Research Team

Lab Director

LaDora V. Thompson, PhD, is the Travis M. Roy Endowed Professor in Rehabilitation Sciences in the Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training at Boston University Sargent college .A physical therapist and muscle physiologist, Dr. Thompson is the director of the Skeletal Muscle Physiology Laboratory and is considered a leader in the field of sarcopenia (muscle dysfunction with aging). Her research team seeks to translate basic science discoveries into potential therapeutic strategies to combat sarcopenia and frailty. Dr. Thompson pioneered studies linking alterations in protein structure and function with single skeletal muscle fiber weakness and slowing of contraction. She identified post-translational modifications of key muscle proteins with aging and disease, such as diabetes. Recently, Dr. Thompson’s research team was the first to create the mouse frailty phenotype to identify frail mice. This mouse frailty phenotype parallels the frailty phenotype used by physical therapists in their practices.

Dr. Thompson has been invited to present her work at national and international institutions. She has organized and chaired international conferences on aging and oxidative stress and belongs to the editorial board of scientific journals. Dr. Thompson has served on NIH advisory panels, including special emphasis panels, and study sections.

With more than 20 years in the field, she has made a commitment to training the next generation of great scientists – including more than 30 undergraduate, doctoral, and post-doctoral students – and in particular, developing the careers of translational scientists.

Come and join the Thompson research team!

Research Fellow

Grant Laskin, PhD, completed his doctoral training in Integrative Physiology at Florida State University under Dr. Brad Gordon, where he studied the regulation of skeletal muscle mass and function. He utilizes both rodent and in vitro models to assess the influence of external stimuli such as nutrients, hormones, and contractile activity on the molecular signals which underlie skeletal muscle health. His longstanding interests to define the mechanistic drivers of the aging process and elucidate therapeutic targets to promote healthy aging inspired him to join the Thompson lab.

Lillie Rentería, PhD, completed her doctoral training in Exercise Physiology at Florida State University, where she focused on the physiological responses to environmental and metabolic stressors. She combines applied human research with mechanistic approaches to investigate how interventions influence physiology meaningfully. Her interest in designing basic science with translational impact motivated her to join the Thompson lab to advance strategies that improve musculoskeletal resilience and healthspan.

Lab Technicians

Baylah Mazonson, BA, graduated from Boston University in 2022 with a Bachelor’s in Neuroscience and a minor in Biology. At the Thompson Lab, she has used large-scale mouse studies and in vitro models to study the effect of aging and frailty on skeletal muscle function. She enjoys learning new molecular biology techniques and is pursuing a career in neurobiology.

Jenny (Yuhoung) Kim, BA, graduated from Boston University in 2024 with a Bachelor’s in Biology and minor in Engineering Science. She is interested in biomedical engineering and lab techniques. She also enjoys working with the geriatric mice as they are very cute!

Undergraduate Students

Ananth Krishnan is an Undergraduate Research Assistant majoring in Chemistry on the pre-med track. He is interested in the anatomical phenomenon of aging, and is excited to research this topic on a molecular level under the direction of Dr. LaDora Thompson.

Juliette Echahamian is an undergraduate student majoring in Human Physiology at Sargent College. She is also the founder of Bones for BU, an organization focused on promoting awareness of bone health and aging-related research. Juliette is interested in aging research and hopes to continue building her research and clinical experience as she prepares for a future career in medicine.