PHOTO: ROBB COHEN PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO
SCIENCE sciencemag.org 28 FEBRUARY 2020 • VOL 367 ISSUE 6481 991Claire Fraser began her scientific research on the banks of upstate
New York’s Lake George and over the years progressed to a com-
manding role in the emerging field of microbial genomics.
Throughout an acclaimed career that helped launch the field of
microbial genomics, she has somehow reserved time for adven-
tures outside of the scientific realm: sailboat racing when younger
and now competitive ballroom dancing, alongside long-standing
commitments to the scientific enterprise that include her new role
as president of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science.
Fraser was a senior at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute when she
took on her first independent research project, examining why and
how the ecology of the Lake George region was being disturbed.
Algae blooms had begun to take hold of water surfaces, pesticide
runoff was flowing into waterways, and plants and fish were dying
at a time when agricultural compounds were increasingly in use.
She collected water and soil samples and, in the laboratory,
hunted for bacteria able to break down agricultural pollutants, a
process known as bioremediation—now widely used to address
many types of water contamination.
Fraser identified a species of bacteria that could be used to
counteract the pollutants, but the project’s 1-year time limit
dictated a premature ending. Still, the introduction to research
was rewarding for a soon-to-be college graduate with two targets
in sight: a bachelor of science degree in biology and the option of
medical school.
“I remember thinking, ‘how cool is this?’” said Fraser, now
director of the Institute for Genome Sciences at the University ofMaryland School of Medicine. “That’s what has always driven me:
just the sheer joy of knowing that when you set up a new experi-
ment, when you’re trying something new, and when it works, you’re
seeing something for the first time. That’s so great.”
From the start, Fraser welcomed the all-consuming nature of
research and the exhilaration she drew from witnessing even
incremental results, factors that convinced her to bypass medical
school and pursue what became a globally recognized scientific
research career that continues to reverberate through the scientific
enterprise today.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine has described
her as someone who knows “as much about bacteria as anyone in
the world.”
On 17 February, the day following the close of the 2020 AAAS An-
nual Meeting in Seattle, Washington, Fraser began a 1-year term as
president of AAAS, a position that will be followed by another 1-year
term as chair of the AAAS Board of Directors in 2021.
Among contributions during her presidency, Fraser will help
set the theme of the 2021 AAAS Annual Meeting slated to take
place in Phoenix, Arizona. She is also looking forward to assisting
AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh, a structural biologist with a Ph.D. in bio-
chemistry, to “formulate a 21st-century strategic vision” for
the organization.
Fraser believes, as she put it in a recent University of Maryland
video, that one of the highest priorities for the scientific community
is to work hard to reverse “the relatively low regard that science
and scientists are held in by the general public,” and continually
demonstrate how science can address such issues as climate
change, food and water security, emerging infectious diseases and
antibiotic resistance, and more. “That’s really my biggest concernAAAS NEWS & NOTES
Claire Fraser introduces
AAAS CEO Sudip Parikh
at the 2020 AAAS Annual
Meeting in Seattle.AAAS President Claire Fraser begins a year-long term
Fraser offers AAAS a career driven by curiosity, collaboration, and discovery
By Anne Q. HoyPublished by AAAS