From Hamburgers to COVID
A Scientific Adventure
by Vikram Misra

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From Hamburgers to COVID is a memoir which traces Dr. Vikram Misra’s path from his childhood in Saskatoon—where his father pursued graduate studies on prairie grasshoppers—to his own career as a virologist. Blending personal anecdotes with scientific discovery, Misra reflects on the mentors, students, and colleagues who shaped his work, as well as the serendipitous turns that guided his research interests. His story moves from an early interest in microbiology through pioneering studies on herpesviruses and cancer, and ultimately into the world of bat-borne viruses, where questions of ecology, stress, and disease spillover converge. The narrative culminates with the COVID-19 pandemic, which reframed much of Misra’s career-long interest in virus–host relationships. Drawing on decades of laboratory work, he recounts how his team adapted tools for tracking coronaviruses in animals and anticipated the dangers of viral spillover into new species. Alongside this scientific arc runs a more personal one—memories of family, mentors, cultural identity—giving the book a humanity often missing from scientific accounts.

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Vikram Misra is a microbiologist and medical virologist with a career of decades devoted to understanding how viruses interact with their hosts. He earned his PhD in microbiology and medical virology from the University of British Columbia, which led to a long tenure as a professor, researcher, and mentor to students from across Canada and internationally. Over the course of his career, he published over one hundred scientific articles, earned multiple teaching and research awards, and guided many trainees who went on to successful scientific and academic careers. His lifelong fascination with the natural world—shaped by serendipity and an early immersion in biology—forms the backbone of his work. On the eve of his retirement, a talk reflecting on nearly fifty years of scientific inquiry inspired him to chronicle the nonlinear, curiosity-driven process of research, the evolution of scientific ideas, and the exhilaration of discovery. This book expands on those reflections, offering readers insight into the intellectual journey of building and sustaining a research program. Outside of writing, Vikram has spent much of his life exploring the outdoors. He and his wife, Lyn, live in Victoria on Vancouver Island and spend their summers sailing the West Coast of Canada aboard their boat, Arctic Loon.

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Vikram Misra