He is best known for his work unraveling the genetic causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). He led the international consortium that identified a pathogenic hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene as a cause of a large proportion of ALS and FTD (Neuron 2011). His team also identified the same mutation in ~1% of patients clinically diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (NEJM 2012).

Other notable achievements of his laboratory include discovering mutations in the VCP, MATR3, CHCHD10, KIF5A, HTT and SPTLC1 genes as causes of familial ALS (Neuron 2010, Nature Neuroscience 2014, Brain 2014, Neuron 2018, Neuron 2021, JAMA Neurology 2021).

Dr. Traynor is the co-recipient of the 2013 Sheila Essey Award and 2016 Potamkin Prize for his co-discovery of the C9orf72 repeat expansion as an important cause of neurodegeneration. He also received the 2012 NIH Director’s Award for his contributions to ALS research. In recognition of his contributions to medical research, he was elected as a Fellow of the American Neurological Association, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, the Royal College of Physicians (London), and the Association of American Physicians.

Dr. Traynor has over 200 publications in the neurology field, and he is an inventor on three issued patents.