...staying put

It's been a long time since I last wrote here, and I just realized I never did post the outcome of my candidacy for a marine genomics faculty position (discussed earlier here).

Obviously, it wasn't me who was selected. I probably would have written about that. After almost 10 months of waiting, the med school dean/committee picked a very accomplished researcher, big research group, Howard Hughes Professor, ~250 publications, yada, yada. Really, I was flattered to be recruited to apply, and then asked to interview; then to make it as a top 3 candidate was icing on the cake. But from what what I know about the person selected, and what I've heard from others associated with both the university and the government lab where the person's research group will be based, it was kind of a strange selection. His background and career, while stellar, did not really fit the requirements and qualifications that were originally advertised. I'm not trying to sound bitter, because I'm not, and I realize shifts in positions happen. I've also heard that restructuring at the school might have made it less attractive to make the jump for someone like me.

So, as far as I know, I'm not going anywhere. I have several good years left, so I'm finally acting on some opportunities to make some changes in my work situation, plus I'm now more determined to follow through on many of the goals for the research I've set.

Flu vaccination

A few days ago I got vaccinated against the flu for the first time in my life. This was the "regular" type A seasonal influenza vaccine, not H1:N1. Turns out, at least with my health insurance cooperative, that at my age I don't fall into the necessary risk category for H1:N1. This is between 6 and 25 or over 60 years old, or those at risk because of other predisposing health conditions.

So why haven't I been vaccinated in the past? I think it stems from one of my early microbiology classes as an undergraduate, during the 1976 swine flu epidemic. Shortly after mass vaccination started, there were reports of Guillain-Barre syndrome affecting a small fraction of those vaccinated (~4000 out of 46 million vaccinated, or 0.01%; "Reflections on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program"). In spite of the low risk, a professor teaching a virology class I was taking (a well respected virologist) suggested that the vaccine may not have been quite ready for mass immunization, and that was enough to dissuade me.

So even though I've been an active researcher in infectious disease and completely understand the risk/benefits of vaccination, until this week I resisted the flu vaccine. I've had just about every other recommended one and never blinked, and darn well made sure my kids had all of theirs. In fact it drives me crazy when i hear the myriad excuses people make for not getting their kids vaccinated for measles, pertussis, and other highly communicable infectious agents. Maybe I resisted because I think I've only had "real" influenza a few times in my life. Or maybe it's my faith in "herd immunity." However after seeing enough reports that HI:N1 appears to be especially hard on otherwise health young people, I called both of my kids (19 and 23) and made them promise to go get it. I'll be on their backs until they do. And I'll be getting annual flu shots myself from now on.

First post

If I get my act together, this will be a place I use to gather thoughts about research I'm doing, discuss interesting science by others, or whatever else I feel like writing about, at least publicly. Sometimes warts and all.