Who is Dr. Afrasiabi?

Dr. Afrasiabi is a board certified allergist and clinical immunologist who has been in medical practice in Chico since September 1994. He is currently an associate clinical professor of medicine in the division of allergy, rheumatology, and clinical immunology at UC Davis.

He graduated from Pahlavi University in Shiraz, Iran, with an M.D in medicine in 1977. Dr. Afrasiabi’s interest and passion for immunology and immunologic diseases goes back to early years when he was a second year medical student. He studied immunopathology of intestinal lymphoma at the University of Chicago in 1975 and later continued his research in experimental immunology at UCLA in 1976 under direct supervision of Professor Robert F. Ashman. Dr. Afrasiabi was given a scholarship at the UCLA Center of Interdisciplinary Research in Immunology and Disease, where he worked as a postdoctoral scholar in immunology between 1983 and 1985 under the directorship of Professor John L. Fahey. His focus of research was AIDS and Kaposi sarcoma which led to several publications.

Dr. Afrasiabi later completed his internship in pathology at UCLA between 1985 and 1986. He completed internal medicine residency at St. Mary Hospital, affiliated with Yale University in the years 1986-88. He returned to UCLA to do his fellowship in allergy and clinical immunology between 1988 and 1990 under the directorship of Dr. Andrew Saxon. Dr. Afrasiabi became board certified in internal medicine in 1988, and in diagnostic laboratory immunology in 1990. He was certified by the American Board of Allergy and Immunology in 1995 and recently recertified in October 2005.

Dr. Afrasiabi is a Fellow of American Academy and College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology. He is a member of the American College of Rheumatology, as well as a member of Enloe Hospital staff and UC Davis consultant staff.

He has been active in community service and teaching in the last 15 years, giving numerous lectures in Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology. Dr. Afrasiabi and his family live in Chico, and his hobbies include astronomy, bird watching, poetry, and travel.

Publications

• Afrasiabi, Rahmat. “Exercise Induced Asthma : Sports and Athletes” In Gershwin, M.E., Albertson, T.E. (eds) Bronchial Asthma Principals of Diagnosis and Treatment, 5th Edition, Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey; 2006.pp237.
• Afrasiabi, Rahmat, “Insect Allergy” In Naguwa, S., Gershwin, M.E. (eds): Allergy Secrets, Hanley and Belfus, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 2001, pp 175-184.
• Afrasiabi, R. “Allergic Conjunctivitis, Allergy, Asthma”, Fall 1998, Volume 7, Number 2, Healthline Publishing Inc.
• Afrasiabi, R., Spector, S.L. “Exercise Induced Asthma. It Need not Sideline Patients.” PHYSICIANS SPORTS MEDICINE, 1991—19 (5): 49-62
• Mahmoudi, Massoud, and Afrasiabi, Rahmat, “A Patient with Diabetes and New Onset Headaches,” Patient Care 2001; 35: 1:114
• Rezai, A., Salazar-Gonzales, F., Martinez-Masa, O., Barmhall, J., Afrasiabi, R., Kermani-Arab., V. “Histamine Blocks 1L-2 Gene Expression and Regulates 1L-2 Receptor Expression.” IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY AND IMMUNOTOXICOLOGY, Vol. 12, 3:345:362, 1990.
• Afrasiabi, R., Sirrop, P., Albini, M., et al. “Recurrent Pericarditis and Dermatitis Herpetiformis Evidence for Immune Complex Deposition in Pericardium.” CHEST, 97 (4): 1006-1007, April 1990.
• Afrasiabi, R., Parks, D.E., Macy, A., Nel, A. “Presence of Antibodies to Putative Immunosuppressive Epitope of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Glycoprotein GP-41 Cannot Predict the Course of Progression of HIV Infection.” Presented at American College of Allergy and Immunology, Orlando, Florida, November 1989 (abstract).
• Fahey, J.L., Taylor, J., Afrasiabi, R., et al. AIDS and Kaposi’s Sarcoma”. IMMUNITY TO CANCER. New York :Academic Press, 1986 (349-361)
• Afrasiabi, R., Mitsuyasu, R., Runagnishanian, P., Schwaartz, K., and Fahey, J.L.
  “Characterization of a District Subgroup of High Risk Persons with Kaposi ’s sarcoma and Good Prognosis when Present with Normal T4 Cell Number and T4:T8 Ratio and Negative HTLV-111/LAV Serologic Test Results.” AMERICAN JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, 81:696-973, December 1986
• Taylor, J., Afrasiabi, R., Fahey, J.L., et al. “A Prognostically Significant Classification of Immune Changes in AIDS with Kaposi’s Sarcoma.” BLOOD, 67-666-671, March 1986.
• Mitsuyasu, R., Afrasiabi, R., Taylor, J., et al, “Immunologic Prognostic Variables in Patients with AIDS and Kaposi’s Sarcoma.” PROCEDURES, AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY, 4:1, 1985 (abstract).
• Giorgi, J., Nishanian, P., Afrasiabi, R., et al. “”T Subset Alterations in Homosexual Men: Relationship to HTLV-111/LAV Infection.” International Conference on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Atlanta, Georgia 1985
• Kermani, V., Weaver, M., Afrasiabi, R., et al. “Histamine Reveals Intact Expression of iL-2 Receptor in Mitogenic Simulated Lymphocyte cultures from AIDS Patients.” FEDERATION OF AMERICAN SOCIETY OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY, FEDERATION PROCEDURES: 44-6602 (abstract).
• Mostafavi, N., Haghighi, P., Dezhbaksh, F., Ghassem, H., Cook, A., Afrasiabi, S., Arizad, M., Salmassi, S., and Afrasiabi, R. “Cancer in Southern Iran Revisited.” Pahlavi Medical Congress, 1978.
• Haghighi, P., Afrasiabi, R., Dezhbaksh, F., et al. “Malignant Lymphoma in Southern Iran.” Sixth Pahlavi Medical Congress, 1975.