Dr. Marie Landry, Professor of Laboratory medicine and Infectious Diseases at Yale University School of Medicine and Dr. John Booss, former National Director of Neurology for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs discuss the past, present and future of diagnostic virology. These proclaimed coauthors walk us through the impact of some of the most significant pathogens of our time in preparation for the launch of their 2nd edition of “To Catch a Virus,” a book that recounts the history of viral epidemics from the late 1800s to present in a gripping storytelling fashion.  Ashley&#39;s Biggest Takeaways  Coauthoring a book requires having great respect for the opinions of the person you are working with. The first human disease shown to be viral in nature was yellow fever, but for quite some time, the mode of disease transmission remained mysterious. In early 1881, Carlos Finlay of Cuba suggested that the disease could be spread by mosquitoes and significantly advanced the field. It wasn’t until polio was discovered in the early 1900s that scientists determined that viruses could also be transmitted by and animals. The ability to grow virus in tissue culture was another huge advancement in the field of diagnostic virology, which eventually led to the development of the Salk inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). Although he did not seek the spotlight for his work, Walter Roe, was a bright, hardworking (and one of John’s favorite) virologist, who made important advances in tissue culture, researched the role of retroviruses in animal cancer and discovered adenoviruses.   As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical laboratory played a central role in public health. The importance of a laboratory diagnosis became more evident and next generation sequencing moved further into the clinical lab.  Featured Quotes: “Advice that was given to me way back when I started on my first book is that you have to write about something you&#39;re passionate about. You have to really believe in the topic because otherwise it&#39;ll come across as superficial and artificial. So the very first step is do you really believe in, [and in the case of writing a book, that means] believe in what you&#39;re writing about.” – Booss.  “Science is often projected as a steady stream of advances one after the other. But there is a certain amount, I think, of arbitrary choice at each step. And it&#39;s also true for for writing a book.” – Booss  “In putting the book together, there are obviously major events that occurred in virology, major crises that move the field forward, an interplay, really, of the scientific advances, the clinical need of the crisis at hand and some very remarkable people. One highlight of this book is the way it does focus on individuals and their stories and how they contributed to that progress.” -Landry  “When [pathogens] spread from a local area to a larger area geopolitical area or even globally, they become pandemic.” Polio

To Catch a Virus with Marie Landry and John Booss

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