Claire M. Fraser (born 1955) is an Americangenome scientist andmicrobiologist who has worked in microbial genomics and genome medicine.[1] Her research has contributed to the understanding of the diversity and evolution of microbial life. Fraser is the director of the Institute for Genome Sciences at theUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine inBaltimore, MD, where she holds the Dean's Endowed Professorship in the School of Medicine. She has joint faculty appointments at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology/Immunology. In 2019, she began serving a one-year term as President-Elect for theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which will be followed by a one-year term as AAAS president starting in February 2020 and a one-year term as chair of the Board of Directors in February 2021.[2]
Fraser was raised by a high school principal and an elementary school teacher inSaugus, MA a suburb ofBoston, MA.[1] She performed well at school and was always interested in learning.[1] She became interested in science after being taught biology in high school.[1] AtRensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), during her senior year, she performed independent research in a research lab.[1]
Fraser received herB.S. degree in Biology fromRensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1977 and herPh.D. degree in Pharmacology at theState University of New York at Buffalo in 1981 with a thesis entitled "Autoantibodies and monoclonal antibodies to ℓgbℓs-adrenergic receptors : their role in receptor characterization and human physiology".[3]
Fraser has authored more than 300 publications with more than 50,000 citations, edited four books, and served on the editorial boards of nine scientific journals.[4] She is included on 23 issued patents and 19 published patents[4]
From 1998 to 2007, Fraser was president and director ofThe Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) inRockville, MD, and led the teams that sequenced the genomes of bacterial and parasitic pathogens and the first model plant,Arabidopsis thaliana.[5][6][7][8] In 1995, Fraser was part of the team to first sequence the complete genome of a free-living organism—Haemophilus influenzae—the bacterium that causes lower respiratory tract infections and meningitis in infants and young children.[9] In 2007, Fraser joined theUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine as director of the new Institute for Genome Sciences.[10]
Fraser's work on the 2001Amerithrax investigation led to the identification of four genetic mutations in theanthrax spores that enabled the FBI to trace the material back to its original source.[8] This effort catalyzed the development of the field of microbial forensics. She is an expert in microbial forensics and the growing concern about dual uses – research that can provide knowledge and technologies that could be misapplied.[11]
Fraser has led NIAID-funded efforts in the genomics of infectious disease, including the current iteration of the Genome Centers for Infectious Disease.[12] Past and current studies funded through these initiatives aim to explore the dynamic interactions between high-priority pathogens, hosts, their microbiota, the immune system, and the environment, with the goal to provide a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of infectious disease with hypothesis-driven research using high-throughput "-omics" technologies.[13][14][15][16][17] These projects both stimulate and enhance ongoing technology development in technology and data cores.[18][19][20]
Fraser's current research is part of theHuman Microbiome Project and is focused on how the structure and function of microbial communities in the human gastrointestinal tract change in association with diseases such asobesity andinflammatory bowel disease, and how these communities respond to interventions including oralvaccination andprobiotics administration.[21][22]
In 2019, Fraser is serving a one-year term as President-Elect for theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which will be followed by a one-year term as AAAS president starting in February 2020 and a one-year term as chair of the Board of Directors in February 2021.[2] In accepting the nomination to be a candidate for AAAS President, Fraser expressed a desire to use this position to be an ardent spokesperson for science and to promote application of the scientific method to the solution of our most pressing problems, includingclimate change,antimicrobial resistance as well asfood security,water security, andenergy security.[23] She notes that "our ability to respond to these challenges has been hampered to a considerable extent by a lack of adequate funding, a tendency to fund 'safer' research projects, and a relative lack of public trust in science.".[23]
Fraser was previously married toCraig Venter. Since 2013, she has been married to Jack Kammer, an author who examines gender issues from a male point of view.[43] Fraser has owned several standard poodles, including Shadow whose genome was sequenced.[44]
^Fraser, Claire M.; Dando, Malcolm R. (2001). "Genomics and future biological weapons: the need for preventive action by the biomedical community".Nature Genetics.29 (3):253–256.doi:10.1038/ng763.ISSN1061-4036.PMID11687792.S2CID11211547.
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