For the inaugural blog post I suppose I should introduce myself. As you might presume, I currently work for Primary Systems as the resident microbiologist and public health aficionado. While I don’t necessarily see myself as an “expert” in anything because there is always so much to learn, I do love diseases and spreading knowledge about their impact on mankind.

My life before Primary Systems was spent in a large clinical microbiology lab where I worked with patient specimens to help doctors diagnose and treat their patients. Don’t get me wrong, the job was good for me. I learned so much and will always be grateful for my time spent in the laboratory. However, it was never going to be my “forever” job and about a year after I started working in the lab I began working towards my Master’s degree in Public Health with a concentration in biosecurity and disaster preparedness. Usually, when I say “biosecurity and disaster preparedness” people are shocked or scared for me. The reality I live in probably would scare most, but it has become second nature. We’re all probably going to be wiped out by antibiotic resistant bacteria so buckle up friends, the future comes at you fast! (Luckily, there are people like me and my cohort actively trying to stop and/or slow the progression of any biosecurity attack or disaster, you are all welcome)

I was not entirely sure what this degree would bring me or where I would end up but my goal was to still work in a field where my microbiology knowledge was utilized every day. Luckily, I found Primary Systems who was seeking someone with my background and skillset to become a subject matter expert on infection prevention products, solutions, and best practices.

Throughout this quarterly blog my posts will cycle through topics ranging from what is going on in infectious disease news, information pertinent to infection preventionists, and infectious disease disaster updates or information.

While anxiously awaiting my first -real- blog post please listen to “This Podcast Will Kill You”—it will give you a lot of great information and might just make you as excited as me about diseases.

Amber