Broadly speaking, Laura's research examines how sport and sport events can be used as instruments of social change. Her work critically examines numerous ways that sport events have been claimed to positively affect community development, social infrastructure, social inclusion, and healthy lifestyles of community members.

Laura's current research program is focusing on the role of sport events for persons with a disability in influencing community accessibility and community perceptions of disability. The SSHRC/Sport Canada funded research project is comparing two different types of disability sport event (integrated – Commonwealth Games, and distinct separate – Parapan American Games). The research objectives focus on a number of outcome measures, including the events’ impacts on attitudes towards disability, community accessibility, and sport participation opportunities, that are intended to inform International Paralympic Committee policy. Through this research, Laura has also played a key role in establishing the Ontario Parasport Collective, which is a group of disability sport organization that have come together to help address important issues in the parasport community.