Bryan Traynor, MD, PhD, FANA
National Institute on Aging
Dr. Bryan Traynor is a neurologist and Senior Investigator at the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Traynor is best known for his work aimed at understanding the genetic etiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). He led the international consortium that identified pathogenic repeat expansions in C9orf72 as a common cause of ALS and FTD. Other genes discovered by his laboratory as causes of ALS and FTD include VCP, MATR3, KIF5A, SPTLC1, and HTT. In addition to his role as Chief of the Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section at NIA, he also leads the RNA Therapeutics Laboratory at NCATS. Here, his team is developing model organoid platforms for toxicity screens of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) and small molecules, providing a novel means of bypassing traditional lengthy animal screening to secure FDA approval. Dr. Traynor has over 200 publications in professional journals, such as Neuron, New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Genetics, and Nature Neuroscience. He sits on the editorial boards of JAMA Neurology (2017–2021), JNNP, and Neurobiology of Aging, and is an associate editor for Brain. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the NIH Director’s award, the Sheila Essey Award, and the Potamkin Prize, and has been elected fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, the Royal College of Physicians (London), and the Association of American Physicians. He received his medical degree, a Medical Doctorate, and a Doctor of Philosophy from University College Dublin. He also received a Masters in Medical Science from HST Harvard-MIT. He completed a Neurology residency and fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, and was a Staff Neurologist at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital before moving to the NIH in 2005.