Bryan J. Traynor, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Traynor is a neurologist and a Senior Investigator at the National Institute on Aging whose research focuses on the genetic, molecular, and biomarker basis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and related neurodegenerative diseases. His laboratory uses large-scale genomics, proteomics, clinical cohorts, and functional studies to understand disease mechanisms, improve diagnosis, and identify therapeutic targets for ALS and FTD.

Dr. Traynor's laboratory has helped define the modern genetic architecture of ALS and FTD. He received the 2026 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, together with Rosa Rademakers, for discovering the C9orf72 repeat expansion as the most common genetic cause of ALS and frontotemporal dementia. This work helped establish ALS and FTD as overlapping disorders along a shared neurodegenerative spectrum. He is also the co-recipient of the 2013 Sheila Essey Award and the 2016 Potamkin Prize for his contributions to the understanding of neurodegeneration.

Other notable achievements of his laboratory include the identification of mutations in VCP, MATR3, CHCHD10, KIF5A, HTT, and SPTLC1 in familial ALS and related neurodegenerative syndromes. These discoveries have provided new insights into motor neuron degeneration, RNA biology, protein homeostasis, axonal transport, lipid metabolism, and the genetic overlap between ALS, FTD, and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Building on this genetic work, Dr. Traynor's laboratory has expanded into biomarker discovery. In a 2025 Nature Medicine study using the Olink plasma proteomics platform, his team identified a plasma protein signature that distinguishes ALS from controls and other neurological conditions with high accuracy. The study also suggested that ALS-associated molecular changes may begin years before symptom onset, supporting the development of blood-based biomarkers for diagnosis, prognosis, and presymptomatic clinical trials.

Dr. Traynor has authored more than 250 peer-reviewed publications in neurology and neurogenetics and is an inventor on three issued patents. He is co-chair of the NIH Gene Therapy Task Force and an associate editor of Brain.

Dr. Traynor received his medical degree (MB, BCh, BAO), MD, and PhD from University College Dublin, and a Master of Medical Sciences degree (MMSc) from the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. He completed his neurology residency and neuromuscular fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.