NCI’s Fraser Mourned
![Capt. Mary C. Fraser Capt. Fraser](/sites/nihrecord/files/styles/float_medium/public/2022/April-15/20220415-Fraser-Mary.jpg?itok=3GJ70clR)
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.