2012 INDUCTEE F. Clarke Fraser, MD PhD Cells, Genetics & Genomics, Leadership in Organizational Development
March 29, 1920
(Norwich, Connecticut )
December 17, 2014
MDCM, McGill University (1950)
PhD, McGill University (1945)
2010: DSc Honoris Causa, McGill University
1999: The Wilder Penfield Prix de Quebec
See All AwardsAwards & Honours:
2010: DSc Honoris Causa, McGill University
1999: The Wilder Penfield Prix de Quebec
1995: Prix Michel Sarrazin du Club de Recherches Clinques du Quebec
1995: DSc Honoris Causa, State University of New York at Potsdam
1994: Lifetime Achievement Award, The Montreal Children’s Hospital
1993: Honorary Fellow, American College of Medical Genetics
1985: Officer of the Order of Canada
1979: Allen Award, American Society of Human Genetics
1975: Medal of Honor, American Association of Plastic Surgeons
1968: Blackader Award, Canadian Medical Association
1967: DSc Honoris Causa, Acadia University
1966: Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
The Father of Medical Genetics in Canada
An innovative biomedical pioneer
At a young age, Dr. Clarke Fraser harboured a desire to become a physician but when he attended Acadia University to study biology, he was captivated by genetics. Not wanting to abandon his earlier dream, Dr. Fraser became a fearless groundbreaker to merge his two intellectual passions. Before Dr. Fraser took the stage, genetics and medicine were two very separate fields. There was no vision for the potential of genetics in human medicine. At only 30 years of age, he became the founder of the Department of Medical Genetics at the Montreal Children’s Hospital – the first of its kind in a Canadian paediatric hospital.
Key Facts
Co-Authored several textbooks, many of which are still in use today
Served as president of the major North American societies in genetics and teratology and won almost every award in his field
Pioneered work in the genetics of cleft palate and popularized the concept of multifactorial disease
Published more than 200 works dealing with the genetics of congenital malformations in mice and humans
Co-founded and co-directed the Medical Research Council of Canada Group in Medical Genetics, the longest lasting group in the history of the MRC
Professional timeline
Impact on lives today
Dr. Fraser was an iconic figure in Canadian medicine, as well as a biomedical pioneer, a fine teacher, and an outstanding scientist. By introducing genetics to medicine, he opened a world of possibilities for medical research and advancement. As a former colleague wrote, Dr. Fraser, “had an influence on almost every area of North American human and medical genetics thought and practice.” But Dr. Fraser’s contributions reached far beyond the lab to the very lives of patients everywhere. His gentle, compassionate approach was much appreciated by his patients and he passed this warmth and understanding onto a succession of graduate students, physicians and genetic counsellors in both Canada and the United States.
2012
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Frank Clarke Fraser inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
Toronto, Ontario
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Dr. Fraser published Your Genealogy Affects Your Health to help spread awareness of medical genetics research to the wider public.
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The annual Clarke Fraser Award for Young Researchers was instituted by the Teratology Society.
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The Department of Genetics at the Montreal Children’s Hospital was renamed the “F. Clarke Fraser Clinical Genetics Centre”
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Dr. Fraser headed the working group on genetics and prenatal diagnosis of the Canadian Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies
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Dr. Clarke Fraser was the Professor of Clinical Genetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Health and Medical Education & Training -
Founding co-director of the Medical Research Council of Canada Group in Medical Genetics, the longest lasting group in the history of the MRC.
Leadership in Organizational Development -
Dr. Fraser began his tenure as President of the American Society of Human Genetics
Leadership in Organizational DevelopmentThe following year he would serve as the President of the Teratological Society and later, in the 1980s, as President of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists.
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After only two years at McGill, Dr. Clarke Fraser founded the first Canadian medical genetics department in a paediatric hospital, the Montreal Children’s Hospital
Leadership in Organizational DevelopmentFor the next 32 years, he served as the department’s director and as professor of human genetics at McGill.
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After graduating medical school, Dr. Fraser joined McGill University as an Assistant Professor of Genetics
Health and Medical Education & Training1955 appointed an Associate and in 1960 was made full professor.
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Dr. Fraser attended McGill University where he completed a Master’s of Science in 1941 and a PhD in genetics in 1945
Keen to apply his knowledge of genetics to human conditions, he entered medical school at McGill.
1940
He was one of the premier scientists in the medical history of Canada.
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