In 1988, Kaplan met immunologist and geneticist Michael Zasloff; Zasloff introduced him to a patient with FOP, a young child.[4][3] Kaplan stated that his reaction to meeting the young patient was "visceral and immediate", causing him to request a three-year sabbatical from his work so that he could begin to research FOP.[3] Together, Zasloff and Kaplan collaborated to create the FOP Collaborative Research Project at the University of Pennsylvania.[3] In 1992, Kaplan and Eileen Shore initiated the FOP Research Laboratory.