John R Traynor
Edward F Domino Research Professor of Pharmacology
Professor of Pharmacology
Medical School and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry
College of Pharmacy
[email protected]

Available to mentor

John R Traynor
Professor
  • About
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  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Recent Publications
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    About

    I have studied opioids and opioid receptors for 30 years and have been continuously funded by NIDA since
    1996. My work has been in the areas of structure-activity relationships, signaling and behavior. The long term
    aim of these studies is to identify novel targets and medications to treat drug dependence and pain. My
    training, both as a medicinal chemist and as a pharmacologist has been especially helpful and allowed me to
    form a number of fruitful collaborations and have a general overview of the biology drug abuse. I completed a
    4-year appointment as Director of the Substance Abuse Research Center and a 4 year term as President of
    the International Narcotics Research Conference (INRC). I recently stepped down as Chair of the
    Neuropharmacology Division of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
    (ASPET) and I am currently a member of the ASPET Council

    Links
    • Edward F. Domino Research Center
    • Traynor Lab
    Qualifications
    • Senior Research Fellow
      University of Leicester, Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, 1994
    • Visiting Research Fellow
      Pfizer Neuroscience Research Center, Cambridge, 1987
    • Visiting Scientist
      Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Alderley Park, Cheshire, 1985
    • Visiting Research Fellow
      University of Aberdeen, Unit for Research on Addictive Drugs, 1985
    • Postdoctoral Fellow
      Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine, Biochemical Pharmacology, 1976
    • Pharmacy Resident
      King's Mill Hospital, Pharmacy
    • PhD
      University of Aston, 1973
    • B.Sc. Pharmacy
      University of Aston, 1970
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      Eisenberg Family Depression Center
    • Center Member
      MExperts-Opioid Research Institute
    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Structure-Activity Relationships and Molecular Pharmacology of Positive Allosteric Modulators of the Mu-Opioid Receptor
      Li M, Gan X, Liu K, Walajapet R, Stanczyk MA, Stewart HC, Rech JC, White AD, Traynor JR. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2025 Jan 1; 16 (1): 16 - 29. DOI:10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00541
      PMID: 39661492
    • Preprint
      The effects of chronic neuropathic pain on the self-administration of highly potent MOR agonist, fentanyl.
      Burgess GE, Traynor JR, Jutkiewicz EM. 2024 Nov 21; DOI:10.1101/2024.11.19.624389
      PMID: 39605379
    • Journal Article
      The effects of chronic neuropathic pain states on the discriminative stimulus effect of fentanyl and other MOR agonists.
      Burgess GE, Traynor JR, Jutkiewicz EM. bioRxiv, 2024 Nov 21; DOI:10.1101/2024.11.19.624329
      PMID: PMC11601629
    • Journal Article
      Correction to "Structure-Activity Relationships of the Fentanyl Scaffold: Identification of Antagonists as Potential Opioid Overdose Reversal Agents".
      Anand JP, Moore SC, Dixon EE, Perrien Naccarato CM, West JL, Delong LJ, Burgess E, Twarozynski JJ, Traynor JR. ACS Chem Neurosci, 2024 Oct 2; 15 (19): 3587 - 3588. DOI:10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00579
      PMID: 39354829
    • Preprint
      Xylazine Exacerbates Fentanyl-Induced Respiratory Depression and Bradycardia.
      Demery-Poulos C, Moore SC, Levitt ES, Anand JP, Traynor JR. 2024 Aug 19; DOI:10.1101/2024.08.16.608310
      PMID: 39229079
    • Journal Article
      Structure-Activity Relationships of the Fentanyl Scaffold: Identification of Antagonists as Potential Opioid Overdose Reversal Agents
      Anand JP, Moore SC, Dixon EE, Perrien Naccarato CM, West JL, Delong LJ, Burgess E, Twarozynski JJ, Traynor JR. ACS Chemical Neuroscience, 2024 Aug 7; 15 (15): 2830 - 2841. DOI:10.1021/acschemneuro.4c00203
      PMID: 38994846
    • Proceeding / Abstract / Poster
      Fentanyl Analogs to Replace Naloxone as Reversal Agents for Fentanyl Overdose
      Moore S, Hamoudi R, Traynor J, Anand J. 2024 Jul 11;
    • Proceeding / Abstract / Poster
      In Vitro and In Vivo Comparison of Morphine, Fentanyl, and Furanylfentanyl.
      Demery-Poulos C, Kochan K, Whitaker-Fornek J, Prince T, Clements B, Levitt E, Traynor J, Anand J. 2024 Jul 10;
    Featured News & Stories Emily Jutkiewicz, Ph.D.
    Philanthropy News
    Fellowship in pharmacology to continue the legacy of outstanding scientist and educator
    Emily Jutkiewicz, Ph.D., pioneering pharmacologist and beloved educator, to be honored through graduate fellowship supporting groundbreaking research.
    cell formation in grey and then two circles highlighed blue and one red
    Health Lab
    The solution to death from a fentanyl overdose could lie in its chemical structure
    University of Michigan researchers may have found that the solution to prevent people from dying from a fentanyl overdose may be found within fentanyl's own chemistry.
    Department News
    Congratulations to Dr. John Traynor
    Dr. John Traynor is one of 17 University of Michigan faculty members named 2022 AAAS Fellows.