We are devastated by the unexpected death of our dear Professor Bill Fraser, our lead medical advisor and recently retired Professor of Medicine at Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. This sad news has sent shockwaves through the parathyroid community. Bill was a wonderful, kind and dedicated man, much loved by his patients and a leading figure in his field.
Born and educated in Glasgow, Professor Fraser graduated from Glasgow University and then led the first institute in bone and muscle research at the University of East Anglia. He supervised a very active research group investigating the diagnosis and treatment of metabolic bone disease including osteoporosis and Paget’s Disease of bone. He isat on the Editorial Board of several journals, was a Director of the Supra Regional Assay Service for bone metabolism and calcium homeostasis, and a Medical Advisor to the National Osteoporosis Society. He was a recent recipient of the ACB Foundation Award and presenter of the John Ireland Lecture.
Bill became our lead advisor at the invitation of Liz Glenister in 2005 when he seemed to be the only doctor who knew anything at all about hypoparathyroidism, then quite an unknown condition. He quickly became a widely respected international expert. At our request, he conducted the UK arm of ‘REPLACE’, the first ever global clinical trial into the use of PTH 1-84 as a treatment for Hypoparathyroidism, in 2010/11 at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. In 2024, Professor Fraser retired from NHS work in Norwich and took up a new post as Emeritus Professor at the University of East Anglia to continue his research. He had a particular interest in vitamin D assays and had been working for years on an oral PTH treatment which he’d hoped to see completed. His contribution to research was immense.
Parathyroid UK came a long way in 20 years with his unflagging support. and generosity. He never failed to respond to our calls and speak up for us. Without his fighting spirit, generosity and absolute dedication to the cause of hypoparathyroidism and Parathyroid UK we would not have come so far. He gained a reputation for standing up at conferences to fight our corner and correct mistaken beliefs about parathyroid conditions. While colleagues sometimes saw him as a maverick he was inevitably right. ‘Never forget’ he told delegates ‘These patients not only have physical symptoms to deal with, they also have cognitive and emotional symptoms too. That’s hard.’ That was the first time the impact of hypopara was mentioned publicly and quality of life studies followed soon after.
Bill was always there for us and his patients. He listened to his patients and learned from them, devising individual management plans for each one. He would help other endocrinologists struggling to manage a patient’s unstable levels. He advised us on how to manage our calcium levels in ways that weren’t yet published or acknowledged. In short, he was a hero when we badly needed one and we shall never forget him.
He will be sorely missed by us all and our thoughts and sympathy go out to his family, friends and colleagues.
You may like to listen to Bill speaking at the ESE Hypoparathyroidism Patient Forum 2023 about the doctor /patient relationship and managing hypoparathyroidism from his 42 year perspective as a doctor. (Start at 17.20 /1.12.29)