Philanthropy helps move research forward in a legendary alum and advocate’s

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Left paralyzed by a crash during his first BU hockey game, Travis Roy (COM’00, Hon.’16) devoted his life to helping those with similar injuries. Before Roy died in 2020, a group of anonymous donors came together to endow a professorship in his name. The inaugural holder of that chair is LaDora Thompson, a professor in Sargent’s department of physical therapy and athletic training.

Thompson is an expert in sarcopenia, muscle dysfunction with aging. Her team seeks to translate basic science discoveries into potential therapeutic strategies to combat sarcopenia and frailty. While Professor Thompson’s work holds promise for everyone, as all people will experience age-related decline in muscle function, she seeks to understand why some experience it sooner and how to help those who live with muscle atrophy due to spinal cord injuries—as Roy did—and other conditions.

Roy’s legacy will expand further through another recent gift from his Travis Roy Foundation, which gave $1 million to create the Travis M. Roy Endowed Graduate Scholarship Fund. The fund will provide annual scholarships to one or more Sargent graduate students studying occupational or physical therapy.