William J. Janssen, MD
Reilly Professor of Lung Injury, Repair and Interstitial Lung Disease
Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs
Section Head for Critical Care
National Jewish Health
Three statements about you – two true, one false. (We tease each new Who’s Who with statements about each featured person – two of which are true, one of which is false, all to be revealed in the last answer.)
- I’ve hiked the full length of the Appalachian trail.
- My entry into medicine came through mechanical engineering of artificial hearts.
- I swam 13 miles around the island of Key West.
Give us your ‘elevator pitch’ biography.
I was born and raised in a small town in Ohio by parents that valued hard work and education. I didn’t have any role models that were physicians, but my dad was a mechanical engineer - so that’s what I decided to study. My first engineering job landed me in a steel factory. While I enjoyed working with the steel workers, I didn’t find the job intellectually stimulating. My second engineering job found me working on artificial hearts at the Cleveland Clinic. I loved it! I was exposed to physician-scientists for the first time in my life, and I almost instantly knew that I wanted a similar career. I spent a couple of years taking pre-med classes at night and eventually got accepted to medical school at Ohio State. I’ve spent the past thirty years in academic medicine as a physician scientist. I absolutely love what I do.
What would you tell yourself as an Early Career Professional?
Learn how to say “no.” One of the great things about academic medicine is that so many challenging opportunities exist. However, you can’t do it all. If you overcommit you risk your ability to advance your core mission.
If you weren’t in medicine, and were in a different industry altogether, what would you be?
I love my career choice; I can’t imagine doing anything else. I guess my second choice would be teaching at the college level, perhaps in physics or engineering.
What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
I love to ski with my family.
What areas of medicine are you most excited to see develop?
AI and precision medicine. In the future, I think we’ll be able to leverage these to provide individualized therapies.
What is one advancement in your field you’d like to see in your career?
My dream is to have therapeutics that promote healthy lung tissue repair.
Which statement (in question #2) was false?
Hiking the Appalachian trail. It’s always been a goal of mine to hike the entire AT, but I’ve not done it yet.