Bruce Damon obtained his Ph.D. in molecular and integrative physiology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2000, under the direction of M. Joan Dawson. Following a postdoctoral fellowship with John Gore at the Yale University School of Medicine, he joined the faculty of Vanderbilt University. At Vanderbilt, Damon developed a research program focused on the development and application of quantitative MRI methods for studying human physiology and pathophysiology, with emphasis on the structure and function of skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissues. He also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the Schools of Engineering and Medicine and, for more than five years, served as the director of the Chemical and Physical Biology Ph.D. Program.

In 2021, Damon joined Carle Health as the director of clinical imaging research and co-director of the Carle Illinois Advanced Imaging Center. He holds appointments as an adjoint professor of biomedical engineering and radiology and radiological sciences at Vanderbilt University and as an adjunct professor of bioengineering at UIUC.