The Shaevsky Family | Food Allergy Center | Michigan Medicine

Mallory and Mason, whose father is Larry, and Benny and Harry, Tom’s children, all have food allergies that bring hidden danger to school events, birthday parties, restaurants, movie theaters, summer camp and family trips.

About a decade ago, the Shaevsky family was aboard a plane, heading down the runway, when Mason broke out in hives. Lois thinks peanut remnants on the seat probably caused the reaction. The flight crew had to turn the plane around, so they wouldn’t risk Mason having an even deadlier reaction in the air. An ambulance waiting at the gate took him to a nearby hospital where he recovered safely.

“I really feel for my kids,” Lois says of Tom and Larry. “I never went through that. You really just can’t trust anything.”

The children’s mothers, Marlo and Missy, have mastered nut-free cooking. Tom has successfully advocated for the University of Michigan Athletic Department to end the sale of peanuts during football and basketball games. And, after hearing about the research of Jessica O’Konek, Ph.D., the Shaevsky Family Foundation made a generous gift to support the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center. O’Konek is developing new therapies designed to prevent allergic reactions.

“What could be a more important cause than your grandkids? It’s so important to try to find a solution, and it’s empowering to be able to do something about it.”

Lois Shaevsky

Lois previously served on the FAC board of directors and continues to raise awareness among others who are passionate about advancing food allergy research and care. She believes U-M can help parents go even further to protect her grandchildren — and all children who face the dangers of food allergies.

“What could be a more important cause than your grandkids?” Lois says. “It’s so important to try to find a solution, and it’s empowering to be able to do something about it.”

Through philanthropic support from the Shaevksy family and some governmental funding, O’Konek has made significant progress in the development of a vaccine that could potentially provide long-term protection against food allergies.

“With our vaccine, we can produce long-term immunity with only a few immunizations, so it would be less burdensome,” O’Konek says. “Rather than desensitization, we’re trying to train the immune system to have a different and not harmful response when it encounters the offending foods.”

O’Konek’s findings demonstrate that the vaccine can prevent allergic responses in mouse models for egg and peanut.

“Donors like Lois and Mark Shaevsky have a big impact in helping researchers get the ball rolling and get the first pieces of data that are critical to secure more funding. The studies I’ve been doing would not be possible without their support,” O’Konek says.

O’Konek’s research has the potential to provide an unprecedented level of protection against food allergies for millions of families and children like the Shaevskys.

Lois, Marlo, and Missy have also all played an impactful role as members of the Mary H. Weiser Food Allergy Center Spring Luncheon Committee.