San Francisco

Before arriving at the University of Maryland, Susan Wood ’84 thought her destiny was to become a doctor. But there was one significant obstacle to that career path: “I’m squeamish at the sight of blood,” Wood laughed.

In the nascent days of the COVID-19 global pandemic, doctors and medical researchers were scrambling to understand what treatments could help stop the effects of the deadly virus. Dr. Merdad Parsey was six weeks into his position as Chief Medical Officer at the global pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences when they began hearing about coronavirus cases in China.

The dark recesses of New York City’s subway system may seem an odd place for a bright idea.