About Me - Who is this guy anyway?

I'm a PhD student studying microbiology, though not specifically the health-related kind at this point. I don't claim expertise in vaccines or immunology or toxicology or any of that, so I don't want you to accept what I say because of who is saying it; I try to reference my claims well and make it accessible so you can check my work and make sure I get it right.

The reason I started this blog is that I had always thought vaccines were pretty neat, giving people immunity to diseases without having to actually go through the disease process, but some people think this is not a good thing. So I decided to do a thorough investigation of vaccines: their history, safety, and effectiveness, to make sure I have good reasons for what I believe, or change my belief if it turns out I'm wrong. That's how science works. Not that it'll be the final word on the subject for anyone but me, I expect. I started this blog for my own benefit, to try to motivate me to keep up work at this project, but it's public, so if anyone else benefits too, that's great.

Other than that... I like making science interesting to people, especially microbiology, so I have a podcast (BacterioFiles). I like growing my own food (gardening, chickens). I like fermenting my food too (yay microbes!): sauerkraut, pickles, sourdough, kombucha, yogurt... all very tasty, and if there's any health benefit that's good too, though I'm not completely convinced.

So overall... I enjoy nature, health, and science.

Conflicts of interest: I don't work for a vaccine manufacturer and don't have any friends or family who benefit financially from vaccines. I think I may have a few stocks in pharmaceutical companies that were given to me as a child, but I don't know how much they're worth. That's it. But like I said, regardless, don't take my word for anything I say; check my work.