After COVID-19’s emergence in Buenos Aires led to a strict lockdown in March, Juliana Cassataro and her fellow vaccine researchers grew concerned. The U.S., Europe and China had already revved up their quests to obtain shots; how far back in line would Argentina have to wait for supplies?

"We did not want to stay in our homes,” said Cassataro, a scientist at the National University of San Martin in the nation’s capital. "We wanted to use our knowledge to help in this pandemic.”

Determined to give Latin America its own protection from the fast-spreading virus, Cassataro’s team — 10 women and two men — quickly got to work. A government grant of $100,000 in May paid for initial studies, and human trials could start in about six months.