Oluwaferanmi O. Okanlami, M.D., M.S.

Dr. Oluwaferanmi Okanlami is an Assistant Professor of Family Medicine & Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Director of MDisability Community Engagement, and Director of Adaptive Sports in Michigan Center for Human Athletic Medicine and Performance at Michigan Medicine at the University of Michigan. He also serves as the Spokesperson for Guardian Life in their Equal & Able partnership.  

“Dr. O” was born in Nigeria before immigrating to the US at a young age. He attended High School at Deerfield Academy and college at Stanford University where he also ran Track & Field serving as captain his last two seasons and achieving Academic All American recognition. 

He then earned his MD from the University of Michigan before matching into Orthopedic Surgery at Yale. At the beginning of his 3^rd year he experienced a spinal cord injury, paralyzing him from the chest down. After two surgeries and intense rehabilitation, he was blessed with some return of motor function. 

He went on to earn a Master’s in Engineering, Science, and Technology Entrepreneurship from The University of Notre Dame, and completed his Family Medicine Residency at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Indiana. He served on the St. Joseph County Board of Health, appointed by former Mayor Pete Buttigieg; and is on the Board of the River City Challenged Athletes, a non-profit supporting the local adaptive sports teams. He was featured on Robin Robert’s Good Morning America Series “Thriver Thursday,” and has a catch phrase, “Disabusing Disability^Ⓡ,” hoping to demonstrate that DISability doesn’t mean INability. He is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honors Society,  received Michigan Medicine’s Distinguished Early Career Alumni Award in 2020, serves on the Board of the Michigan Medicine Alumni Society, and was given the “A Teacher’s Teacher Award” by the Academy of Medical Educators.

Nationally, he serves on the Steering Committee for the Group on Diversity and Inclusion at the AAMC, speaks around the country on topics related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, including, but not limited to the lack of black male physicians and creating a health system that is accessible and inclusive to both patients and providers with disabilities. He is leading efforts to create an adaptive sports program, providing access to physical fitness and recreational and competitive sports for all.