Our Faculty
The Core Faculty
Our core instructors are all board-certified plastic and reconstructive surgeons who have collectively performed tens of thousands of procedures, with over a thousand publications in the field's top journals, and managed complications that most providers only read about. They teach here because they believe the aesthetics industry deserves a higher standard of anatomical education — and because they've seen what happens when it doesn't get one.
Division Chief, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery — Rutgers Health
Dr. Edward Lee
Dr. Edward Lee is the Division Chief at Rutgers Health New Jersey Medical School as well as the Residency Program Director for the Rutgers Integrated Plastic Surgery Program. He completed his education at Yale and Georgetown University Medical School. He finished his plastic surgery residency at the University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Lee is a leader in plastic surgery education. He is instrumental in implementing the "PITT Method" at Rutgers to develop the next generation of leaders in plastic surgery. His practice encompasses general plastic surgery, hand surgery, complex microsurgical reconstruction, and aesthetic surgery. Dr. Lee has lectured worldwide on his work, focusing on orthoplastic limb salvage, microsurgery, and wound healing.
Professor & Vice Chair of Research, Department of Surgery — Rutgers University
Alex K. Wong, MD, FACS
Dr. Alex Wong is the Professor & Vice Chair of Research, Department of Surgery, Rutgers University Medical School. He is also the Chief of Surgery at the Veterans Administration New Jersey Health System and the Director of the Lymphedema Program in the Division of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He is also a board examiner for the American Board of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. Dr. Alex Wong graduated cum laude in Biological Sciences from Cornell University and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. Dr. Wong pursued postdoctoral clinical training in Plastic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and a postdoctoral basic research fellowship in progenitor cell biology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Wong has had a longstanding interest in studying fundamental aspects of tissue regeneration, particularly lymphangiogenesis and wound healing. Over the past decade, Dr. Wong's group has received extramural support from numerous agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (K08 & R01), the Plastic Surgery Foundation, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the Lymphatic Education & Research Network.
Guest Experts
Featured Speakers
MD, MBA, FACS
J. Peter Rubin
J. Peter Rubin, MD, is Chair of the Department of Plastic Surgery and the UPMC Endowed Professor of Plastic Surgery, as well as Professor of Bioengineering. Dr. Rubin is the Director of UPMC Wound Healing Services. He earned his undergraduate degree in biology from Grinnell College and his M.D. degree from Tufts University. He completed a 3-year plastic surgery residency at Harvard Medical School. He is co-director of the Adipose Stem Cell Center and co-director of the UPMC Aesthetic Plastic Surgery Center. He founded and directs the Center for Innovation in Restorative Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an advanced clinical accelerator unit with expertise in regulatory affairs, preclinical testing, and clinical trials design and management. Dr. Rubin has also been Chair of the Plastic Surgery Research Council. He currently serves as chair of a joint society task force of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons on the use of stem cells. Additionally, he serves as the liaison between the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons, working to promote safety and quality standards in plastic surgery after weight loss. He is well known for his innovative techniques in breast and body contouring surgery. He has published a textbook on plastic surgery after weight loss and is currently the lead editor of a multi-author textbook project on body contouring surgery, which is expected to be the standard reference.
CEO
Mina-Jacqueline Au
Aesthetics Series
Mina-Jacqueline Au’s is an exemplary founder and a chief. She is much more. She is a Disruptor. In 2005, she established the country’s largest and first day resort & medspa, Cornelia, in New York City. After just five years, she played an instrumental role in its sale to Elizabeth Arden for $27 million. Following the acquisition of her medspa, Mina’s expertise and track record drew the attention of XpresSpa Group, Inc., an innovative brand that pioneered spa services in airport terminals. An innovative brand that pioneered spa services In airport terminals. At XpresSpa, she transformed the company’s operations—expanding from just three locations to 27. Mina had strategically positioned XpresSpa on the path to an IPO, which it achieved in June 2010 with its NASDAQ listing under the ticker XSPA. In addition to her entrepreneurial leadership, Mina has become a respected voice in medical research and education. She co-founded and spearheads the premier medical education conference, Aesthetic Series, and has been invited as a keynote clinical presenter at international symposiums for Institut Pasteur in Paris and Madrid. Her dedication to advancing Science extended into pandemic research: as part of Institut Pasteur’s USA team, she was one of only six individuals nominated nationwide for the Sanofi-Pasteur Award. Mina’s expertise has been featured on national television and in prominent media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Dr. Oz Show, The New York Post, CW Morning News, ABC Morning Show, and Huffington Post. We are excited to have Mina as one of our featured Founders and Chief speakers.
