Moreover, the written story also feeds back into the previous levels and shapes the lived story. Narrating is a way of constructing ones identity (Brockmeier and Carbaugh 2001, p. 15; Bruner 2001, pp. 34-35) . In the course of constructing a 'front region' narrative, the identities the virologists assume as experts shape their actions and interventions, allowing them to present themselves in a way they find desirable (Goffman 1959) . Narratives not only constrain, they also enable action (Deuten and Rip 2000, p. 72) . By being involved in narrative processes in biographical-narrative interviews, and by intervening in the identity constructions, one actually comes closer to the lived story. 1 Interviews with experts or elites differ remarkably from other kinds of interviews; for a brief discussion see Beate Littig (2008). 2 In this paper I unfortunately cannot illustrate this dimension with a structural analysis of the narratives. For reasons of space I therefore limit myself to a thematic analysis (see Riessman 2008, chapters 3-4) . 3 The virologists themselves also produce written narratives on their roles, creating fascinating comparative research material on narrativity and identity (see Goudsmit 2009; Coutinho 2 February 2010) .