Joyce C. McCann, Staff Scientist
Associate Director, Ames Nutrition & Metabolism Group

Dr. Joyce C. McCann is a Staff Scientist in Bruce Ames group in the Nutrition and Metabolism Center. She has broad experience in genetic and nutritional toxicology, and carcinogenesis, both as a laboratory scientist, project manager, and expert advisor on the use of scientific information in public policies. She is recognized for her work with Dr. Bruce Ames in the development of the Salmonella (Ames) test, a widely used procedure for detecting the mutagenic potential of environmental chemicals. For a number of years she taught 'Scientific Evidence and Public Policy' in the School of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley. She has presented numerous invited lectures, and has served on many expert committees. While Staff Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, she directed a research group involved in assessing the feasibility of using short-term assays to predict the carcinogenic potency of environmental chemicals. She was Director of Western Operations for Clement International, a science-based environmental consulting firm, and directed the environmental risk assessment group in their San Francisco office. Subsequently, as a private research consultant, she served as advisor on project development and oversight to the Electric Power Research Institute and wrote a number of technical reports and peer-reviewed articles potential adverse biological effects of electromagnetic fields. In 2003, Dr. McCann rejoined Bruce Ames' Nutrition and Metabolism group at CHORI. She applied the same analytical techniques she had used in risk and hazard assessment of environmental chemicals to assess evidence on adverse health effects of nutritional inadequacies. In other words, she treated nutritional deficiencies as a problem in toxicology. This approach led to 4 major reviews that assessed evidence linking deficiencies of DHA, choline, iron, and vitamin D to brain dysfunction. More recently she conducted a series of literature-based analyses to test Ames' Triage Theory, and for the past 8 years has been a member of the team that developed a nutrient-dense supplement bar (the 'CHORI-bar') in collaboration with the USDA. She is a co-inventor on the CHORI-bar patent and now leads that project. As senior author on numerous publications during her long career and work with Dr. Ames, Dr. McCann is in the top 5% of PUBMED cited investigators.

The overall objectives of her current research are:

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The CHORI-bar

You might ask yourself...

  • Can a nutrition bar, improve metabolism naturally, without drugs, secondarily improve quality of lifeof individuals with the co-morbidities of obesity, such as asthma, diabetes, and hypertension?

Well ... The Ames lab is currently creating just that type of nutrition bar

Select this link for a copy of our CHORI-Bar History document


Downloadable Media

The downloadable media section is constantly being updated.

Dr. Ames' publications are also available by request to students and colleagues.
To request copies of Dr. Ames' publications, please fill out this electronic form.