Claire Fraser

First Person | Claire Fraser Courtesy of Howard Hughes Medical Institute So there's Claire Fraser, love-struck, dining with fiancé J. Craig Venter at a Marriott Hotel in the couple's then-hometown of Buffalo, NY. "We were totally in love, we only had eyes for each other," says Fraser, president of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) since 1998. "Midway, I look past Craig, and sitting behind [him] was Mick Jagger" in town for a concert. When Jagger left, the waitstaff descended on the table, taking whatever mementos they could. More than 20 years later, the TIGR lady, 48, is still living with her star, whom she talks about as freely as she does herself, even though this interview is about her. But their lives are very intertwined, personally and professionally. The media attention, she says, has made their relationship stronger. "You have to develop a thick skin, or it will drive you absolutely insane." Some downplay genomics in favor of proteomics and systems biology--how do you respond to that? These all represent large-scale approaches to doing biology. I think they are complementary, additive. As new technology comes on and drives sequencing costs down, we can really think about using DNA sequencing as an assay. We [sequence] once, because it is cost-prohibitive. If [it dropped] from the current rate, which is about a dollar per lane in a large genome sequencing center, to 5 to 10 cents, then it's [conceivable] to use DNA sequencing in assaying hundreds of isolates of important human pathogens. Will the shift to proteomics affect genomics funding? Large-scale approaches have opened doors to do work exponentially, but the funding hasn't. It's a matter of setting priorities. What does the future hold for TIGR? I suspect that for some considerable period of time, a significant portion of TIGR's portfolio will be directed toward genomic sequencing activities. This summer, we will morph into something bigger and better. We will create a joint technology center that will provide genomic and proteomics expertise, to Craig's and other organizations. We have increased TIGR's capacity from 15 million lanes per year to 45 million lanes per year.1 What are your favorite papers? They are the first couple of genome papers that I put together myself.2,3 Those were the earliest genome papers, and it was ... a real challenge. I remember for both of these, sitting for weeks at a large table with textbooks, papers, every resource I could find, to make an interesting biology story. [Up until then] it was a special sense of excitement I never really had. Tell us about your childhood. I think it was probably a typical middle class upbringing. I had my father as the principal in high school. This was bad enough, but to then be basically a straight-A student .... Needless to say, I wasn't terribly popular. I was uncomfortable. I would go out of my way to avoid him. What's your favorite thing to do? Garden. This time of year, hope springs eternal. For several weeks, I head to the nursery, see what's new. Was the grant application that you wrote on your honeymoon accepted? Yes. Craig and I had been working together for a few years, and we [knew that] it was impossible to separate where the personal life ends and professional life begins. That was probably a good lesson to learn early on, that professional obligations get in the way of doing things. Tell us what you would change about your life. I wouldn't change a thing. I have ended up in a position where I've been able to do things, and feel like I've made a difference. I would have been very happy with a much simpler life, probably in science. I never ever had it in the back of my mind to do what I am doing with this kind of recognition, with this kind of standing in the genomics field. Clearly, a lot of it is because of Craig; I wouldn't have done it on my own. Why do microbes interest you? All of the chemical and metabolic reactions in the world reside in the microbial system. If all multicellular life were wiped out, microbes wouldn't care. If the opposite happened, our demise would happen very quickly. They can carry out sophisticated chemical reactions, using enzyme systems that can't be done in the lab. What do people give you a hard time about? Whether it's something at work, planning a party, it has to be perfect. I've been told far too many times, "You need to relax." What's the worst job you ever had? Probably my first job. It was a summer job [on Cape Cod], cleaning motel rooms; it was the 'No-Tell' Motel. I remember my grandmother went out and bought me the thickest pair of rubber gloves, and she said that I had to wear them at all times. Fortunately, it's gotten better from there. References 1. www.tigr.org/new/press_release_8-15-02.shtml 2. C.M. Fraser et al., "The minimal gene complement of Mycoplasma genitalium," Science, 270:397-403, 1995. 3. C.M. Fraser et al., "Genomic sequence of a Lyme disease spirochaete, Borrelia burgdorferi," Nature, 390:553, 555, 1997. function sendData() { document.frm.pathName.value = location.pathname; result = false if (document.frm.score[0].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[1].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[2].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[3].checked) result = true; if (document.frm.score[4].checked) result = true; if (!result) alert("Please select") return result; } .myradio{background-color : #94bee5} Please indicate on a 1 - 5 scale how strongly you would recommend this article to your colleagues? Not recommended 1 2 3 4 5 Highly recommended Please register your vote

Claire Fraser

The Scientist Staff

First Person | Claire Fraser

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