Bruce Trapnell

Dr. Trapnell is Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati, Director of the Translational Pulmonary Science Center at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC), Co-director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences-National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NCATS-NHLBI) Rare Lung Diseases Clinical Research Consortium (RLDC), and Scientific Director of the Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis Foundation. After receiving degrees in biochemistry, genetics, and medicine, and specialty training in internal and pulmonary medicine, Dr. Trapnell first served as Staff Physician at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). While continuing as a senior staff physician at NIH (as a special volunteer), he established the Division of Virology and Pulmonary Studies at Genetic Therapy Inc./Novartis and served as Vice President. In 1997, he moved to Cincinnati where he has maintained continuous NIH funding for research and training programs focused on the development of molecular pathogenesis-based diagnostics and therapeutics for rare lung diseases, including pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), cystic fibrosis (CF), alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), and others. As Director of the Cincinnati CF Therapeutics Development Network Center for more than a decade, Dr. Trapnell led numerous clinical trials, including those resulting in FDA approval of Creon® and Pancreaze® as a therapy for CF. He also participated as Co-Investigator in the RLDC-based trial resulting in FDA approval of Sirolimus® as a therapy for LAM. His group helped determine the pathogenesis of autoimmune PAP, identified and developed a novel cell therapy for hereditary PAP (pulmonary macrophage transplantation), and established commercial tests for the specific diagnosis of PAP-causing diseases. Also, an ardent patient advocate, Dr. Trapnell has worked closely with multiple patient foundations including those for CF, PAP, AATD, LAM, childhood interstitial lung disease, and others.