My thanks to the organizers of the symposium and particularly to Norman Stern for
that introduction. Of all the things he could have said, mentioning my passion for Belgian
beer was pretty mild. To introduce myself: I came to the CDC after completing my
residency in internal medicine. I joined the Epidemic Intelligence Service, a two year
training program for physicians and veterinarians and others on conducting the work of
public health epidemiology. After that, I joined the staff in the Enteric Diseases Branch.
That Branch is active in many different areas, from botulism and cholera to Yersinia
infections and includes both laboratory and epidemiologic components. I am an
epidemiologist, and I have little expertise in the lab