Before becoming an award-winning dermatologist and researcher, before earning fame as an innovator and health entrepreneur, Dhaval Bhanusali, MD (CHM ’10), was a young Spartan exploring what Michigan State University could teach him about the world.
Being admitted to medical school at the age of 17 gave him freedom as an undergraduate to study diverse topics: ancient history, physiology, economics, even packaging.
Speaking recently from his Hudson Dermatology and Laser Surgery practice in New York City, Bhanusali acknowledged that, at the time, some of those courses might not have seemed relevant to his medical studies.
“But now if you look at my career, it actually made a lot of sense,” he said. “When I’m sitting in a room with Martha Stewart talking about packaging options, who would have thought that a class I took many years ago would play some important part of that discussion?”
Bhanusali’s entrepreneurial approach to medicine has produced headline-grabbing innovations and celebrity partnerships. His expertise is in demand globally. He credits his experience in the College of Human Medicine’s Medical Scholars program and wants others to discover the same collaborative, innovative spirit that shaped his career.
That’s one of the reasons he recently pledged his largest gift to the university, creating the Bhanusali Innovation Scholars program. A first-of-its-kind scholarship for College of Human Medicine students, the program provides full tuition paired with support services through MSU’s Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
With a goal of helping students build ideas that improve lives, Bhanusali also will personally mentor the program’s scholars.
“What I've always loved about Michigan State is the collaborative environment. You have all the mixings there of creating something incredible,” he said. “And so the idea is that, if you can find these physician innovators early and foster the thought process that they're developing, you're going to have some people who are going to change the world. And that's always been the dream.”
In an announcement of the scholarship in December, Supratik Rayamajhi, MD, interim dean of the College of Human Medicine, thanked Bhanusali for opening doors of opportunity for future physicians.
“Equally meaningful is his pledge to give his time and mentorship — an invaluable investment in guiding and inspiring the next generation of Spartan MDs,” Rayamajhi said.
Bhanusali sees that next generation as essential to solving the biggest challenges in medicine. That wasn’t always the way, he said.
“I think we realize now that physician innovators are our best chance of improving healthcare,” he said. “And I think the more physicians are equipped with this entrepreneurial knowledge and the way to think about things, the better our healthcare system will be long-term.”
Bhanusali has put that philosophy into practice throughout his career.
“I always tell people the best entrepreneurs are ones who just solve problems,” he said. “If you can solve a problem in a unique way, you’re an entrepreneur. If there’s no solution, you must build it.”
And build he has: Bhanusali has created numerous digital health companies and partnerships to improve access to medications and save patients hundreds of millions of dollars.
An abbreviated summary of his work includes formulating Amazon’s first skincare line; creating Skin Medicinals, tech company to help dermatologists formulate topicals that saved patients over $200 million; building AIRE Health, a digital health platform creating a dermatologist marketplace and digital skincare distribution channel; serving as dermatologist-in-residence for rhode, a skincare brand by Hailey Bieber (recently acquired by E.L.F. Beauty for $1 Billion); and co-founding and serving as chief medical officer at Elm Biosciences, a science-led skincare concept with Martha Stewart.
All of that is in addition to continuing to see patients, something he considers central to his identity.
“That’s a core tenant of who I am. It's the greatest privilege of my life,” he said, noting that patient care puts doctors in the position to solve larger problems.
“I think our job as frontline workers with patients is to figure out, not just how to care for them, but also how to help fix the system,” he said.
As someone who has racked up a lot of awards and recognition — MSU’s Young Alumni Award, Allure’s A-List for people changing the beauty world, a New York Times Superdoctor, Patient Care Hero of the Year by the American Academy of Dermatology, and Top 25 Healthcare innovator by Crain’s NY — Bhanusali said his support for MSU medical students is not about him.
“My only job is to light a spark,” he said. “I think the ideal outcome for me is that promising college students around the country now look at Michigan State as a destination for entrepreneurship and innovation. My hope is that Michigan State's medical school is ground zero for innovation moving forward.”
This story originally appeared on the College of Human Medicine website.