Professor Traynor has over 30 years of experience as a registered nurse specialising in gerontology. Professor Traynor obtained her PhD in in 2001 from the University of Edinburgh and carried out postdoctoral research in the United Kingdom at the University of Nottingham, the Royal College of Nursing and Oxford Brookes University. Professor Traynor was at the University of Wollongong for 18 years where she was Professor of Aged and Rehabilitation.

Professor Traynor has held a range of academic roles, including Head of School, Head of Postgraduate Studies, Thesis Examination Committee, Faculty Research Committee, Professorial Central Promotions Committee and was Director of the Health Impacts Research Centre. Professor Traynor also set up, and was the Director of, the Aged and Dementia Health Education and Research (ADHERe) centre.

Professor Traynor commenced her role at UniSC in 2024, as the Director of the Healthy Ageing Research Cluster. In the same year, Professor Traynor was appointed as the inaugural Professor of Dementia Research at Warrigal in New South Wales.

Professor Traynor is a peer reviewer for the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and an associate editor for the International Journal of Older People Nursing. Professor Traynor is a Visiting Professor at Edith Cowan University and Taipei Medical University in Taiwan.