Bryan J. Traynor

Bryan J. Traynor
Born1969 (age 56–57)
Dublin, Ireland
CitizenshipIrish-American
Alma materUniversity College Dublin (MB, BCh, BAO; MD; PhD)
Harvard–MIT Program in Health Sciences and Technology (MMSc)
Known forCo-discovery of the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion
AwardsSheila Essey Award
Potamkin Prize
Sean M. Healey Prize for Innovation in ALS
Scientific career
FieldsNeurology
Neurogenetics
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Frontotemporal dementia
InstitutionsNational Institutes of Health (NIA)
Johns Hopkins University

Bryan J. Traynor is an Irish-American neurologist and neurogeneticist whose work focuses on the genetics of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). He is known for his contributions to the identification of the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion as a major genetic cause of ALS and FTD.[1] Traynor has conducted much of his work at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), where his research has examined genetic mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease and their potential clinical implications.

Traynor has received multiple awards recognizing his contributions to ALS and related dementia research, including the 2013 Sheila Essey Award and the 2016 Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick's, Alzheimer's, and Related Diseases. He was also named a co-recipient of the 2025 Sean M. Healey International Prize for Innovation in ALS.

Education

Traynor earned the degrees of MB, BCh, BAO (1993) and MD (2000) from University College Dublin, and later completed a PhD (2012) at the same institution. He also received a Master of Medical Science (MMSc) in drug development and clinical trial design through the Harvard–MIT Health Sciences and Technology (HST) program. He completed neurology residency training and fellowship training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.

Research career

Traynor is a senior investigator at the NIH and an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins University.[2] His research addresses the genetic and molecular basis of ALS and related neurodegenerative disorders, with an emphasis on large-scale human genetics and genotype–phenotype relationships across ALS and FTD.

He has participated in and led collaborative genetic studies identifying and characterizing disease-associated variants, including studies identifying associations with genes such as C9orf72, VCP, MATR3, KIF5A, HTT, and SPTLC1 in ALS and dementia.[3][4][5][6][7] This work has contributed to understanding the overlap between ALS and FTD and to describing the biological pathways involved in neurodegeneration.

At NIH, Traynor has led and collaborated on multidisciplinary efforts integrating human genetics, molecular biology, biomarker discovery, gene therapy development, and clinical neurology. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Genetics, Neuron, and Nature Medicine.[8][9]

Awards, prizes, and honors

Notable professional service

Traynor has held leadership and service roles in research and scientific publishing, including Chief of the Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section, NIA, NIH.[15] He has served as co-chair of the NIH Gene Therapy Task Force and led the RNA Therapeutics Laboratory, NCATS, NIH (2021–2025). He was a member of the NIH Health Genetics of Health and Disease study section (2015–2021) and chaired the Congressionally Mandated U.S. Department of Defense ALS Research Program (2015–2019).[16]

In addition to academic appointments, he has served in editorial roles including associate editor of Brain[17] and as a member of editorial boards for journals such as the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, Neurobiology of Aging (2015–2024), JAMA Neurology (2017–2021), and eClinicalMedicine.

References

  1. ^ Renton, Alan E.; Majounie, Elisa; Waite, Adrian; Simón-Sánchez, Javier; Rollinson, Sara; Gibbs, J. Raphael; Schymick, Jennifer C.; Laaksovirta, Hannu; van Swieten, John C.; Myllykangas, Liisa; Kalimo, Hannu; Paetau, Anders; Abramzon, Yevgeniya; Remes, Anne M.; Kaganovich, Alice (2011-10-20). "A hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9ORF72 is the cause of chromosome 9p21-linked ALS-FTD". Neuron. 72 (2): 257–268. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.09.010. ISSN 1097-4199. PMC 3200438. PMID 21944779.
  2. ^ NIH Intramural Research Program (2022-03-08). "Bryan J. Traynor". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  3. ^ Johnson, Janel O.; Mandrioli, Jessica; Benatar, Michael; Abramzon, Yevgeniya; Van Deerlin, Vivianna M.; Trojanowski, John Q.; Gibbs, J. Raphael; Brunetti, Maura; Gronka, Susan; Wuu, Joanne; Ding, Jinhui; McCluskey, Leo; Martinez-Lage, Maria; Falcone, Dana; Hernandez, Dena G. (2010-12-09). "Exome sequencing reveals VCP mutations as a cause of familial ALS". Neuron. 68 (5): 857–864. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2010.11.036. ISSN 1097-4199. PMC 3032425. PMID 21145000.
  4. ^ Johnson, Janel O.; Pioro, Erik P.; Boehringer, Ashley; Chia, Ruth; Feit, Howard; Renton, Alan E.; Pliner, Hannah A.; Abramzon, Yevgeniya; Marangi, Giuseppe; Winborn, Brett J.; Gibbs, J. Raphael; Nalls, Michael A.; Morgan, Sarah; Shoai, Maryam; Hardy, John (2014-03-30). "Mutations in the Matrin 3 gene cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis". Nature Neuroscience. 17 (5): 664–666. doi:10.1038/nn.3688. ISSN 1546-1726. PMC 4000579. PMID 24686783.
  5. ^ Nicolas, Aude; Kenna, Kevin P.; Renton, Alan E.; Ticozzi, Nicola; Faghri, Faraz; Chia, Ruth; Dominov, Janice A.; Kenna, Brendan J.; Nalls, Mike A.; Keagle, Pamela; Rivera, Alberto M.; van Rheenen, Wouter; Murphy, Natalie A.; van Vugt, Joke J. F. A.; Geiger, Joshua T. (2018-03-21). "Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene". Neuron. 97 (6): 1267–1288. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2018.02.027. ISSN 1097-4199. PMC 5867896. PMID 29566793.
  6. ^ Dewan, Ramita; Chia, Ruth; Ding, Jinhui; Hickman, Richard A.; Stein, Thor D.; Abramzon, Yevgeniya; Ahmed, Sarah; Sabir, Marya S.; Portley, Makayla K.; Tucci, Arianna; Ibáñez, Kristina; Shankaracharya, F. N. U.; Keagle, Pamela; Rossi, Giacomina; Caroppo, Paola (2021-02-03). "Pathogenic Huntingtin Repeat Expansions in Patients with Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis". Neuron. 109 (3): 448–460.e4. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2020.11.005. ISSN 1097-4199. PMC 7864894. PMID 33242422.
  7. ^ Johnson, Janel O.; Chia, Ruth; Miller, Danny E.; Li, Rachel; Kumaran, Ravindran; Abramzon, Yevgeniya; Alahmady, Nada; Renton, Alan E.; Topp, Simon D.; Gibbs, J. Raphael; Cookson, Mark R.; Sabir, Marya S.; Dalgard, Clifton L.; Troakes, Claire; Jones, Ashley R. (2021-10-01). "Association of Variants in the SPTLC1 Gene With Juvenile Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis". JAMA Neurology. 78 (10): 1236–1248. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2021.2598. ISSN 2168-6157. PMC 8406220. PMID 34459874.
  8. ^ Chia, Ruth; Sabir, Marya S.; Bandres-Ciga, Sara; Saez-Atienzar, Sara; Reynolds, Regina H.; Gustavsson, Emil; Walton, Ronald L.; Ahmed, Sarah; Viollet, Coralie; Ding, Jinhui; Makarious, Mary B.; Diez-Fairen, Monica; Portley, Makayla K.; Shah, Zalak; Abramzon, Yevgeniya (2021-02-15). "Genome sequencing analysis identifies new loci associated with Lewy body dementia and provides insights into its genetic architecture". Nature Genetics. 53 (3): 294–303. doi:10.1038/s41588-021-00785-3. hdl:1805/31374. ISSN 1061-4036. PMC 7946812. PMID 33589841.
  9. ^ Chia, Ruth; Moaddel, Ruin; Kwan, Justin Y.; Rasheed, Memoona; Ruffo, Paola; Landeck, Natalie; Reho, Paolo; Vasta, Rosario; Calvo, Andrea; Moglia, Cristina; Canosa, Antonio; Manera, Umberto; Snyder, Allison; Saez-Atienzar, Sara; Grassano, Maurizio (2025-10-22). "A plasma proteomics-based candidate biomarker panel predictive of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis". Nature Medicine. 31 (10): 3440–3450. doi:10.1038/s41591-025-03890-6. ISSN 1546-170X. PMC 12532604. PMID 40830661.
  10. ^ American Neurological Association. "Derek Denny-Brown Young Neurological Scholar Award". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  11. ^ ALS Association. "Sheila Essey Award Recipients". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  12. ^ American Academy of Neurology (2016-04-15). "Two Researchers to Receive $100,000 Potamkin Prize for Dementia Research". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  13. ^ American Neurological Association. "F.E. Bennett Memorial Lectureship". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  14. ^ Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS (2025-12-08). "Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS Awards Seventh Annual Sean M. Healey International Prize for Innovation in ALS to Drs. Rosa Rademakers, Aaron Gitler, Bryan Traynor, and Nancy Bonini". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  15. ^ National Institute on Aging (2022-10-14). "Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  16. ^ Congressionally Directed Research Programs (2025-08-28). "Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  17. ^ Oxford Academic. "Brain Editorial Board". Retrieved 2026-01-19.
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