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There’s no doubt Roman Reed, an athlete, friend and father, is one of the greatest advocates for spinal cord injury research to ever exist. Destined to play in the NFL but then his life took an unexpected U-turn, Roman did what any superstar would do – he pivoted and went on to dedicate his life to a finding a cure for spinal cord injuries.
Roman’s journey of living with a spinal cord injury has resulted in raising tens of millions of dollars in research money for spinal cord injury. Read on to learn the story of this now-renowned spinal cord injury research advocate.
Why He’s Fearless
Growing up in California, Roman was in love with athletics. And he played several sports, but fell he in love with football. After high school, in 1993 he was recruited to play at Chabot College. Roman was considered one of the best three linebackers in college at the time and he was able to bench press 430 pounds.
But on September 10th, 1994, his first game of the college football season, Roman broke his neck at C6-7, but he refused to be ok with a veritable bruise having the ability to alter someone’s life so much, and thus began his drive to find a cure for spinal cord injury. He went to rehab, worked hard to bench press 225lbs post-injury, but he wanted more – a cure.
With his father, Don C. Reed by his side, within 5 years Roman was able to get the attention of many high-profile celebrities and politicians to support his new foundation – the Roman Reed Foundation. Major General Norman Schwarzkopf was one of the first supporters who openly acknowledged the unethical balance of military funding vs. medical research.
By 1999, the foundation was able to spearhead a legislative bill, which was passed by the California Congress. Since the first enactment of the bill, it has generated over $20 million in state funds, all of which go to scientists for spinal cord regeneration. Roman was also invited by President Obama to a ceremony in 2009 to commemorate the reversal of the government’s ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
In October 2011, the Governor of California vetoed another version of the Roman Reed Act, but Roman was undeterred. Although the Roman Reed Spinal Cord Injury Research Program was funded by the State of California from 2001-2011, is was not renewed after 2011. For many years, the Roman Reed Core Laboratory at the Reeve-Irvine Research Center became the new epicenter, funded by private funds.
What’s Next?
Still going strong, Roman has been the Executive Director of Community Relations at Stanford University since 2010. He’s also been the CEO of StemRemedium, an investment group for SCI stem cell research, since 2016.
And in 2020, Roman decided to get involved in politics by running for City Council in District 6. Unfortunately he lost in the primary, but that hasn’t stopped his drive to be involved in politics. Roman is involved in the politics in his city of Fremont, and he’s the father of three kids, with his eldest graduating from University of California at Berkeley (Roman’s alma mater).
The Roman Reed Foundation continues to be one of the most successful spinal cord injury research foundations in the world (currently known as the Roman Reed Research Program at Gladstone Institutes). Once a fighter on the field and now a fighter for spinal injuries, words aren’t enough to thank Roman for all the work he’s done. He shows exactly the tenacity that’s needed to get such a monumental task done, like a cure for spinal cord injuries.
ideas@spinalpedia.com
