40 Under 40: Joshua Liao

Joshua Liao's interest in helping others is what led him from studying 17th century dramas to a career examining health care payer systems.

The UW Medicine physician's focus now is making the industry more affordable, and improving access to marginalized communities, through leadership roles within his own organization.

"What was really jarring for me, was the inequity in the systems," he said. "You don't have to look very far to see there are layers to this. So I started asking this question, 'What are the levers of change?'"

When did you realize medicine was your passion?

I was actually an English Lit major. The dream for a while was to do Jacobean drama. Then I got mixed up with this non-governmental organization that connected me with physicians. Long story short, on a trip we got into a deep conversation on what I wanted to do with my life. I explained I want to do this drama thing. I really love understanding the human condition. They said, 'What about the impact?' That really always stuck with me. There's nothing wrong with taking Jacobean drama but I always thought if there's a way I could marry the human condition and that narrative with impact, that would be good.

How did you balance both of those pursuits?

Maybe this is my own bias, but I do think having both of those at the same time, I was able to kind of blend them together. In my lit work, instead of going whole hog around Elizabethan drama, I started bending toward 'what if we did visual or critical analysis of how physicians are represented in media?' One of my projects was actually to analyze a number of season from the most popular TV shows in the U.S. to break down power dynamics and gender dynamics. What are the visual analyses of Grey's Anatomy? It was helpful for me to marry the two.

You now have a staff of more than a dozen. How would you describe your leadership style?

Physicians, whether you're a trainee or done with training, or staff who work in health care, who bring policy, public health, or community organizing backgrounds, these people are incredibly intelligent, they're thoughtful, they're hard working. So for me, the coaching style is where I really think about how do I help a person help themselves, rather than other styles that are a little bit more pace-setting or drive a little bit more. I just find that doesn't work as well in the health care setting. I coach more than anything else.

Given that you have so many roles, how do you detach from work?

I draw pretty firm boundaries around the work, because there's always more work to do. I love fly fishing. There's something very meditative about being out there without a lot of other people and going through the motion. There's a mastery to it. And I have very clear priorities around my family and my children. Whatever energy and ambition I put into my career, it doesn't hold up to my ambition as a father and as a spouse. I really block those times. I protect it with everything I have. And I fish.