Danith Ly

About

Dr. Danith H. Ly is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Carnegie Mellon University. Born and raised in Cambodia, he completed his Bachelor Degree in Chemical Engineering with a Minor in Philosophy at the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1994. He continued his education at the same institution, earning a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry in 1998 under the supervision of Professor Gary B. Schuster. Following his doctoral studies, Dr. Ly conducted postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley and the Scripps Research Institute from 1998 to 2001 under the guidance of Professor Peter G. Schultz. In 2001, he joined Carnegie Mellon University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry. His academic and professional journey reflects a strong foundation in chemical engineering and organic chemistry, with extensive postdoctoral experience at leading research institutions.

Research topics

• Biology
• Computational biology
• Biochemistry
• Computer Science
• Chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Combinatorial chemistry
• Materials science
• Data science
• Cell biology

Selected publications

• The NIH Somatic Cell Genome Editing program

  Nature · 2021 · 130 citations

  The move from reading to writing the human genome offers new opportunities to improve human health. The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) Consortium aims to accelerate the development of safer and more-effective methods to edit the genomes of disease-relevant somatic cells in patients, even in tissues that are difficult to reach. Here we discuss the consortium's plans to develop and benchmark approaches to induce and measure genome modifications…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Bifunctional small molecule-oligonucleotide hybrid as microRNA inhibitor

  Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry · 2020 · 12 citations

  DOI

• Rapid self‐assembly of <scp><i>γ</i>PNA</scp> nanofibers at constant temperature

  Biopolymers · 2021 · 7 citations

  Peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) have primarily been used to achieve therapeutic gene modulation through antisense strategies since their design in the 1990s. However, the application of PNAs as a functional nanomaterial has been more recent. We recently reported that γ-modified peptide nucleic acids (γPNAs) could be used to enable formation of complex, self-assembling nanofibers in select polar aprotic organic solvent mixtures. Here we demonstrate that distinct γPNA strands, each with a high densit…

  DOI

• Synthesis of Janus Bases for Targeting C-G and U–U Pairs of CUG-RNA Repeats Associated with Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1

  ACS Omega · 2025-10-06 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  We report the synthesis of bifacial Janus bases E and K, along with their corresponding γ peptide nucleic acid monomers, designed to recognize C-G and U-U pairs within CUG-RNA repeats implicated in Myotonic Dystrophy Type 1. This study establishes the foundation for a fully programmable system of 16 Janus bases capable of recognizing all possible RNA base-pairsboth canonical and noncanonicalallowing precise manipulation of RNA structure and function. Importantly, beyond targeting CUG-repeats,…

  PublisherDOI

• Self-Avoiding Gamma Peptide Nucleic Acids for Selective Targeting of RNA Secondary Structures

  ACS Chemical Biology · 2026-03-17

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  RNA molecules play essential roles in all aspects of cellular function, but their complex secondary and tertiary structures pose significant challenges for selective targeting. Traditional antisense strategies often avoid these structured regions, focused instead on unstructured sequences. In this study, we present an enhanced Self-Avoiding Molecular Recognition System designed to selectively recognize and bind structured RNA elements, offering an alternative approach for targeting biologically…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Development of JB Recognition Codes for Manipulation of RNA Structures and Functions

  NSF · $540k · 2016–2020

• NIH Grant R01GM077261

  NIH · $1.1M · 2012

• A Rational Approach to Targeting Unstable RNA Repeats

  NIH · $425k · 2017–2020

Frequent coauthors

• Srinivas Rapireddy

  55 shared

• Joanne I. Yeh

  36 shared

• Sufi M. Thomas

  University of Kansas Medical Center

  35 shared

• Sonali Joyce

  University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

  29 shared

• Jennifer R. Grandis

  29 shared

• Bruce A. Armitage

  Carnegie Mellon University

  29 shared

• Malabika Sen

  28 shared

• Simion I. Chiosea

  University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

  28 shared

Labs

• Ly GroupPI

Education

• Ph.D.

  Georgia Institute of Technology

  1999

• Other

  University of California at Berkeley

  2000

• Other

  The Scripps Research Institute

  2001

Awards & honors

• Julius Ashkin Teaching Award, Mellon College of Science (201…
• Innovative Research Award (2002)
• The Berkman Faculty Development Award (2002)
• Cosmetic Society for Chemists Aging Research Breakthrough of…
• National Institute of Aging Emerging Researcher (2000)

Similar researchers at Carnegie Mellon University

• Rongchao Jinh-128
• Tomasz Kowalewskih-77
• Terrence J. Collinsh-69