Bruce Trapp, PhD
Department Chair
The Morris R. and Ruth V. Graham Endowed Chair in Biomedical Research - Professor, Molecular Medicine, CCLCM-CWRU
Email: [email protected]
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Research
Our research aims are to obtain a better understanding of cellular/molecular events involved in glial cell development and myelin formation in the central and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS) and to understand how myelin, myelin-forming cells, and axons are destroyed in autoimmune and inherited diseases of myelin.
Biography
Bruce D. Trapp, PhD, is Chair of the Department of Neurosciences and the Morris R. and Ruth V. Graham Endowed Chair in Biomedical Research at Cleveland Clinic Research. He is also a Professor of Neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University and The Ohio State University.
Dr. Trapp received his Ph.D. from the Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. He received postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD. Following his tenure at the NIH, Dr. Trapp became an Assistant Professor and subsequently an Associate Professor of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. He joined the Cleveland Clinic as Chair of the Department of Neurosciences in 1994.
Dr. Trapp is the recipient of the Jordi Folch-Pi Award from the American Society of Neurochemistry, The Weil Award from the American Association of Neuropathologists, the Harry Weaver Neuroscience Scholar Award from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS), the Jacob Javits Award in Neuroscience from NINDS, the John Dystel Prize for MS Research from the American Academy of Neurology/NMSS, the Stephen C. Reingold Research Award from the NMSS, the Scientific Achievement Award in Basic Science and the Award for Excellence in Science from the Cleveland Clinic, and he is a member of the NMSS Volunteer Hall of Fame for Scientific Researchers. He is also a Fellow of the AAAS.
Dr. Trapp has held numerous multi-year grants from various funding institutions, including NINDS and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the NMSS, and the State of Ohio. His research investigates the cause of neurological disability in multiple sclerosis patients, cellular mechanisms of brain repair in neurodegenerative diseases, the molecular biology of myelination in the central and peripheral nervous systems, and mechanisms of glial neuroprotection. He is internationally known for his work on mechanisms of neurodegeneration and repair in multiple sclerosis and has published over 280 peer-reviewed articles and over 40 book chapters.
Education & Professional Highlights
Appointed
1994
Medical Education - Loyola University
Chicago, IL USA
1977
Undergraduate - Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL USA
1972
Research
New data about the normal functioning of myelin-forming cells and myelin-axon interactions will help us understand the pathogenic mechanisms involved in permanent neurological disability in human diseases of myelin.
Cellular/Molecular Biology of Myelination: Our aim is to obtain a better understanding of cellular/molecular events that regulate production and differentiation of oligodendrocytes and CNS myelination. Using transgenic mice, we study the role of myelin and myelin proteins in maintaining axonal function and survival. We also investigate the role of CNS progenitor cells as a source of new oligodendrocytes in the adult brain.
Pathogenesis of Neurological Disability in Multiple Sclerosis (MS): In these studies, we seek to determine the causes of MS, an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS, and to therapeutically prevent irreversible neurological disability in MS patients. Historically, it has been assumed that axons were spared most of the pathological consequences of inflammatory demyelination. We have described axonal degeneration during demyelination and as a result of chronic demyelination. We also focus on neuronal degeneration and axonal pathology in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of MS patients. Recent studies also focus on the therapeutic potential of progenitor cells to repair demyelinated or dysmyelinated brain.
Our Team
Selected Publications
View publications for Bruce Trapp, PhD
(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
Selected from 281 total:
Yang Y, Bai B, Knutsen LJS, Hamlyn RJ, Cui QL, Antel J, Macklin W, Medicetty S, Trapp BD. (2026) A novel small molecule remyelination therapy for multiple sclerosis. NPJ Drug Discov. 3(1):24. PMID: 42493540; PMCID: PMC13396656
Najm L, Chomyk A, Cyncynatus K, Davalos D, Mahajan KR, Trapp BD. (2025) Demyelinated lesion associated compartmental inflammation in progressive multiple sclerosis brains. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 13(1):204. PMID: 41024168; PMCID: PMC12482250
Mahajan KR, Herman D, Zheng Y, Androjna C, Thoomukuntla B, Ontaneda D, Nakamura K, Trapp BD. (2025) Neurodegeneration and Demyelination in the Multiple Sclerosis Spinal Cord: Clinical, Pathological, and 7T MRI Perspectives. Neurology 104(7):e210259. PMID: 40080735; PMCID: PMC11907641
Singh V, Zheng Y, Ontaneda D, Mahajan KR, Holloman J, Fox RJ, Nakamura K, Trapp BD. (2024) Disability independent of cerebral white matter demyelination in progressive multiple sclerosis. Acta Neuropathol. Aug 31;148(1):34. PMID: 39217272; PMCID: PMC11365858
Chomyk A, Kucinski R, Kim J, Christie E, Cyncynatus K, Gossman Z, Chen Z, Richardson B, Cameron M, Turner T, Dutta R, Trapp B. (2024) Transcript Profiles of Microglia/Macrophage Cells at the Borders of Chronic Active and Subpial Gray Matter Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis. Ann Neurol. May;95(5):907-916. PMID: 38345145; PMCID: PMC11060930
Chen Z, Hu W, Mendez MJ, Gossman ZC, Chomyk A, Boylan BT, Kidd GJ, Phares TW, Bergmann CC, Trapp BD. (2023) Neuroprotection by Preconditioning in Mice is Dependent on MyD88-Mediated CXCL10 Expression in Endothelial Cells. ASN Neuro. 15:17590914221146365. PMID: 36591943; PMCID: PMC9810995
Baltan S, Jawaid SS, Chomyk AM, Kidd GJ, Chen J, Battapady HD, Chan R, Dutta R, Trapp BD. (2021) Neuronal hibernation following hippocampal demyelination. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 9(1):34. PMID: 33648591; PMCID: PMC7923530
Absinta M, Lassmann H, Trapp BD. (2020) Mechanisms underlying progression in multiple sclerosis. Curr Opin Neurol. 33(3):277-285. PMID: 32324705; PMCID: PMC7337978
Dutta R, Mahajan KR, Nakamura K, Ontaneda D, Chen J, Volsko C, Dudman J, Christie E, Dunham J, Fox RJ, Trapp BD. (2019) Comprehensive Autopsy Program for Individuals with Multiple Sclerosis. J Vis Exp. 2019 Jul 19;(149). PMID: 31380830
Davalos D, Mahajan KR, Trapp BD. (2019) Brain fibrinogen deposition plays a key role in MS pathophysiology - Yes. Mult Scler. 25(11):1434-1435. PMID: 31315512; PMCID: PMC6750992
Trapp BD, Ontaneda D. (2018) Identifying a new subtype of multiple sclerosis. Neurodegener Dis Manag. 8(6):367-369. PMID: 30215581
Trapp BD, Vignos M, Dudman J, Chang A, Fisher E, Staugaitis SM, Battapady H, Mork S, Ontaneda D, Jones SE, Fox RJ, Chen J, Nakamura K, Rudick RA. (2018) Cortical neuronal densities and cerebral white matter demyelination in multiple sclerosis: a retrospective study. Lancet Neurol. 17(10):870-884. PMID: 30143361; PMCID: PMC6197820
Dutta R, Trapp BD. (2018) Much, if not all, of the cortical damage in MS can be attributed to the microglial cell - No. Mult Scler. 24(7):897-899. PMID: 29754529; PMCID: PMC5995597
Chen J, Kostenko V, Pioro EP, Trapp BD. (2018) MR Imaging-based Estimation of Upper Motor Neuron Density in Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Feasibility Study. Radiology 287(3):955-964. PMID: 29361242; PMCID: PMC5978454
Jawaid S, Kidd GJ, Wang J, Swetlik C, Dutta R, Trapp BD. (2018) Alterations in CA1 hippocampal synapses in a mouse model of fragile X syndrome. Glia 66(4):789-800. PMID: 29274095; PMCID: PMC5812820
Nakamura K, Chen JT, Ontaneda D, Fox RJ, Trapp BD. (2017) T1-/T2-weighted ratio differs in demyelinated cortex in multiple sclerosis. Ann Neurol. 82(4):635-639. PMID: 28833377
Yin X, Kidd GJ, Ohno N, Perkins GA, Ellisman MH, Bastian C, Brunet S, Baltan S, Trapp BD. (2016) Proteolipid protein-deficient myelin promotes axonal mitochondrial dysfunction via altered metabolic coupling. J Cell Biol. 215(4):531-542. PMID: 27872255; PMCID: PMC5119941
Bai CB, Sun S, Roholt A, Benson E, Edberg D, Medicetty S, Dutta R, Kidd G, Macklin WB, Trapp B. (2016) A mouse model for testing remyelinating therapies. Exp Neurol. 283(Pt A):330-340. PMID: 27384502; PMCID: PMC5207347
Patents
| US Patent | Patent Title | Issue Date | First-Named Inventor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8,383,098 | Multipotent neural stem cells | 02/26/2013 | Bruce Trapp |
| 7,803,364 | Multipotent neural stem cells | 09/28/2010 | Bruce Trapp |
Careers
Research News
MRI classifier identifies a subset of MS patients marked by global cortical atrophy, not demyelination.
Cleveland Clinic team publishes insights on microglia, inflammation in different parts of the central nervous system as a foundation for future treatments.
Dr. Bruce Trapp, PhD, identified for the first time a subtype of the disease that features neuronal loss but no demyelination of the brain's white matter
The researchers used three-dimensional (3D) electron microscopy to visualize and characterize neurons, focusing their research in the hippocampus.