Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section

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

The Neuromuscular Diseases Research Section investigates the causes and biology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Our focus is on turning discoveries into better diagnosis and faster development of treatments. We combine large-scale human genetics with detailed molecular profiling to understand disease processes, improve patient grouping, and create biomarkers and outcome tools for clinical trials.

Our laboratory helped identify the C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion as a key genetic factor in ALS and FTD (Neuron 2011). Building on this, we have further explored the genetic basis of ALS and related disorders using genome-wide and sequencing methods, aiming to turn these findings into useful clinical tools.

A major current focus is developing effective biomarkers that enable earlier, more accurate diagnosis and offer objective measures of disease activity and progression — tools designed to streamline clinical referral pathways and enhance the efficiency of therapeutic trials.

We also support translational initiatives at NIH, including participation in the NIH Gene Therapy Task Force and collaboration with NCATS to advance nucleic acid–based therapies.

Finally, extending the approach of genomics-based therapeutic prioritization, the team is participating in a clinical trial of acamprosate for genetically defined ALS: Acamprosate in C9orf72 Hexanucleotide Repeat Expansion ALS (ACALS; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT07204977).

Portfolio/Research Areas

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD)
Genomics and human genetics
Epidemiology
Gene therapy and nucleic-acid therapeutics (including ASOs)

Key Findings and Publications

Renton AE, Majounie E, Waite A, Simón-Sánchez J, Rollinson S, Gibbs JR, Schymick JC, Laaksovirta H, van Swieten JC, Myllykangas L, Kalimo H, Paetau A, Abramzon Y, Remes AM, Kaganovich A, Scholz SW, Duckworth J, Ding J, Harmer DW, Hernandez DG, Johnson JO, Mok K, Ryten M, Trabzuni D, Guerreiro RJ, Orrell RW, Neal J, Murray A, Pearson J, Jansen IE, Sondervan D, Seelaar H, Blake D, Young K, Halliwell N, Callister JB, Toulson G, Richardson A, Gerhard A, Snowden J, Mann D, Neary D, Nalls MA, Peuralinna T, Jansson L, Isoviita VM, Kaivorinne AL, Hölttä-Vuori M, Ikonen E, Sulkava R, Benatar M, Wuu J, Chiò A, Restagno G, Borghero G, Sabatelli M; The ITALSGEN Consortium, Heckerman D, Rogaeva E, Zinman L, Rothstein JD, Sendtner M, Drepper C, Eichler EE, Alkan C, Abdullaev Z, Pack SD, Dutra A, Pak E, Hardy J, Singleton A, Williams NM, Heutink P, Pickering-Brown S, Morris HR, Tienari PJ, Traynor BJ (2011). A Hexanucleotide Repeat Expansion in C9ORF72 Is the Cause of Chromosome 9p21-Linked ALS-FTD . Neuron. 72:257-68.

Saez-Atienzar S, Dos Santos Souza C, Chia R, Beal SN, Lorenzini I, Huang R, Levy J, Burciu C, Ding J, Gibbs JR, Jones A, Dewan R, Pensato V, Peverelli S, Corrado L, van Vugt JJFA, van Rheenen W, Tunca C, Bayraktar E, Xia M; International ALS Genomics Consortium; ITALSGEN Consortium; SLAGEN Consortium; Project MinE ALS Sequencing Consortium; Iacoangeli A, Shatunov A, Tiloca C, Ticozzi N, Verde F, Mazzini L, Kenna K, Al Khleifat A, Opie-Martin S, Raggi F, Filosto M, Cotti Piccinelli S, Padovani A, Gagliardi S, Inghilleri M, Ferlini A, Vasta R, Calvo A, Moglia C, Canosa A, Manera U, Grassano M, Mandrioli J, Mora G, Lunetta C, Tanel R, Trojsi F, Cardinali P, Gallone S, Brunetti M, Galimberti D, Serpente M, Fenoglio C, Scarpini E, Comi GP, Corti S, Del Bo R, Ceroni M, Lauria Pinter G, Taroni F, Dalla Bella E, Bersano E, Curtis CJ, Lee SH, Chung R, Patel H, Morrison KE, Cooper-Knock J, Shaw PJ, Breen G, Dobson RJB, Dalgard CL; American Genome Center; Scholz SW, Al-Chalabi A, van den Berg LH, McLaughlin R, Hardiman O, Cereda C, Sorarù G, D'Alfonso S, Chandran S, Pal S, Ratti A, Gellera C, Johnson K, Doucet-O'Hare T, Pasternack N, Wang T, Nath A, Siciliano G, Silani V, Başak AN, Veldink JH, Camu W, Glass JD, Landers JE, Chiò A, Sattler R, Shaw CE, Ferraiuolo L, Fogh I, Traynor BJ (2024). Mechanism-free repurposing of drugs for C9orf72-related ALS/FTD using large-scale genomic data. Cell Genom. 4(11):100679.

Nicolas A, Kenna KP, Renton AE, Ticozzi N, Faghri F, Chia R, Dominov JA, Kenna BJ, Nalls MA, Keagle P, Rivera AM, van Rheenen W, Murphy NA, van Vugt JJFA, Geiger JT, Van der Spek RA, Pliner HA, Shankaracharya, Smith BN, Marangi G, Topp SD, Abramzon Y, Gkazi AS, Eicher JD, Kenna A, ITALSGEN Consortium., Mora G, Calvo A, Mazzini L, Riva N, Mandrioli J, Caponnetto C, Battistini S, Volanti P, La Bella V, Conforti FL, Borghero G, Messina S, Simone IL, Trojsi F, Salvi F, Logullo FO, D'Alfonso S, Corrado L, Capasso M, Ferrucci L, Genomic Translation for ALS Care (GTAC) Consortium., Moreno CAM, Kamalakaran S, Goldstein DB, ALS Sequencing Consortium., Gitler AD, Harris T, Myers RM, NYGC ALS Consortium., Phatnani H, Musunuri RL, Evani US, Abhyankar A, Zody MC, Answer ALS Foundation., Kaye J, Finkbeiner S, Wyman SK, LeNail A, Lima L, Fraenkel E, Svendsen CN, Thompson LM, Van Eyk JE, Berry JD, Miller TM, Kolb SJ, Cudkowicz M, Baxi E, Clinical Research in ALS and Related Disorders for Therapeutic Development (CReATe) Consortium., Benatar M, Taylor JP, Rampersaud E, Wu G, Wuu J, SLAGEN Consortium., Lauria G, Verde F, Fogh I, Tiloca C, Comi GP, Sorarù G, Cereda C, French ALS Consortium., Corcia P, Laaksovirta H, Myllykangas L, Jansson L, Valori M, Ealing J, Hamdalla H, Rollinson S, Pickering-Brown S, Orrell RW, Sidle KC, Malaspina A, Hardy J, Singleton AB, Johnson JO, Arepalli S, Sapp PC, McKenna-Yasek D, Polak M, Asress S, Al-Sarraj S, King A, Troakes C, Vance C, de Belleroche J, Baas F, Ten Asbroek ALMA, Muñoz-Blanco JL, Hernandez DG, Ding J, Gibbs JR, Scholz SW, Floeter MK, Campbell RH, Landi F, Bowser R, Pulst SM, Ravits JM, MacGowan DJL, Kirby J, Pioro EP, Pamphlett R, Broach J, Gerhard G, Dunckley TL, Brady CB, Kowall NW, Troncoso JC, Le Ber I, Mouzat K, Lumbroso S, Heiman-Patterson TD, Kamel F, Van Den Bosch L, Baloh RH, Strom TM, Meitinger T, Shatunov A, Van Eijk KR, de Carvalho M, Kooyman M, Middelkoop B, Moisse M, McLaughlin RL, Van Es MA, Weber M, Boylan KB, Van Blitterswijk M, Rademakers R, Morrison KE, Basak AN, Mora JS, Drory VE, Shaw PJ, Turner MR, Talbot K, Hardiman O, Williams KL, Fifita JA, Nicholson GA, Blair IP, Rouleau GA, Esteban-Pérez J, García-Redondo A, Al-Chalabi A, Project MinE ALS Sequencing Consortium., Rogaeva E, Zinman L, Ostrow LW, Maragakis NJ, Rothstein JD, Simmons Z, Cooper-Knock J, Brice A, Goutman SA, Feldman EL, Gibson SB, Taroni F, Ratti A, Gellera C, Van Damme P, Robberecht W, Fratta P, Sabatelli M, Lunetta C, Ludolph AC, Andersen PM, Weishaupt JH, Camu W, Trojanowski JQ, Van Deerlin VM, Brown RH Jr, van den Berg LH, Veldink JH, Harms MB, Glass JD, Stone DJ, Tienari P, Silani V, Chiò A, Shaw CE, Traynor BJ, Landers JE. Genome-wide Analyses Identify KIF5A as a Novel ALS Gene . Neuron. 2018;97(6):1268-1283.e6.

Johnson JO, Mandrioli J, Benatar M, Abramzon Y, Van Deerlin VM, Trojanowski JQ, Gibbs JR, Brunetti M, Gronka S, Wuu J, Ding J, McCluskey L, Martinez-Lage M, Falcone D, Hernandez DG, Arepalli S, Chong S, Schymick JC, Rothstein J, Landi F, Wang YD, Calvo A, Mora G, Sabatelli M, Monsurrò MR, Battistini S, Salvi F, Spataro R, Sola P, Borghero G; ITALSGEN Consortium; Galassi G, Scholz SW, Taylor JP, Restagno G, Chiò A, Traynor BJ (2010). Exome sequencing reveals VCP mutations as a cause of familial ALS . Neuron. 68(5):857-864.

Chia R, Moaddel R, Kwan JY, Rasheed M, Ruffo P, Landeck N, Reho P, Vasta R, Calvo A, Moglia C, Canosa A, Manera U, Snyder A, Saez-Atienzar S, Grassano M, Brunetti M, Casale F, Ray A, Arvind K, Comertpay B, Zhu M, Gibbs JR; American Genome Center; Alba C, Dawson TM, Rosenthal LS, Hall AJ, Pantelyat AY, Narendra DP, Ehrlich DJ, Walker KA, Kosa P, Bielekova B, Egan JM, Candia J, Tanaka T, Ferrucci L, Dalgard CL, Scholz SW, Chiò A, Traynor BJ (2025). A plasma proteomics-based candidate biomarker panel predictive of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis . Nat Med. 31(10):3440-3450.