Bruce Trapnell Honored with 2026 Drake Medal

Research By: Bruce Trapnell, MS, MD

Post Date: October 12, 2026 | Publish Date:

UC College of Medicine’s highest honor recognizes pioneering research in rare lung diseases

Key Takeaways

Bruce Trapnell, MD, received the 2026 Daniel Drake Medal, the UC College of Medicine’s highest honor.
His research transformed understanding and diagnosis of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, a rare lung disease.
His work has advanced treatments for rare lung diseases through clinical trials, international collaborations and innovative therapeutic approaches.

Bruce Trapnell, MD, has been named a recipient of the 2026 Daniel Drake Medal, the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine’s highest honor. Trapnell is internationally recognized for research that has transformed the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of rare lung diseases.

Trapnell is one of three recipients of this year’s medal, along with Robert H. Eckel, MD, and E. Steve Woodle, MD. The awards ceremony took place Oct. 10 at the Queen City Club in Cincinnati.

Established in 1985, the Daniel Drake Medal recognizes living faculty members and alumni for outstanding contributions to medical education, scholarship and research. Cincinnati Children’s researchers have received the honor in multiple years, including Jeffery Molkentin, PhD (2025), Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD (2023), Michael Farrell, MD (2022), Alan Jobe, MD, PhD (2020), and Gurjit “Neeru” Khurana Hershey, MD, PhD (2019). View the full list of recipients.

Trapnell is a professor of medicine and pediatrics and director of the Translational Pulmonary Science Center at Cincinnati Children’s. He joined the institution in 1997 after completing medical training at the University of Maryland and The Ohio State University and spending 13 years as a physician-scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

His work spans basic science, clinical research and the development of new therapies, with discoveries that have changed how physicians understand several rare lung diseases.

UNCOVERING THE CAUSES OF RARE LUNG DISEASES

One of Trapnell’s most influential contributions has been defining the role of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in lung health and disease.

His research group demonstrated that autoantibodies against GM-CSF cause autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), a rare disease in which a substance called surfactant accumulates in the air sacs of the lungs and interferes with breathing. The team developed a blood test that became the global standard for diagnosing the disease and identified genetic mutations responsible for hereditary forms of PAP.

These discoveries established the underlying causes of different forms of PAP and gave clinicians new tools to diagnose the disease. Trapnell’s research group also contributed to the discovery and characterization of previously unrecognized lung diseases, including indium-related lung disease.

Building on this work, the team developed pulmonary macrophage transplantation, an experimental cell-based approach designed to address the underlying biological defect in PAP. The therapy is now advancing through first-in-human clinical testing.

Trapnell’s research has received continuous NIH funding for more than 29 years. He has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, reviews and book chapters.

TURNING DISCOVERIES INTO TREATMENTS

Trapnell also has helped advance clinical research through collaborative networks that bring together investigators studying rare pulmonary disorders.

In 2003, he co-founded the international Rare Lung Diseases Clinical Research Consortium with Francis McCormack Jr., MD, a 2025 Drake Medal recipient. The consortium’s landmark MILES trial led to regulatory approval of sirolimus for lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), a rare lung disease, in the United States and more than 40 countries worldwide.

At Cincinnati Children’s, Trapnell directed the Cystic Fibrosis Therapeutics Development Network Center for more than a decade. He served as principal investigator on clinical trials that contributed to FDA approval of Creon and Pancreaze for exocrine pancreatic insufficiency in people with cystic fibrosis.

His work extends beyond the laboratory and clinic. A longtime patient advocate, Trapnell has worked with organizations supporting people affected by cystic fibrosis, alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency, PAP, LAM and childhood interstitial lung diseases. He previously served as scientific director of the Alpha-1 Foundation and is co-founder and scientific director of the Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis Foundation.

Trapnell also has trained predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers in basic, clinical and translational science, helping prepare the next generation of investigators to advance research and care for patients with rare lung diseases.

Through decades of research, clinical collaboration and patient advocacy, Trapnell has helped advance understanding of rare lung diseases and open new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment. His work continues to inform efforts to translate scientific discoveries into therapies for patients with limited treatment options.