NCI’s Fraser Mourned

Capt. Mary C. Fraser

Capt. Mary C. Fraser, former clinical research nurse and commissioned officer in the Public Health Service in NCI’s Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), died Mar. 5, after a long illness. She served NCI for nearly three decades working with cancer-prone families before her retirement in 2018.

Fraser had a long and distinguished career as one of the first clinical research nurse specialists in what became DCEG. She pioneered the central role of nurses in long-term studies of families at increased risk of cancers, focusing on melanoma-prone families. She was essential in developing the clinical aspects of enrolling and maintaining contact with high-risk families, many of whom, especially in the early days, were not familiar with medical research processes.

In addition to her recognized expertise in familial melanoma, she also was a nationally acknowledged expert in the long-term effects of cancer therapy, both systemic chemotherapy and radiation therapy. 

Fraser is survived by her husband, children and grandchildren.