Alyson Mitchell was born in Oakland, California. She is the daughter of an Air Force pilot and a Registered Nurse and has traveled and lived throughout the United States. After attending Diablo Valley College in Pleasanton, California, she received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Toxicology (1992) and her Ph.D. degree in Pharmacology and Toxicology (1996) from the University of California, Davis. She developed analytical methods for the detection of phytochemicals in biological samples in postdoctoral studies in the Department of Nutrition at UC Davis.

Mitchell’s first academic appointment was in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at UC Davis. Her research program focused on assessing the effects of flavonoids on biotransformation reactions moved to the Department of Food Science and Technology at UC Davis. She has developed a multifaceted research program focused on characterizing flavonoids and flavonoid metabolites in foods and biological tissues and understanding how these phytochemicals alter molecular mechanisms that maintain health and/or modulate disease.

Mitchell has a state-of-the-art analytical laboratory located in the Department of Food Science and Technology. She enjoys mentoring students and is an active participant in the NIEHS sponsored Minority Training in Environmental Toxicology program. She teaches “Chemical and Physical Analysis of Foods” and “Food Toxicology” at UC Davis.