Scott Fraser has a long-standing commitment to quantitative biology, applying the tools of chemistry, engineering, and physics to problems in biology and medicine. His personal research centers on multi-modal, multidimensional, and multiplex imaging analyses of intact biological systems, with an emphasis on early development, organogenesis, and medical diagnostics.
After training in physics (BS, Harvey Mudd College, 1976) and biophysics (PhD, Johns Hopkins University, 1979), he joined the faculty at UC Irvine, and rose through the ranks to become Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. In 1990 he moved to Caltech to build upon his commitment to interdisciplinary training and translational research, to serve as the Anna L. Rosen Professor of Biology, as well as the Founding Director of the Biological Imaging Center, the Caltech Brain Imaging Center and the Rosen Center for Biological Engineering.
In 2012, he moved to USC to take a Provost Professorship in the Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine and the Viterbi School of Engineering. He remains active in interdisciplinary research, serving as the Elizabeth Garret Chair of Convergent Bioscience for the USC campuses. In 2024, he joined the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as the Vice President of Science Grant Programs, and in 2025 advanced to be the president of the Chan Zuckerberg Imaging Institute and the president of the CZ Biohub San Francisco.
