Benjamin Levi

Dr. Benjamin Levi is a faculty member at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, where he serves as Chief of the Division of General and Acute Care Surgery and holds the Dr. Lee Hudson-Robert R. Penn Chair in Surgery and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He is board-certified in both Plastic and General Surgery and joined UT Southwestern in 2020 after leadership roles at the University of Michigan. His research is supported by the NIH, DoD, and American College of Surgeons.

• Institution: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
• School: School of Medicine
• Department: Department of Surgery
• Academic Rank: Associate Professor
• Leadership: Chief, Division of General and Acute Care Surgery

Dr. Levi’s research focuses on regenerative medicine, trauma, and wound healing, with a particular emphasis on heterotopic ossification (HO), stem cell biology, muscle fibrosis, and tissue regeneration. His lab investigates molecular pathways such as BMP, TGF-beta, and NGF-TrkA signaling to understand how aberrant bone forms after injury. The work aims to develop targeted therapies to prevent or treat HO in burn, trauma, and surgical patients.

His recent publications span high-impact journals including Nature Communications, Science Translational Medicine, and JCI Insight, covering topics from neurovascular coupling in bone to macrophage signaling in wound healing. The research integrates molecular biology, imaging, and preclinical models to translate findings from bench to bedside.

Dr. Levi has received numerous scientific honors:

• ACS Clowes Award
• ASBMR Fuller Albright Award
• ASCI Young Investigator Award
• Joan L. and Julius H. Jacobson II Promising Investigator Award
• AAS Research & Education Foundation Scholarship

He mentors a dynamic team of students and researchers, many of whom have won national awards. He also leads the Levi Lab within the Center for Organogenesis, Regeneration, and Trauma (CORT), fostering a collaborative, inclusive, and rigorous research environment. The lab has secured multiple DOD grants and maintains strategic partnerships with institutions like Johns Hopkins and the IFOPA. Dr. Levi also holds an adjunct associate professorship at the Uniformed Services University.