Professor Jeffrey DeStefano and postdoctoral associate Irani Alves Ferreira-Bravo—both from UMD’s Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, were inspired to use their lab’s knowledge of aptamers to expand and improve upon existing therapeutics for COVID-19. Their developments in fluoro-arabino nucleic acid (FANA) aptamers could help prevent initial infection with SARS-CoV-2.