Fraser Fellowship

Dean Fraser Fellowship

The Fraser Fellowship was established in 2012 by Dr. Judith A. Bland (A.M., 1970; Ph.D., 1972) as a tribute to Dr. William Dean Fraser for his support and mentorship during her graduate student years in what was then the Microbiology Department. This fellowship was awarded for the first time in 2017.

Thanks to donors like you, the Dean Fraser Fellowship generates an estimated annual income of $1,250 per year. With your support, the department will continue to recognize promising graduate students while paying tribute to a beloved professor. Preference is given to those earning degrees in microbiology.

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About W. Dean Fraser

William Dean Fraser, or more commonly known as Dean Fraser, was born on 3 October 1916 in Wells River, Vermont. In 1938 Fraser graduated from Harvard University with a B.S. degree and earned both his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1939 and 1941, respectively.

Following the completion of his education, Fraser found work in industry at Monsanto Chemical Company in St. Louis, in the research department between 1941-1945, before going on to a long and distinguished academic career. Fraser worked as a Fellow for the California Institute of Technology from 1946-1947, an Assistant Professor in Research from 1947-1948, as a Fellow for the National Research Council from 1948-1950, and for the University of California, Berkeley, as an Assistant Research Biochemist (1950-1953) and an Associate Research Biochemist (1953-1955) before coming to Indiana University in September of 1955.

Henry Mahler (left) with Dean Fraser at Indiana University ca. 1960. — Dean Fraser (right) with Henry Mahler at Indiana University ca. 1960. Photo by Eric Martz, a former technician for Fraser

Fraser started his career at IU as an associate professor of bacteriology and became professor of microbiology in 1960. The National Science Foundation awarded Fraser a Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship for study in Cologne, Germany, in 1960. While in Cologne Fraser helped establish the Institute of Genetic Research at the University of West Germany.

As a professor at Indiana University, Fraser developed a course called "The Strategy of Life" designed for students without a scientific background. The purpose of the class was to familiarize students with how biologists conduct research. During his tenure Fraser also became an authority on virus research and wrote a book based on his research called Viruses and Microbiology.

W. Dean Fraser in glider, Oct. 1974. — W. Dean Fraser, October 1974. Photo courtesy of IU Archives, Image #P0074241

In his free time Fraser enjoyed performing in a Dixieland band; riding motorcycles; and flying gliding, engineless planes.

Fraser died on 25 April 1986 in Bloomington, Indiana.

Above biosketch by Archives Online at Indiana University

2021 Fraser Fellow: Blake D. Petersen

Blake D. Petersen is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Microbiology Graduate Program at Indiana University Bloomington. As a student in Assistant Professor Julia van Kessel’s lab, he is interested in studying cell-cell communication and swimming motility in marine bacteria. His research specifically focuses on exploring how the regulation of flagellar genes varies between bacteria. Blake has found that regulatory pathways differ significantly even between members of the same species. With the funds from the Dean Fraser Fellowship, Blake plans to identify flagellar regulator binding sites across the genome of his model organism, Vibrio campbellii, in the hopes of better understanding its gene regulation.

Department of Biology

Fraser Fellowship

Dean Fraser Fellowship

About W. Dean Fraser

2021 Fraser Fellow: Blake D. Petersen

The College of Arts & Sciences

Fraser Fellowship

Dean Fraser Fellowship

About W. Dean Fraser

2021 Fraser Fellow: Blake D. Petersen

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