Few things say “summer” like splashing around in water, leaping off a diving board, and soaking up the sun. We’ve all heard the tried-and-true advice for swimming: don’t run near water, don’t swim after eating, don’t do horseplay. But there are some lesser-known ways to reduce your chances of having an accident.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, before vaccines were available and while SARS-CoV-2 was wreaking havoc worldwide, Barry O’Keefe, Ph.D., and longtime collaborators in Brazil and Spain pooled their knowledge and resources to study cyanovirin-N (CV-N), a protein from cyanobacteria, photosynthetic bacteria commonly known as blue-green algae. O’Keefe had a hunch it could be developed to fight the spread of SARS-CoV-2.

Former Werner H. Kirsten (WHK) Student Intern Program participant Lea Jih-Vieira followed a narrow path of interest and discovered a plethora of possibilities.