Robert Frascino

Robert James Frascino (June 12, 1952 – September 17, 2011) was an American physician, immunologist, and advocate for HIV-positive people. He was one of the first physicians to specialize in HIV during the outbreak of AIDS in the early 1980s. After an occupational exposure to the virus in 1991 left him HIV-positive, his health declined, and he had to retire from his work as a physician in 1996. At that time, he became active in HIV/AIDS education and advocacy. In 1999, he co-founded the Robert James Frascino AIDS Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises money to benefit AIDS patients in need of treatment and to fund HIV/AIDS educational programs worldwide. A concert pianist, Frascino performed annually with other musicians at A Concerted Effort, a benefit concert for his charity. From May 2000 until his death, he responded to questions from the public in two informational forums on TheBody.com, an educational resource on HIV/AIDS run by Remedy Health Media.

Early life Frascino was born in 1952 in Rochester, New York, to Jennie and Angelo Frascino. He received his bachelor's degree in biology (with high honors) from Oberlin in 1974. Initially, Frascino did not plan to continue his education or to attend medical school after graduating. However, after one of his chemistry professors encouraged him to become a physician, he applied to medical school and went on to receive his M.D. from the University of Cincinnati. After completing his internship and residency at Children's Hospital Oakland, he moved on to a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Although Frascino had to retire from his medical practice in 1996 when his health began to decline, he noted that acquiring HIV had given him a unique perspective during his years of work with patients. Each year, Frascino performed with Natterstad and San Francisco Conservatory of Music Professor William Wellborn at A Concerted Effort, a concert series whose proceeds benefit the foundation. During his last 10 months of service there, Frascino (or Dr. Bob, as he was known to the online community) regularly published a blog titled "Life, Love, Sex, HIV and Other Unscheduled Events."

Affiliations and publications Frascino was a fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology and of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2004, he joined Oberlin College's board of trustees. Natterstad, also an HIV specialist and concert pianist, had been hired to work for the same medical practice at that time. The two began a relationship in 1993. In addition to working as president of the Frascino Medical Group in Los Altos, Natterstad serves as the Frascino AIDS Foundation's vice-president. He also responds to questions in Vivir con el VIH and Vivere con l'HIV, The Body's informational forums for Spanish- and Italian-speakers, respectively.

Family, friends, colleagues, and readers of The Body regularly remarked upon Frascino's optimism with respect to his illness, and he himself commented frequently on his contentment with life. The official cause and date of death were listed as bacterial sepsis on September 17, 2011.

Awards and honors In 1997, the National Society of Fundraising Executives presented Frascino and Natterstad with the Distinguished Honoree/Silicon Valley Philanthropy Award. During the same year, Frascino received the Outstanding Contribution in Medical Education Award from the Santa Clara County Medical Association. Five years later, in 2002, the Global Health Council gave Frascino the Bobbi Campbell AIDS Hero Award at the International AIDS Candlelight Vigil in San Francisco. Governor of California Gray Davis and Mayor of San Francisco Willie Brown sent him personal letters of congratulations for the accomplishment.