Ever wonder why children who start daycare are always sick? Or why you catch a cold after going on vacation? New environments mean exposure to new pathogens, said immunologist Aimee Pugh Bernard, who recalls getting sick frequently when she started graduate school in a new state. But it’s not all bad: New exposures give your body an opportunity to learn and build immunity, she said.
In the Q&A below, Bernard, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Immunology & Microbiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, emphasizes the importance of diverse environments and vaccines in order to strengthen and train your immune cells.