Photo of Tom Travison, Senior Scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research in Boston, MA

Thomas Travison, PhD

  • Senior Scientist
  • Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
  • Faculty

Dr. Travison is Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, and Senior Scientist and Director of the Biostatistics and Data Science team at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research. He co-directs the Interventional Studies in Aging Center at the Marcus Institute and leads the Biostatistical Design and Analysis Core at the Boston Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. He is a biostatistician whose work has focused on the epidemiology of frailty, physical function, and the endocrinology of aging, and the development of interventions to preserve function in older adults. His data science laboratory focuses on the development and dissemination of tools facilitating rigorous and reproducible observational and interventional research. Dr. Travison leads the Marcus Institute’s data coordination and analysis activities on several multisite clinical trials, and co-directs the institute’s Interventional Studies in Aging Center. He is active in mentoring young quantitative and clinical investigators at the Marcus Institute and worldwide.

Research Areas

Learn more about the areas of research where Dr. Travison focuses.

A string of computer code is reflected in the glasses of a researcher at the Marcus Institute for Aging in Boston, MA.

Data Science and Technology

The Marcus Institute includes a biostatistics and data sciences faculty who collaborate with investigators to design and conduct clinical trials and observational studies in aging.

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A researcher at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research in Boston, MA holds a vial of blood.

Biomarkers and Genetics

As precision medicine enters the mainstream of clinical care, Marcus Institute researchers are working to advance the understanding of disease biomarkers and genetics.

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A researcher at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research in Boston, MA studies MRI images of a human brain.

Brain Health

Through pioneering multidisciplinary research, the Marcus Institute is uncovering new answers to the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, delirium, and other changes to the brain.

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A scene of a hospital floor at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center in Boston, MA, with a nurse standing and working on a computer in the background and a blood pressure monitor in the foreground.

Health Care Services and Policy

The Marcus Institute seeks to effect change in policies that impact the care of older adults by identifying age-related conditions that have an outsized impact on health care utilization and costs, while developing interventions that mitigate the issues.

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A close-up shot at two hands holding a syringe that is inserted in a vial of medication.

Medication

Marcus Institute researchers are examining the relationship between medicine and adverse health outcomes such as falls, injuries, and treatment side effects among older people.

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A research subject at the Marcus Institute for Aging Research stands on a measuring platform with a computer read-out reflected on the wall behind.

Physical Health and Function

Through the Marcus Institute’s research we are learning how older adults can maintain independence and quality of life.

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Current Projects

View Dr. Travison's current projects. 

Network for Investigation of Delirium: Unifying Scientists (NIDUS)

NIDUS is a collaborative research network dedicated to promoting innovation and fostering advances in delirium research through development of innovative research and measurement resources, training opportunities, pilot funding, and dissemination of information.

DeliriumNetwork.org

Principal Investigator

Better Assessment of Illness: Delirium Severity Measures for Persons with and without Dementia (BASIL)

This research aims to define delirium severity in patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, and develop new ways to measure delirium severity in participants both with and without dementia. 

NIH R01AG044518 

Principal Investigator

Personalized Brain Activity Modulation to Improve Balance and Cognition in Elderly Fallers

This research aims to determine the effects of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on the control of standing and walking in older adults with previous falls. 

NIH R01AG059089

Principal Investigator

Join this Research Study

NIA AD/ADRD Health Care Systems Research Collaboratory (IMPACT)

The NIA AD/ADRD Collaboratory will provide the national infrastructure necessary to catalyze and support embedded pragmatic clinical trials of non-pharmacological interventions for persons with dementia. By convening national experts to provide consultation and guidance to Collaboratory-funded pilot projects and NIA-funded trials, the Collaboratory has the potential to transform care delivery, quality, and outcomes for millions of Americans suffering with AD/ADRD.

ImpactCollaboratory.org

Principal Investigator

Senolytics and Depressive Symptoms in Older Adults at Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease (STAMINA)

This research aims to prevent common age-related impairments in cognition and mobility that lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease by interrupting one of the fundamental mechanisms of aging, namely the accumulation of senescent cells and their damaging products. We will determine the feasibility of administering Quercetin and Dasatinib to eliminate these cells from the body, and test whether their elimination can improve brain blood flow, cognition, and mobility in older adults at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

NIH R21AG073886-01

Principal Investigators

Join this Research Study

Trial to Reduce Antimicrobial Use in Nursing Home Residents with Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias (TRAIN-AD2)

The research aims to develop and implement a pragmatic trial of a practice-level intervention to reduce antimicrobial use in nursing home residents who are exhibiting AD or related dementias. 

NIH 4R37AG032982

Principal Investigator

Boston OAIC: A Translational Approach to Function Promoting Therapies

The Boston Older Americans Independence Center (Boston OAIC) is an interdisciplinary research network to foster translational research in function promoting therapies (FPTs) – pharmacologic, physical, nutritional, technological and behavioral interventions that reduce the burden of disabling functional limitations in older adults. 

The overarching goal of the OAIC is to strengthen and expand our expertise and scientific resources in the areas of vascular biology, physiology, genetics, epidemiology, and biostatistics, in order to enhance our understanding of the vascular role in age-related physical and cognitive functional decline, design new interventions to ameliorate this decline, and train new investigators skilled in related areas of gerontologic research. 

Dr. Lipsitz is a member of the Boston OAIC Leadership and Administrative Core (LAC). He also directs the Research Education Core (REC).

Dr. Kiel is a director of the Pilot and Exploratory Studies Core (PESC). 

Dr. Travison is a director the Biostatistical Design and Analysis Core (BDAC).

Boston Pepper Center

Principal Investigator