This is partly a temporary good-bye and partly an introduction to Wayne Drash.

Wayne will be filling in for Quinn Eastman, who has been the main editor of Lab Land. Wayne is a capable writer. He spent 24 years at CNN, most recently within its health unit. He won an Emmy with Sanjay Gupta for a documentary about the separation surgery of two boys conjoined at the head.

Wayne plans to continue writing about biomedical research at Emory, both COVID-19-related and not. He and Quinn are particularly interested in the efforts of Emory physicians and immunologists to develop a convalescent plasma bank and serology testing, as well as the continued progress of the DRIVE antiviral. It has been inspiring to see the Emory research community rally against COVID-19, despite huge challenges.

Quinn wearing homemade mask

For his part, Quinn is going on book leave, starting Monday, April 6 and continuing until the end of June. His book — which is about half finished — covers idiopathic hypersomnia, narcolepsy and related sleep disorders. It is tentatively titled “The Woman Who Couldn’t Wake Up” and is contracted to Columbia University Press.

To support the completion of his book, Quinn has received a grant from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation. He can be contacted through his Emory email (monitored despite auto-reply) or through his personal email address (quinneastman AT gmail).