PHOTOS (TOP TO BOTTOM): UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND; GIACOMELLO GROUP (ITALY)992 28 FEBRUARY 2020 • VOL 367 ISSUE 6481 sciencemag.org SCIENCEand that’s where an organization like AAAS, that cuts across many
disciplines, must play an essential role,” she said.
Fraser’s dedication to the joy of scientific discovery has domi-
nated her work even before she earned her Ph.D. in pharmacol-
ogy in 1981 at the State University of New York at Buffalo. It also
has dominated a scientific career that has combined biology and
genomics and helped decipher the genetic instructions of bacteria,
plants, and parasites.
Following her Ph.D. work at SUNY Buffalo, Fraser learned the
tools of molecular biology in the National Institutes of Health
Intramural Program. The program, she said, provided an open
environment that encouraged “fearless” scientific pursuits and
offered “outstanding training.” Her research at NIH was devoted to
investigating G protein–coupled receptors, which facilitate cell-to-
cell communication and are important pharmaceutical targets.
Eight years later, she helped to
establish and eventually became
president of The Institute for Genomic
Research, TIGR, a renowned private
research organization founded by
Fraser’s first husband, J. Craig Venter,
a biochemist and geneticist.
In 1995, Fraser was part of a TIGR
research group that was the first
to map the genetic code of Hae-
mophilus influenzae, a bacterium
responsible for respiratory infections
and meningitis in babies and young
children. The findings were published
in the 28 July 1995 issue of Science
and are often cited as “the first rep-
resentation of the complete genetic
code of a free-living organism,” a
discovery that helped pioneer the
field of microbial genomics.
“We had no guarantee that this was going to work at all, but it
did,” said Fraser in an interview. “That was really a turning point,
when the potential of microbial genomics was revealed with the
publication of that landmark paper on the cover of Science. Once
this first proof of concept was accomplished, all the major U.S.
funding agencies jumped on the microbial genomics bandwagon.”
Fraser and her TIGR colleagues look back at this period with fond
nostalgia, as pioneers in a new field of scientific investigation that
would produce what she estimates as “probably close to a hundred
thousand bacterial genome sequences in public databases today.”
Using all the same tools that were being leveraged to generate
bacteria, plant, and parasite sequences, Fraser would be part of a
team of investigators who would sequence the genome of Shadow,
the oldest of one of her three standard poodles. “He was a wonder-
ful dog,” she said, noting that she remains the owner of another trio
of standard poodles.
Scientific advances by TIGR led
Rita Colwell, then the director of the
National Science Foundation, to seek
out Fraser and her research team for
help with a national security project
to sequence anthrax bacterium
spores collected from anonymous
letters that had been sent to members
of Congress and the offices of media
companies a week after the 11 Sep-
tember 2001 attacks.
Fraser’s research “was very, very
productive and very important for
national security,” said Colwell,
adding that she expected nothing
less, having worked successfully
with Fraser on earlier projects such
as sequencing two cholera chromo-
somes, research that would advanceEarly career research scientists who worked with Fraser praise her mentoring skills, encouragement, and support.
Fraser enjoys ballroom dancing competitions as much as science.Published by AAAS