It is with great sadness we report the passing of Bruce N. Ames, who served as professor of biochemistry from 1968 to 1989, and then professor of molecular and cell biology from 1989 to 2000, and thereafter as a senior scientist at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute from 2000 to 2018. Bruce was best known for the development of the Ames Test, a screen that made use of bacteria to test the mutagenic potential of natural and synthetic chemicals as a means to pinpoint possible carcinogens. He received many honors including the National Medal of Science, election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Thomas Hunt Morgan Medal of the Genetics Society of America.
Bruce is remembered by our community for his enthusiasm and inspirational love for science, his occasionally iconoclastic views, and his stimulating and impactful mentorship of younger scientists. Whenever he was asked, Bruce could always be counted on to reply, "I'm doing the best science of my life."
Bruce is survived by his wife, Giovanna Ferro-Luzzi Ames, professor emerita of molecular and cell biology; daughter Sofia Ames; son Matteo Ames; and grandchildren, Dorotea and Giovanni. A symposium in his memory is being planned.
Read more about Bruce N. Ames in the UC Berkeley News campus obituary.
Photo Credit: Jane Scherr for UC Berkeley