Nancy Potischman

Nancy Ann Potischman (born 1955) is an American nutritional epidemiologist known for her research at the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS). She was director of the ODS population studies program from 2016 to 2023.

Life Potischman was born in 1955. She earned a B.S. in biochemistry from University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Ph.D. in nutritional sciences from Cornell University. Her 1989 dissertation was titled, The Associations Between Breast Cancer and Biochemical and Dietary Indicators of Nutrient Status. At ODS, Potischman studied dietary supplement use data among various U.S. populations. She reported, for example, that use of dietary supplements containing iodine among pregnant and lactating women and use of vitamin D and iron supplements among exclusively breastfed infants are below current recommendations, and that most older adults take multiple micronutrient and botanical supplements. After April 2023, Potischman now works part-time as a consultant on ODS projects including those focused on folate.