps me in many ways with my career. I am not a party person. For my marriage every Tuesday is a date night. I have a great infrastructure, a wonderful team, and people around me. Rather than balance, I would search for happiness and success, whatever that means for each of you, and eliminate any toxic people around you.

7. Finally, as a Super Star, would you share some of your personal beauty secrets that keep you looking so fabulous?

Well, I don’t know about that. But…

·       First of all, I exercise daily.

·       I’m a pescatarian, so eating healthy is priority.

·       I laser myself 3 times per year and use Botox also.

·       I use good skin care products.

·       I’m not afraid of surgery when the time comes.

Comment by Janet Campbell, CEO:

Jill was in the right place at the right time and had access because others were not yet interested and did not recognize the ability to resolve unknown issues of health with such a tool. I would liken Jill’s experience to Bill Gates and Steven Jobs who in their early points of career had strong interest in a little-known technology, computers. Because there were only a few interested in this type of technology, they had great access and talent to become the world experts. Jill had a similar opportunity with lasers and executed in a similar manner. Kudos to Jill!