Research that benefits athletes also helps the general population, says orthopedic surgeon Ken Singer. For instance, consider the dreaded, all-too-common ACL tear.
“That used to be a career-ending injury,” Singer says. “As discoveries were made that helped athletes recover, that translational research trickled down to the rest of us. Everyone benefits.”
Kenda, BS ’74 (biology), and Ken Singer are confident their investment in UO research will lead to similar advances in sports medicine. The Singers are making a leadership gift to help build the endowment that will support UO research related to the alliance in perpetuity.
“To get these renowned institutions to work together in ways that are mutually beneficial will be highly effective,” Ken says. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a venture quite like this before. It’s very impressive.”
The alliance’s emphasis on women athletes is also compelling, adds Kenda.
“In the past, research on elite athletes has focused mostly on males. So it’s timely and essential that the Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance will be studying women athletes.”
“Ken and I have both been involved with the UO’s human physiology department,” she adds. “Nationally, it has an incredible reputation. We love how the department brings together many different aspects of science.
“We like to see disparate areas coming together, whether that’s different areas of the university or different parts of the world. This is a great example of institutions cooperating and sharing research and knowledge.”
After graduating from the UO, Kenda completed the Duke University Physician Assistant Program. She worked as a physician assistant in Eugene in primary care, women's health, and dermatology. Kenda was responsible for general medical care for women's athletics at the UO for 20 years.
Ken graduated from MIT in 1961 and studied medicine at Columbia University. An orthopedic surgeon since 1972, he was the team orthopedic surgeon for the Ducks for 30 years. He’s been involved with the UO’s human physiology department since the 1970s, giving guest lectures, working with graduate students on their research projects, and serving as a courtesy faculty member. Ken has been a member of the UO Foundation Board of Trustees since 2017.
For both Ken and Kenda, giving to the alliance is the ideal way to combine their interests in science, education, athletics, and medicine.
“There’s outstanding academic research and outstanding athletics at the University of Oregon,” says Ken. “Bringing them together in this way—and combining these efforts with the other elite institutions in the alliance—will lead to great discoveries.”
—By Ed Dorsch, BA ’94 (English, sociology), MA ’99 (journalism)