Rate My Professor Alan Fraser

Alan Fraser holds the position of Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Auckland. He earned his MB, ChB in 1980 and MD from the University of Otago, where his doctoral research between 1990 and 1993 focused on aspects of gastric mucosal pathophysiology. A Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians since 1990 (FRACP), Fraser completed his medical training at Waikato and Auckland Hospitals before specializing in gastroenterology at the Royal Free Hospital in London. Upon returning to New Zealand in 1992, he has served as a consultant gastroenterologist at Auckland Gastroenterology and Auckland City Hospital.

Fraser's academic interests center on inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as gastrointestinal endoscopy, Helicobacter pylori eradication, gastric cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and esophageal diseases. He is a member of the Nutrigenomics working group and actively teaches medical students while training gastroenterology registrars. His research contributions include ongoing audits of quality indicators for colonoscopy and investigations into genetic factors in chronic inflammation, such as NOD2 splicing and STAT-JAK pathway polymorphisms. With 142 publications garnering over 5,540 citations, notable works encompass 'Improved detection of adenomas and sessile serrated polyps is maintained with continuous audit of colonoscopy' (2020), 'Methotrexate or azathioprine—do differing rates of discontinuation settle the debate?' (2020), 'Predicting patient reassurance after colonoscopy: The role of illness beliefs' (2018), 'Splicing of NOD2 (CARD15) RNA transcripts' (2007), and 'Increased risk of lymphoma among inflammatory bowel disease patients treated with azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine' (2005). He has also contributed editorials on Helicobacter pylori therapy and thiopurine metabolite testing. Fraser's clinical and research impact extends to guidelines from the New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology and service on the Pharmacology and Therapeutics Advisory Committee (PTAC) since 2015.