Greetings to Dr. Ed Kilbourne!

Like most everyone else here, I was RHS ’70, and then (like my father and uncle) went to Cornell for my undergraduate degree and for medical school. Then, I went south to Birmingham, AL for my internship & residency, where I met a beautiful young nurse on the wards, now my wife Barbara. We met in ’78, but didn’t marry until ’82—which Barbara thought was FAR too long a courtship—but I was young and … well … whatever … you know how men are. We married when I finally realized that there was just no way I could even contemplate living my life without her.

After residency in internal medicine and an additional two years of epidemiology training at the CDC, I joined the CDC staff where I worked, primarily in environmental health and toxicology, for the next 22 years. A real life changer was CDC assigning me to live and work in Spain for two years 1985-1987 to assist the Spanish government with a large toxic epidemic (20,000 cases). I loved it (the work, of course, not the epidemic). I worked in a Spanish-only environment, so I got to learn Spanish, I was in great shape, and I had the most scientifically productive period of my career. But when I was asked to stay longer, Barbara said it was time to “get serious,” that is, we needed to go back to the States (Atlanta), buy a house and have a bunch of kids.

She, of course, was right, and we did. Davey (born with Down’s syndrome) is about to turn 22 and will get a Special Education “completion” diploma from our local high school. Despite expected difficulties, Davey flourishes, and looks astonishingly like me. Mikey, is 20 and is finishing his second of four years at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America, near Poughkeepsie, NY) which trains high-end chefs. I was worried about Mikey finding a vocation he liked, but he’s really latched on to cooking and is really good. We also have two daughters: Becka (17), is a great student and truly a star high school athlete. Katie (14) is the most studious of the four, kind of like me in that regard. Both girls are gorgeous, and consequently, “boyfriend issues” arise frequently.

Of possible interest, I spent a year (2005-2006) away from my family as an employee of the State Department at our Embassy in Baghdad, where my job was to assist the smartest and most effective of Sadam’s weapons scientists to find productive civilian work. It was a tough job. I had to wear body armor, travel in helicopters, the armored “rhino” bus, military convoys, or with Blackwater, and things in Iraq were just not going very well right then. Since 2006, (back home) I’ve worked as a consultant in public health, epidemiology, and biodefense. Finally, if anyone actually cares to know more, they can see excruciating detail (and a few cute family photos) on my web site: http://kilbourne.net