In the late 1970s, Oleske began noticing an unusual increase in the number of pediatric patients at his hospital with suppressed immune systems and life-threatening infections.
[15] In 1981, Oleske was asked to draw blood from an adult male patient at Saint Michael’s Medical Center who was a recovering IV drug user and who was suffering from what would later be known as AIDS.
[16][17] The article received criticism from the medical community because at the time the new immune deficiency was known to infect adults only through sexual contact, blood transfusion, and intravenous drug use.
Funding from Du Boisrouvrary helped establish the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) Clinical Care Center, named in honor of her deceased son, at the UMDNJ campus.
[23] FXB pioneered perinatal and pediatric AIDS care and clinical research and established the first international training program for medical professionals who treat HIV-infected pregnant women.
He began this practice to honor the memory of a young HIV patient who gifted Oleske with a beloved purple rabbit named Fred he carried to comfort him through medical tests and procedures.