XBB.1.5, the most transmissible variant to date of the SARS CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, has started to move across the U.S. The new coronavirus is especially infectious because it can “outsmart” the innate immune defenses of the human body, experts say. Now, in a new study involving 30 research collaborators, including faculty members in the School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, part of the Fulton Schools, are developing a detailed map with directions for the design of stronger COVID-fighting drugs. The project involves working to thwart the ability of a protein called NendoU to conceal the coronavirus in the body.