The Center for Nucleic Acids Science and Technology (CNAST) is an interdisciplinary community of Carnegie Mellon University and University of Pittsburgh scientists and engineers unified by interests in the chemistry, biology and physics of DNA, RNA and peptide nucleic acid (PNA). The goal of CNAST is to apply multidisciplinary research, education and outreach strategies to advance our understanding of the fundamental biology of nucleic acids and the creation of new technology.
CNAST’s areas of research fall into three distinct categories: Nucleic Acid Biology, Molecular and Experimental Tools, and Biotech/Nanotech.
Established in 2008, CNAST has grown through the creation of new research directions and partnerships, supported by a transformative $3.9M grant from the David Scaife Family Charitable Foundation in 2011.
Leveraging Carnegie Mellon’s long history of interdisciplinary and collaborative research, CNAST continues to create cutting-edge research projects and educational outreach activities.