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Dr. Julia Vaizer, Indiana University School of Medicine and Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital
Methodist Hospital emergency physician Dr. Julia Vaizer is one of the world’s leading practitioners of a unique specialty: motorsports medicine. A lifelong racing fan, she serves as medical director for both the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series. She also directs (and was the first graduate of) the Indiana University School of Medicine’s Motorsports Medicine Fellowship program. This one-year residency is the sport’s first and only formal training system.
Vaizer was bitten by the racing bug as a teen when she followed the pro motorcycle circuit. After watching many events and quite a few problematic crashes, she started thinking about combining her passion for racing with her growing interest in medicine.
“I kept pursuing different aspects in motorsports medicine and was very fortunate to find a team of like-minded people here at IU,” she said.
IU’s fellowship program was established in 2020 by Dr. Geoffrey Billows, who retired in 2022 after three decades providing medical services for IndyCar. He also served as Vaizer’s racing medicine mentor. She learned mostly “on the job” by working with him at racing events. Her fellowship work offered a more-focused emphasis on everything from evaluating and treating ultra-high-velocity crash injuries to the promotion of general track safety.
Though her IMS and IndyCar duties are technically a part-time gig, they nevertheless demand a great deal of time and attention. During the Indianapolis 500, she oversees the track’s Emergency Medical Center plus more than a dozen first aid stations around the famed oval. On race day (when the event’s roughly 350,000-strong crowd exceeds the population of Fort Wayne, Indiana’s second-largest city), it serves as a full-service hospital, offering 18 beds, including six for critical care. The staff includes a neurosurgeon and an orthopedic surgeon, plus all the equipment needed to diagnose and treat pretty much every injury or ailment under the sun.
“I was counting how many open hours we put in at the Emergency Medical Center last year, and it was roughly more than 700,” Vaizer said.
In addition to taking care of drivers and crews, the medical team also prepares for anything else—from a mass casualty event to a severe case of sunburn—that might happen during a race.
“We’re responsible for the well-being of every person on the premises during the 500,” Vaizer said. “And with 17 races on the IndyCar schedule every year, it’s a pretty jam-packed schedule.”
Vaizer, in her role as director of the yearlong fellowship program, gets just one new motorsports medicine expert up to speed annually. Medical knowledge and technique are important, but there are many other hyper-specialized skills to master, such as how to monitor the track radio system for potential problems and how to work safely among high-performance cars.
“It’s difficult to do basic emergency medicine in most conditions, but now you’re wearing a fire suit, a safety helmet and fireproof gloves, and you must look to your own safety while also helping the driver,” Vaizer said. “It takes time and experience. It’s not something that happens overnight.”•
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