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ACSH Distinguished Achievement Awardee--Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D.

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In the minds of most Americans, nature conjures up images of walks through the woods, of harmony, of a safe haven. Man-made chemicals, on the other hand, bring to mind images of a quite different sort. Bruce Ames' discovery that natural chemicals are just as likely to be carcinogenic as their man-made counterparts has upended this assumption.

Dr. Ames, a professor of Graduate School at the University of California at Berkeley, a senior scientist at Children's Hospital & Research Center at Oakland, and a generous philanthropist, is perhaps best known as the inventor of the Ames Test — a simple, indirect assay for mutagens — potential carcinogens — that is widely used in research institutes, industry, and regulatory agencies around the world to screen for potentially hazardous environmental chemicals.

His 400+ publications have put him amongst the most-cited scientists in America. As one of the nation's leading cancer experts, Dr. Ames' work has re-shaped the public health debate, dispelling many myths about trace chemicals in the environment as a cause of cancer. He has spoken out time and again against initiatives in California that would have banned many pesticides and resulted in higher costs to consumers — both in actual dollars and in adverse health consequences arising from increased produce prices.

For his outstanding contributions to science, ACSH presents its 25th anniversary award for distinguished service to Dr. Bruce Ames.

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Other Awardees:

Norman E. Borlaug, Ph.D.

Robert L. Bartley

C. Everett Koop, M.D.

Donald A. Henderson, M.D., M.P.H.

Mark B. McClellan, M.D., Ph.D.