ABout
Making health education fun through comics
Livewell Comics got its start in 2018 when Dr. Suskind partnered with illustrator Jason Piperberg to create their first comic, Professor Nimbal – Explorations in Crohn’s and Colitis. Professor Nimbal (short for Nutrition and Medicine Balanced) is no ordinary professor. He’s on a mission to teach kids and their families about the powerful impact diet can have on their health.
The comic was created to help children and their parents better understand the research behind using dietary therapy as medicine, and why this approach might be the right choice for some families experiencing Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Like your healthcare providers, Professor Nimbal wants to help you become the healthiest person you can be!
Since then, Professor Nimbal’s adventures have expanded beyond inflammatory bowel disease. The collection now includes comics covering a range of health conditions, such as the flu and vaccines, functional abdominal pain, eosinophilic esophagitis, fatty liver disease, and celiac disease. Each has been generously translated into multiple languages by healthcare professionals around the world, and the collection keeps growing.
the creators
Dr. David Suskind
Livewell Comics Founder & Writer
Dr. David Suskind is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Seattle Children’s Hospital, where he also serves as Director of Quality Improvement. He is also a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Washington. And he has been regularly voted by his peers as a Top Doctor in both Seattle Metropolitan and Seattle Magazine.
A nationally recognized expert in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Dr. Suskind has led pioneering research on the role of nutrition in managing IBD, including studies showing that diet alone can lead to remission in children with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
As a researcher and clinician, Dr. Suskind has helped make Seattle Children’s one of the first academic centers to fully integrate dietary therapy into the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He is also the founder of NIMBAL, an educational resource for families exploring nutrition-based care.
His work is grounded in a deep belief in patient and family empowerment through education—an approach that also drives his creation of Professor Nimbal and the Livewell Comics series.
Jason Piperberg
Artist, Illustrator, and Storyteller
An illustrator and comic artist with a passion for storytelling, Jason brings Livewell Comics to life with energy, clarity, and heart.
Over the years, Jason has worked on a wide variety of creative projects, and genres, from slice-of-life, and historical fiction, to swashbuckling adventure, and sci-fi/fantasy worlds. Some projects of note include being the artist and letterer of the Raising Dion comic book (adapted as a Netflix series in 2018), covers for Archie Comics’ Sonic Universe and Mega Man titles, and illustration work for the Philadelphia Eagles. He’s been drawing comics since he was a kid—and now gets to call it his dream job.
Jason holds a BFA in Illustration from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and has been working professionally for over a decade.
At Livewell Comics, he helps transform complex medical research into engaging, kid-friendly stories that support families in understanding their health.
You can see more of his work at jasonpiperberg.com.
Special Thanks to Everyone Who Helped Bring Dr. Livewell to the World!
We’re incredibly grateful to the healthcare professionals around the globe who have generously shared their time and expertise to translate the Dr. Livewell comics and make them accessible worldwide.
- For Celiac Disease:
Thank you to Prof. Raanan Shamir, MD, and Gal Timianker, MD (Hebrew); Dr. Maria Gonzales Echeandia (Spanish); Dr. Ali Alsarhan (Arabic); Dr. Christos Tzivinikos (Greek); and Dr. Cristina Targa Ferreira (Portuguese). - For Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis:
Special thanks to Dr. Niviann Marie Blondet (Spanish). - For Eosinophilic Esophagitis:
We thank Dr. Maria Gonzales Echeandia (Spanish), and Drs. Petra Nagypal and Aron Cseh (Hungarian). - For Inflammatory Bowel Disease:
Heartfelt thanks to Eyad Altamimi, Omar Altamimi, and Manar Al-lawama (Arabic); Professor Petar Mamula (Croatian); Victorien Madsen (Dutch); Dr. Maria Gonzales Echeandia (Spanish); Professor Alexandra Papadopoulou (Greek); Tali Guday (Hebrew); Dr. Tóbi Luca and Aron Cseh (Hungarian); Dagmara Corrigan (Polish); Drs. Daniela Serban and Georgia Tar (Romanian); and Dr. Nadia Waheed (Urdu). - For Disorders of Brain-Gut Interaction:
Our thanks go to Professor Alexandra Papadopoulou (Greek); Dr. Maria Gonzales Echeandia (Spanish); and Drs. Boglarka Bozoki and Aron Cseh (Hungarian). - In addition, we extend our sincere thanks to everyone who has provided valuable feedback, thoughtful suggestions, and editorial insights to the Dr. Livewell comic, including Rebecca Davis-Suskind, Jessica Cook, Hannibal Person, Dale Lee, Niviann Marie Blondet, Evelyn Hsu, Michael Pickens, and Ben Gold.
