Newswise — BALTIMORE, MD. Jan. 8 -- University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Dean E. Albert
Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, announced today that Claire M. Fraser, PhD, a pioneer in the field of microbial
genomics, who is the Dean’s Endowed Professor, Department of Medicine, and Director of the Institute
for Genome Sciences (IGS), has been chosen as president-elect of the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS). AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a
leading publisher of cutting edge research through its Science family of journals.
Fraser is among the 114 officers selected during the 2018 election, AAAS announced today. She will
begin her term on February 18 after the AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., serving for one year
as president-elect, one year as president and one year as chair of the AAAS Board of Directors.
“One of the most important roles of the AAAS President is to serve as an ardent spokesperson for
science and to promote application of the scientific method to the solution of our most pressing
problems,” said Dr. Fraser, citing such challenges as climate change, antimicrobial resistance and food,
water and energy security. “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,” Dr. Fraser said, noting the increasing political attacks on science
in the U.S. and abroad.
“Dr. Fraser is one of the pre-eminent scientists of our time in a field that is re-defining how we
investigate and treat complex diseases,” said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, Executive Vice
President for Medical Affairs, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished
Professor, and Dean, University of Maryland School of Medicine. “In addition to her own
groundbreaking discoveries in microbial genomics, she has mobilized a team of world-renowned
investigators at IGS who are leading the nation in harnessing the power and potential of large-scale
genomic research, and exploring new genomic applications in precision medicine, therapeutics,
infectious diseases, virology and cancer research.”
A pioneer and global leader in genomic medicine, Dr. Fraser is one of the most highly cited investigators
in microbiology. In 1995, Dr. Fraser was the first to map the complete genetic code of a free-living
organism—Haemophilus influenza—the bacterium that causes lower respiratory tract infections and
meningitis in infants and young children. This achievement took place at the Institute for Genomic
Research, where Dr. Fraser served as Director from 1998 until 2007.Her discovery forever changed
microbiology and launched a new field of study—microbial genomics.
During that time, Dr. Fraser and her team also sequenced the bacteria behind syphilis and Lyme disease,
and eventually the first plant genome and the first human-pathogenic parasite. She also helped identify the
source of a deadly 2001 anthrax attack in one of the biggest investigations conducted by U.S. law
enforcement. In 2007, Dr. Fraser launched the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the University of
Maryland School of Medicine, which holds over 25 percent of the funding awarded by the Human
Microbiome Project.
Issues like health, security and environmental protection “have no boundaries and can only be tackled
by strong multi-disciplinary international collaborations,” Dr. Fraser said. “I am energized by the
opportunity to help deliver the message that science matters to all of us.”
Between 1995 and 2008, Fraser was the most highly cited investigator worldwide in the field of
microbiology, and her published work has received more than 50,000 citations.
Her current research interests center on the structure and function of the human gut microbiota. Dr. Fraser
has authored more than 320 scientific publications, edited three books, and has served on committees of
the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and National Institutes of Health. She is the
recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Promega Biotechnology Award and the E.O.
Lawrence Award from the Department of Energy. Dr. Fraser uses her skills and position of leadership in
genome sciences to improve the lives of women throughout the world. Dr. Fraser has more than $10
million in total award funding. As director of the Institute for Genome Sciences, she leads a team of
scientists who are housed in the UM School of Medicine’s new 430,000 square foot Health Sciences
Research Facility III (HSRF III).
Dr. Fraser graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology,
and earned her PhD in pharmacology from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She was honored
by AAAS as an elected Fellow in 2004 for her pioneering work in sequencing and analyzing microbial
genomes. Her prior involvement with AAAS also includes serving on the AAAS Committee on
Nominations from 2006 to 2008, on the AAAS Board of Directors from 2013 to 2017 and on the AAAS
Section on Biological Sciences’ Electorate Nominating Committee from 2014 to 2017.
About the University of Maryland School of Medicine
Now in its third century, the University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807 as the
first public medical school in the United States. It continues today as one of the fastest growing, top-tier
biomedical research enterprises in the world -- with 43 academic departments, centers, institutes, and
programs; and a faculty of more than 3,000 physicians, scientists, and allied health professionals,
including members of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, and a
distinguished recipient of the Albert E. Laser Award in Medical Research. With an operating budget of
more than $1 billion, the School of Medicine works closely in partnership with the University of
Maryland Medical Center and Medical System to provide research-intensive, academic and clinicallybased
care for more than 1.2 million patients each year. The School has over 2,500 students, residents,
and fellows, and more than $530 million in extramural funding, with most of its academic departments
highly ranked among all medical schools in the nation in research funding. As one of the seven
professional schools that make up the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus, the School of Medicine
has a total workforce of nearly 7,000 individuals. The combined School and Medical System (“University
of Maryland Medicine”) has an annual budget of nearly $6 billion and an economic impact more than $15
billion on the state and local community. The School of Medicine faculty, which ranks as the 8th highest
among public medical schools in research productivity, is an innovator in translational medicine, with 600
active patents and 24 start-up companies. The School works locally, nationally, and globally, with
research and treatment facilities in 36 countries around the world. Visit medschool.umaryland.edu/
About the American Association for the Advancement of Science
AAAS is the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge
research through its Science family of journals, AAAS has individual members in more than 91 countries
around the globe. Membership is open to anyone who shares our goals and belief that science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics can help solve many of the challenges the world faces today.
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