Bruce Armitage

Bruce Armitage is currently a Professor and Department Head of the Department of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University. He also serves as Co-Director of the Center for Nucleic Acid Science and Technology and holds a courtesy appointment as Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Education:

• Ph.D., University of Arizona (1993)
• NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Illinois (1993–1994)
• NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Georgia Tech (1995–1997)
• NSF International Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Copenhagen (1997)

His research focuses on the design and synthesis of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomers for biological imaging, sensing, and probing. Key areas include fluorescent dyes, DNA nanotechnology, and molecular recognition of DNA/RNA G-quadruplexes. He has also pioneered fluoromodules—genetically encodable fluorescent labels based on dye-protein complexes.

His recent work involves targeting telomeric DNA, RNA G-quadruplexes, and West Nile virus RNA using modified PNAs, with applications in cancer, malaria, and infectious disease research.

Scientific Awards:

• William and Frances Ryan Award for Meritorious Teaching (2011)
• President of Inter-American Photochemical Society (2010–2012)
• Co-Chair of Gordon Research Conference on Photochemistry (2009)
• Senior Editor of Langmuir (2008–present)
• Elected to Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society (2007)
• Julius Ashkin Teaching Award (2004)
• Faculty and Staff Leadership Award (2003)
• 3M Corp. Non-tenured Faculty Award (2001)
• NSCS Outstanding Professor (2001)

Prof. Armitage teaches the interdisciplinary course Hooked: The Molecular Basis of Addiction, integrating molecular mechanisms with societal factors. He collaborates with multiple research groups, including the Peteanu, Waggoner, Berget, Ly, McCartney, and Lopez labs.