Catherine Armbruster

Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences

Bio

Catherine Armbruster is an assistant professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Department of Biological Sciences, Mellon College of Science.

Education

• Ph.D., Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA

• MPH, Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, Atlanta, GA

• Postdoctoral Appointment, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA

• Postdoctoral Appointment, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH

Research

The Armbruster Lab uses bacterial genetics, host-pathogen model systems, and evolutionary genomics approaches to investigate how bacteria in biofilms persist in the built environment and transition into the host to establish chronic infections. We are currently investigating how opportunistic pathogens evolve in polymicrobial biofilms in potable water and how this evolutionary history impacts downstream host-pathogen interactions in respiratory infections and antimicrobial resistance.