IFOPA Board Member, Gary McGuire, and his daughter, Natalie, recently visited Dr. Ben Levi at his lab to discuss the FOP research being performed at the University of Michigan.

I traveled to the lab at the University of Michigan with my daughter Natalie (16) and was met at the lab by my son Keegan (19) who is a student there and has developed a relationship with Dr. Ben Levi. 

We first had a general meet and greet in the morning with Dr. Levi and his team over some bagels and coffee. This was Natalie’s first time in this situation but she handled it well. She told me later that she felt a little bit uncomfortable as the students tried to nonchalantly assess the impact of her FOP. Fortunately at the time, her FOP was not that obvious. 

Dr. Levi gave us a detailed overview of the work they do at the lab and then we went on a tour of the lab facilities. Following the tour, several senior members of Dr. Levi’s team gave us a detailed presentation of the research they were doing and some of the areas showing promise. This also gave the team a chance to ask us questions.  

We ended the meeting with a fascinating lunch discussion with Dr. Levi, my two children, and two of Dr. Levi’s esteemed colleagues. That will be a lunch my children and I never forget, as it was clear we were among some of the greats of the medical world. I left the lunch very impressed and very grateful that Dr. Levi had developed an interest in FOP.  He is clearly one of young stars of the medical field, and we are lucky to have him on the FOP team.

Click here to hear directly from Dr. Levi about the FOP research he’s currently conducting.