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.
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.
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.
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.
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
Jin Dai is a Ph.D. student in Professor John Patton’s lab. His research focuses on the immune response that protects infants and young children from rotavirus infection. The aim of his research is to improve existing vaccines and develop more effective therapeutic medicines for rotavirus diseases. After completion of his graduate studies, Jin plans to continue performing research in infectious disease and the development of antiviral treatments.
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