Today Hayden is at Adrian’s laboratory with all the other mice.

This trip to Atlanta for work was my first experience flying business class. The express lanes through check-in and security were very nice, as was the business lounge with complementary snacks. The meals were better, even served on an actual plate, but the very best bit was the dessert cart that came along with a variety of treats and toppings, so that I could enjoy a custom-made ice-cream sunday while watching Reese Witherspoon in How Do You Know.

Though afterwards I felt a little self-conscious tilting my seat 160 degrees to sleep with a quilted blanket and eye mask, when I knew that my boss and other business colleagues were sitting directly behind me, and then trying to talk with them a few hours later when I had terrible bed hair.

Today, on November 23 2010, Frank Fenner passed away at the age of 95. I first met him when he was 87, still an emeritus professor at the Australian National University and routinely attending lectures and scientific meetings. He was a great inspiration.

When he was in his 20s he worked with Macfarlane Burnet at WEHI in Melbourne to understand the incubation periods of infections such as smallpox, measles and chickenpox. After a stint at the NY Rockefeller institute, he became the first Professor of Bacteriology at the newly established ANU.

He successfully introduced the lethal myxomatosis pox virus into the overwhelming feral rabbit population, thus dramatically reducing the burden on Australian native plants and animals. When some members of the public were concerned about the risk of this virus for humans, he and his colleagues publicly injected themselves with myxoma virus to demonstrate its safety. In 1977, he was elected the chairman of the WHO Global Commission for the Certification of Smallpox Eradication, and in 1980 addressed to World Health Assembly and declared that smallpox had been globally eradicated.

I have a signed copy of his book “The John Curtin School of Medical Research: the First Fifty Years, 1948-1998″ on my bookshelf, and I am grateful for the years that he and I worked as scientists together in the same building. He has left a lasting impact on all of humankind.

Two years ago, I left my position as a senior post-doctoral fellow in Seattle. I then spent the summer back in Australia working though some intensive courses to get closer to finishing my Masters of Public Health. When we arrived in Belgium, I still didn’t know what kind of job would be possible for me, especially as I only speak English.

Now I have a permanent internal position with a pharma company. I have a laptop and blackberry and a corporate credit card. I work a 40 hour week. I have presented my findings at an international conference, and we have just learned that our paper has been accepted into a peer-reviewed journal.

My transition from an immunologist in academia to a pharmacoepidemiologist in industry is complete. I am so glad that I made the change.

Photo from JBird