CDC logoI’ve mentioned a couple of times recently that I’ve had some distractions in real life.  They’ve reached a level of confidence that I may as well explain them here.  Short version: I’ve had a job offer from the CDC, and I’m probably almost certainly going to leave my position at Michigan State University and join the CDC in Atlanta in the near future.

In handy pretend-question-and-answer format:

What’s the job? My title will be something like “Head of the Influenza Pandemic Preparedness and Vaccine Team“.  Being a government job, it probably sounds rather grander than it is. It’s a small to mid-sized research team  that covers various aspects of influenza pathogenesis, virology, and surveillance, focusing mainly but not only on the non-standard (i.e. non-seasonal) flu strains.

Why are you leaving MSU? I don’t think of it as “leaving MSU”, but rather as “going to the CDC”.  What I mean by that is that I’m very happy at MSU, it’s a great place, my research is going reasonably well, we are very fond of Michigan, and so on.  The only reason I’m changing positions is that I think the CDC position is going to be even more exciting and interesting.  And yes, I’m aware that I’m incredibly fortunate to be able to choose between these two wonderful opportunities.

When are you going? I’m probably moving in mid-June.

Do you have ten thousand and one things to do before then? Yes.

Are you looking forward to summers in Atlanta? No.  I’m Canadian.  I don’t deal well with heat.

What about this blog? There may be some hiccups as I have to worry about moving, selling and buying houses, and learning a bunch of new stuff.  But overall, I think it should keep going.