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Stony Brook University

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Photo from SBU

By Daniel Dunaief

From June 5 to 9, Stony Brook University will host a conference titled “Africa: The Human Cradle: An International Conference Paying Tribute to Richard E. Leakey” at the Charles B. Wang Center, 100 Nicolls Road, Stony Brook.

The University, which has 15 speakers among the 40 scientists delivering lectures, will celebrate the achievements of famed and late scientist and conservationist Richard Leakey and will bring together researchers from all over the world to celebrate the research in Africa that has revealed important information about early human history.

Stony Brook will host the conference in connection with the Turkana Basin Institute, which Leakey founded and is located in his native Kenya. The National Geographic Society, which provided financial support for Leakey’s seminal research for decades, is serving as a partner for the gathering.

Scientists from seven countries will discuss the latest developments in fossil research, archaeological and paleoecological records, as well as advances in geology, geochronology and genomic research.

Leakey inspired scores of scientists and made important discoveries that helped highlight Kenya’s central role in the narrative of human evolution. He died in early January 2022 at the age of 77.

Lawrence Martin, Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook and Director of the Turkana Basin Institute, organized the meeting, along with Professor Frederick Grine. Stony Brook President Maurie McInnis and Jill Tiefenthaler, CEO of the National Geographic Society will provide opening remarks.

Martin, who called Leakey a “close friend” and a “mentor,” said the idea for the conference started in the days after Leakey’s death. The Stony Brook president “wanted Stony Brook to be the place that celebrates Richard Leakey as a scientist” and to recognize his “impact on the world.”

Organizers for the conference, which involved nine months of planning, wanted to focus on the “human story in Africa as it’s emerged” since Leakey’s ground breaking research, Martin explained. He expects the conference will involve an emotional outpouring, reflecting the personal and scientific impact Leakey had on so many other researchers and anticipates the meeting will be “state of the art” and will “pull things together in a way that’s never been done before.”

Leakey, who made his first major hominin discovery in 1964 at Lake Natron in Tanzania, worked with Stony Brook University for 20 years. SBU will share a National Geographic video tribute to Leakey on June 5 that will include pictures of his parents Louis and Mary Leakey, who made important fossil discoveries and were involved in numerous important scientific projects, through the last few years of Leakey’s life. 

Scientific talks

Martin suggested that the multi-disciplinary nature of the power-packed line up reflected Richard Leakey’s scientific views and bigger picture understanding of discoveries across a range of fields.

Leakey didn’t see geology, biology, paleobiology and other fields as separate, Martin explained. He saw all those disciplines as different sources of how humans adapted and evolved, which reflects the “integrated view” the conference is “looking to encourage.”

Richard Leakey examines fossils at the Turkana Basin Institute

Bernard Wood, Professor in the Department of Anthropology at George Washington University, joined Leakey on his first expedition to Lake Turkana. Wood will deliver the first talk, on June 5 at 2:15 p.m. He will focus on how Leakey inspired many scientists from a range of disciplines, with his intellectual curiosity leading to numerous research projects.

Lee Berger, explorer and scientist with the National Geographic Society, will deliver a talk on June 5 at 3:50 pm that will discuss recent discoveries of human origins. Martin said Berger’s talk would be “global news” and will likely be “covered all over the world.”

The first day will conclude with a free public lecture at 5 p.m. in the Staller Center’s Recital Hall by Richard Leakey’s daughter Louise, who will provide an overview of the discoveries and expeditions of the Koobi Fora Research Project in the Turkana Basin.

While Louise Leakey’s talk is free, attendees need to pre-register. The cost to attend the entire conference is $100.

Carrie Mongle, Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University, will be giving a talk on June 7 at 1:15 pm. She plans to attend all of the talks, as she sees this as an “incredible opportunity to see some of the world’s top paleoanthropologists come together and present the latest research in the field.”

In her lecture, Mongle will present new data related to the reconstruction of the hominin family tree.

“One of Richard’s scientific legacies is the extraordinary number of hominin fossils he was able to add to our collective understanding of human evolution,” she said. “Phylogenetic inference is a critical step in figuring out how all of these fossils come together to form the human family tree.”

On June 6 at 2:15 p.m., SBU Assistant Professor Marine Frouin will give a talk about the contribution of luminescence dating to the chronology of Pleistocene deposits in Turkana. Frouin uses luminescence dating techniques to study human evolution.

Turkana Basin Institute: Richard Leakey
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On June 7 at 9 a.m., Stony Brook Associate Professor Sonia Harmand, who worked closely in her career with Leakey and whose family developed a close relationship with the late researcher and conservationist, will describe research in the early Stone Age. Harmand and Directrice de Recherche Emerite at Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) Hélène Roche will discuss evidence in light of biological and environmental changes in East Africa and will present future research directions.

Also on June 7at 2:40 p.m., Jason E. Lewis, lecturer at Stony Brook, will discuss the implications of a new Early Pliocene hominin mandible from Ileret, Kenya on the origins of Australopithecus.

Stony Brook Associate Professor Krishna Veeramah, will conclude the talks on June 7 at 4:10 p.m. with a discussion of how the analysis of modern and ancient DNA has helped understand African prehistory.

Martin, who will wrap up the talks on June 9 at 12:20 p.m., said he thinks Leakey would appreciate what people say and how much impact he had on the field.

“He was quite a self-effacing person,” Martin said. “He wouldn’t have liked too much fuss about him.” He would, however, have appreciated that people recognized that he made “significant contributions in the area of the human evolutionary story,” among so many others fields.

For a full schedule of events and lectures, visit www.stonybrook.edu/richard-leakey/

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Zhishan Wang. Photo from Chengfeng Yang

By Daniel Dunaief

This is part one of a two-part series.

As Erin Brockovich (the real life version and the one played by Julia Roberts in the eponymous movie) discovered, some metals, such as hexavalent chromium can cause cancer in humans.

Chengfeng Yang and Zhishan Wang

Environmental exposure to a range of chemicals, such as hexavalent chromium, benzo(a)pyrene, arsenic, and others, individually and in combination, can lead to health problems, including cancer.

Recently, Stony Brook University hired Chengfeng Yang and Zhishan Wang, a husband and wife team to join the Cancer Center and the Pathology Departments from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio.

The duo, who have their own labs and share equipment, resources and sometimes researchers, are seeking to understand the epigenetic effect exposure to chemicals has on the body. Yang focuses primarily on hexavalent chromium, while Wang works on the mechanism of mixed exposures. 

In part one, TBR News Media highlights the work of Wang. Next week, we will feature the efforts of Yang.

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In certain areas and specific job sites, people can be exposed to environmental pollutants.

Sometimes, the introduction of a metal or element can cause cancer after long term exposure. The effect of another carcinogen can be synergistic in triggering disease, triggering a stronger progression of cancer than an individual exposure alone.

Zhishan Wang, who joined Stony Brook in March and is a Professor of Research in the Department of Pathology, is trying to understand what changes this mixed exposure creates at a molecular level.

“If we find out some gene or pathway change, we can try to intervene,” said Wang, who is a member of the Stony Brook Cancer Center and earned MD and PhD degrees from her native China.

Among the many possible environmental triggers, Wang chose to study arsenic, which is common in rock soil and water and is present in some places in drinking water.

“People living in high exposure areas to arsenic and [who] are also cigarette smokers have a significantly higher risk of lung cancer,” she said.

Arsenic can cause three different kinds of cancer: skin, bladder and lung cancer. For skin cancer, Wang explained that direct contact can lead to the kind of irritation that promotes the disease. 

As the heavy metal works its way through the body, parts of it get excreted through the urine system, which means that bladder cells come into contact with it as well.

For a long time, scientists knew arsenic exposure through drinking water caused lung cancer. The underlying mechanism for the development of that cancer was not well understood. 

Wang’s lab studies the mechanism by which arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene (or BAP) co-exposure increases lung cancer risk. Exposure to arsenic alone causes cancer, but it takes a long time in animal models. Arsenic and BPA co-exposure significantly increases lung cancer risk.

Wang’s study showed that co-exposure increases lung tumor burden and malignancy. She plans to continue to study the mechanism of how arsenic and BAP co exposure increases lung cancer risk.

“That’s our big goal: to try to find some useful method to prevent this tumor from happening,” she said.

Wang believes the cancer cells caused by the mixed exposure increases the number of cancer stem cell-like cells, which could mediate therapeutic resistance.

Wang explained that generating the mouse model took considerable time and effort. She tried to find the exposures during particular windows of time that lead to cancer.

“By using this model, we can do a lot of data analysis” including single cell analysis and can determine which cluster or pathway will change.

Choosing SBU

Wang suggested she and her husband chose Stony Brook for several reasons. The couple would like to help the University earn a National Cancer Institute (NCI) designation, which would give scientists the ability to compete for ambitious, well-funded, multidisciplinary efforts.

Both Wang and Yang “lead NCI-funded research programs that will enhance the [Cancer Center’s] eligibility for NCI designation,” explained Kenneth Shroyer, chair of the Pathology Department at Stony Brook.

Shroyer, who described both researchers as “highly competitive candidates with the potential to enhance the status of any cancer center,” is looking forward to working with his newest recruits.

Wang is eager to use the tissue bank at Stony Brook, which Shroyer explained has also attracted other cancer research scientists recruited to the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook.

The new scientists also hope to tap into the expertise at nearby Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, which has become one of the leading centers in creating organoids. 

In the early years of her training during her MD and PhD years in China, Wang developed her technical skills. Through her career, she has worked on several genes that play important roles in carcinogenesis. Down regulation of the gene known as SOCS3, for suppressor of cytokine signaling 3, plays an important role in arsenic and BAP co-exposure caused lung tumorigenesis.

Early in their careers, Wang worked in her husband’s lab for seven years until she received her own research funding.

Outside of work, Wang enjoys playing badminton and ping pong. She also cooks every day. She and her husband bring her home cooked meals to work.

When she was in high school, Wang had ambitions to become a writer. Her teachers regularly read her work out loud to the class.

Her father, who was a lawyer, had encouraged her to join the legal profession. She had heard that people called others “smart” when they joined the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. “I want people to call me smart,” she said, so she changed her career and went to medical school at Tongji Medical University where she earned top scores. 

Her father had a stroke, surviving afterwards for seven years. When she was in medical school, Wang hoped to learn ways to help him. Wishing she could have done more, she pursued clinical research in the lab. She passed the tests to become a practicing physician in the United States, but she was more inspired to work as a scientist.

As for her work at Stony Brook University, Wang appreciates the beauty of Long Island. She hopes this is their “last move,” as they continue their careers.

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New proposed EPA regulations may affect the Port Jefferson Power Station, pictured above. File photo by Lee Lutz
By Aidan Johnson

The Biden administration and the Environmental Protection Agency announced proposed regulations requiring most power plants fired by fossil fuels to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 90 percent between 2035 and 2040, or shut down.

This climate rule would likely affect the Port Jefferson and Northport power stations, since they are both fossil-burning plants.

Under consideration for the new standards are carbon capture and storage, or CCS, a method of capturing and storing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, though this is still not widely practiced.

“CCS has not reached a widespread commercialization stage,” Gang He, an assistant professor in the Department of Technology and Society at Stony Brook University, said in an email. “According to the Global Status of CCS 2022 report by Global CCS Institute, there are only 30 operational projects with a total capture capacity of 42.56 million metric tons — about 0.1% of the total carbon emission in 2022.”

As the global climate crisis continues, the World Meteorological Organization announced May 17 that world temperatures are “now more likely than not” to cross the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, recommending policymakers act promptly to reduce carbon emissions and help mitigate the mounting concerns.

Another proposal being explored is hydrogen, a low-emission fuel source which produces power through a process called electrolysis that could move Long Island’s toward a greener future, according to former Port Jeff Village trustee Bruce Miller. 

Miller said hydrogen could play a major role in reshaping Long Island’s economic and energy futures as some companies have already started acquiring and selling hydrogen. 

“It is hoped [hydrogen] will be an important part of our economy in the near future, and there’s a lot of money being allocated for that,” Miller told TBR News Media in an interview. “I believe that National Grid has the capacity to do this in Port Jefferson.”

National Grid did not respond to a request for comment.

Miller said local plant operators would probably need to modernize the existing power stations to accommodate hydrogen in the future.

Also factoring into this hydrogen equation would be energy demand. While a lot of energy is expected to be received from the Atlantic, where offshore wind turbines are currently being developed, these represent intermittent energy sources, Miller indicated.

Given Port Jeff Harbor’s deepwater port, Miller suggested that hydrogen could be feasibly captured, pumped and stored along existing maritime commercial routes and transported via cargo ships. 

While decisions over local power stations remain ongoing, National Grid needs to determine whether it would be worth it to use hydrogen, or whether the electricity generated in the Atlantic would be enough. The municipalities would also need to be on board with repowering the plants.

“We call ourselves a welcoming community,” Miller said. “If that’s the direction that National Grid would want to go in, the village [should] support that.” 

While there is a market to extract and sell hydrogen, it needs to be at an affordable price. Although the amount that hydrogen will play in creating a sustainable future is unknown, questions over local plants remain ongoing with the subsequent detrimental effects on the Port Jefferson and Northport tax bases.

Editor’s note: See also letter, “The reality of closing local generating plants.” 

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Immigration advocates during a May 23 press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge. Photo by Raymond Janis

A nationwide debate over immigration, coupled with the end of Title 42, is sending shockwaves through Suffolk County.

Title 42, a COVID-19 pandemic-era federal immigration policy that expired earlier this month, enabled U.S. Border Control agents to swiftly expel asylum seekers on public health grounds. The end of the procedure has led to a spike in new migrants entering the country, with many directed toward New York City and, possibly, Long Island.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) has identified three SUNY campuses, including Stony Brook University, for migrant housing, Spectrum News NY1 reported on Tuesday.

NYC received more than 900 migrants daily over several days, Mayor Eric Adams (D) told CBS News “Face the Nation,” Sunday, May 21. It is an influx, the mayor suggested, that has overburdened the city’s budget and facilities. Adams called upon Hochul and counties throughout the state to assist his city, referring to the requested relief as a statewide “decompression strategy.”

“New York City is the economic engine of the state and the country,” he said. “We believe the entire state should participate in a decompression strategy, and it’s unfortunate that there have been some lawmakers and counties that are not carrying on their role of ensuring that this is a decompression strategy throughout the state.”

Tensions swelled on the same Sunday morning during a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building where immigration advocates clashed with Republican lawmakers.

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey, at podium, with Republican officials during a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building on Sunday, May 21. Photo by Raymond Janis

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst), standing alongside U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota (R-NY1) and Republicans from across levels of government, criticized the city’s policies, affirming that Suffolk County is not open to new asylum seekers.

“New York City made a conscious decision to call itself a sanctuary city. Suffolk County did not,” McCaffrey said.

U.S. Congressman Nick LaLota during the May 21 press conference. Photo by Raymond Janis

He added, “The residents of Suffolk County have already dealt with the financial costs of the pandemic and the historic inflation because of the failed policies of the state and federal government. We cannot stand by and allow the residents of Suffolk County to further burden the failed policies of the Biden, Hochul and Adams [Democratic] administrations in dealing with this crisis.”

McCaffrey stated the federal government’s vetting process is inadequate, so “we do not know who’s being sent into this county,” noting the potential strain upon law enforcement is still undetermined.

He described the expected cost of food, shelter and related medical and school expenses as “daunting,” saying that financial assistance from the federal and state governments would be “a mere drop in the bucket compared to what it would actually cost” to accommodate these requests.

“We cannot allow the federal [government] and state to pass on these costs to the residents of Suffolk County,” McCaffrey added.

LaLota criticized New York City’s sanctuary city designation, tying the influx of asylum seekers to unresolved issues at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“We here in Suffolk County are 2,000 miles from the southern border, but we are to become a border county because of the Biden administration’s failed border policies and the sanctuary city policies of New York City,” the congressman said.

Protesters storm a press conference at the William H. Rogers Legislature Building in Hauppauge on Sunday, May 21. Photo by Raymond Janis

Throughout the Sunday morning press conference, the speakers heard steady chants from the gallery opposing their efforts. “No hate. No fear. Immigrants are welcome here,” the protesters cried in unison.

Two days later, at the same county complex in Hauppauge, the immigration advocates held their own press conference Tuesday morning.

“For far too long, Suffolk Republicans have denied Long Island families — particularly those seeking asylum — the freedom to thrive,” said Elmer Flores, advisory board member of the Long Island Immigration Clinic. “People seeking asylum are individuals, children and families that deserve to live in peace and live free from danger, which is why exercising their human and legal right to seek safety in the U.S. should be protected.”

Minerva Perez, executive director at OLA [Organización Latino Americana] of Eastern Long Island, during a May 23 press conference in Hauppauge. Photo by Raymond Janis
Minerva Perez, executive director at OLA [Organización Latino Americana] of Eastern Long Island, suggested the vetting process for asylum seekers is adequate, noting the possible regional economic benefits of expanding the workforce.

“Asylum seekers can work — they are given work permits,” Perez said. “If anyone’s noticed, there’s also a labor shortage in Suffolk County. Do the math.”

Ivan Larios, manager of organizing and strategy for the Long Island branch of the New York Immigration Coalition, appealed for the acceptance of new asylum requests on humanitarian grounds, noting the harsh conditions from which many are fleeing.

“Immigrants are already a part of our community and make Long Island richer and better because of their economic, social and cultural contributions,” he said. “People seeking asylum are individuals, children and families fleeing danger and persecution in exercising their human right, a legal right to seek safety in the United States.”

Despite these appeals, the county Legislature introduced a procedural motion on May 23 to appoint a special counsel “to pursue any and all legal options available to protect the unfunded location of any asylum seekers in Suffolk County,” McCaffrey said. 

A vote on the motion is expected during the Legislature’s June 6 meeting.

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Vineeta Abraham. Photo from Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University's 2023 commencement. By Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University's 2023 commencement. By Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University's 2023 commencement. By Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University's 2023 commencement. From Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University Maurie McInnis. Photo from Stony Brook University
Stony Brook University's 2023 commencement. Photo from Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University hosted its commencement ceremony on Friday, May 19, for all 2023 graduates. The ceremony conferred more than 7,830 degrees, including 4,895 bachelor’s degrees, 2,115 master’s degrees, 580 doctoral and professional degrees and 240 certificates.

“Over one third of our graduates are the first in their families to attend college,” SBU President Maurie McInnis, pictured below right, told the 2023 graduating class. “These students are making a significant step not only towards their own future, but the future of their families and their communities.”

McInnis welcomed guest speakers, including U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Merryl Tisch, board of trustees chair for the State University of New York system.

Schumer encouraged graduates to be bold and seize the opportunities before them.

“Sitting in your seats, you may not be sure of what’s coming next with so much of the world changing so fast around you,” he said. “The key is not to fear the unknown. Embrace it. Relish it. Soak up every possibility it has to offer. Cast aside your fears and your doubts. So, my advice to the class of ‘23 is simple: go for it.”

Elected officials also in attendance included New York State Senator Anthony Palumbo (R-New Suffolk); New York State Assembly members Ed Flood (R-Port Jefferson) and Jodi Giglio (R-Riverhead); and Suffolk County Legislators Sam Gonzalez (D-Brentwood), Kara Hahn (D-Setauket) and Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon).

Members of the Stony Brook Council were also in attendance, including Kevin Law; Village of Port Jefferson Mayor Margot Garant; Chris Hahn; Reverend Michael Smith; and Frank Trotta.

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The Renaissance School of Medicine Class of 2023 included 127 graduates, shown here as a class reciting the Physicians’ Oath for the first time as MDs. Photo by Arthur Fredericks
Peter Igarashi, MD, Dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine, encouraged the Class of 2023 as they enter the field of medicine. This year he presided over his first convocation as dean of the school. Photo by Arthur Fredericks
Newly minted physicians – Graduates from the Renaissance School of Medicine celebrate and cheer during the school’s 49th Convocation. Photo by Arthur Fredericks

127 RSOM graduates begin residencies in summer; one-quarter will stay at SB Medicine, others to practice in NY and all over the country

The Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University celebrated its 49th Convocation on May 17 by conferring MD degrees to 127 graduates who will begin their first assignments as resident physicians this coming summer. Collectively, they will practice in New York State and 19 other states. Approximately one-quarter of the class will be residents at Stony Brook Medicine locations.

Peter Igarashi, MD, presided over the convocation for the first time as Dean of the RSOM. He also led the graduates in reciting the Hippocratic or Physicians’ Oath for the first time as MDs. John M. Carethers, MD, Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, University of California, San Diego, delivered the Convocation Address.

“All of you are beginning a career in medicine when the need for physicians has never been greater, and the skills you have learned while at Stony Brook have laid the foundation for your career,” said Hal Paz, MD, MS, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences, Stony Brook University, and Chief Executive Officer, Stony Brook University Medicine, who delivered the welcome remarks.

“Among you, we have future residents in internal and emergency medicine, anesthesiology, neurology, psychiatry, and pediatrics, to name just a few – all committed to providing compassionate, patient-centered care in a wide range of communities. I’m delighted to learn that a majority of you are staying in New York, with many beginning your careers right here at Stony Brook.”

One of the new graduates who will remain at Stony Brook Medicine as a resident in Emergency Medicine is Erin Lavin. Remarkably, she gave birth just a day before the Convocation and was on hand – with baby girl – at the ceremony.

“For most of you, almost your entire medical school education has taken place under the oppressive cloud of the Covid-19 pandemic. This is certainly not what you signed up for when you arrived in 2019,” said Dr. Igarashi. “When the pandemic struck New York, you rapidly pivoted to remote learning and social distancing. When in-person clerkships were again permitted but vaccines were not yet widely available, you bravely came into the hospital to learn how to take care of patients. Your resilience and dedication have brought you here today.”

The graduates join more than 5,800 Stony Brook alumni who earned their MD degrees from the RSOM. This latest group of newly minted physicians joins the healthcare workforce in a post-pandemic era that requires a continuing need for more physicians because of such trends as aging populations, the prevalence of chronic diseases, and new long-term illnesses emerging from the pandemic. The transformation of healthcare such as the growth of telemedicine and more specialty care services will also broaden these new physicians’ opportunities.

Primary Care services such as Medicine and Pediatrics will remain as needed and growing practices in our society. According to an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 2021 report, our country faces primary care shortages ranging from 21,000 to 55,000 practitioners over the next decade. A significant portion (21 percent) of the graduates will enter primary care fields starting with their upcoming residencies.

Some of the new graduates moved into the field of medicine more quickly than the traditional four years. The RSOM’s 3-year MD program continues to add students. This year, 11 students graduated from that track, the highest number in the school’s history.

 

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This image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5 +2233 and multiple appearances of Supernova Refsdal with time-delay positions. Credit: Patrick Kelly / NASA / ESA

A new technique to measure the expansion rate of the Universe may serve as a tool to help scientists more accurately determine the Universe’s age and better understand the cosmos. An international team of researchers that includes two Stony Brook University professors, Simon Birrer, PhD, and Anja von der Linden, PhD, highlighted their data based on the technique in a paper published in Science.

The research team used images from the Hubble Space Telescope of Supernova Refsdal, discovered by University of Minnesota scientist Patrick Kelly in 2014. It is named after astronomer Sjur Refsdal, who created a theory in 1964 on how to measure the Hubble constant – also known as Hubble’s law, which describes that galaxies are moving away from Earth at speeds proportional to their distance, so the further they are the faster the move away from Earth. Refsdal is the first supernova in which this measurement theory was put into practice.

Professor Kelly led the study, assembling an international team. Birrer was involved with the analysis and overall robustness of the measurement study, specifically working on constraining the small-scale dark matter distribution and the positional constraints on the images of the supernova, and their effect on the time-delay prediction. Von der Linden was part of the team that originally discovered SN Refsdal and prepared the follow-up Hubble observations.

There are two precise measurements of the expansion of the Universe, or Hubble constant: calculations from nearby observations of supernovae, and using cosmic microwave background (radiation) that began to steam freely shortly after the Big Bang. However, these two measurements differ by approximately 10 percent, which is the point of debate on current theories about the makeup and age of the Universe.

The team calculated the expansion rate of the Universe by using data from four different images of the Supernova Refsdal explosion event in 2014. Scientists worldwide had correctly predicted that the supernova would appear at a new position in 2015, and the telescope then captured a fifth image. These multiple images appeared because the supernova was gravitationally lensed by a galaxy cluster, a phenomenon in which mass from the cluster bends  light. By using the time delays between the appearances of the images the research team was able to measure the Hubble Constant.

The study provides a measurement of the expansion rate consistent with expectations from the cosmic microwave background. The measurement technique and findings may also contribute to settling the longstanding debate among scientists regarding their disagreements on measurements of the current expansion rate of the Universe.

“The measurement of the expansion rate of the universe is a rollercoaster,” says Birrer, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “While a few years ago most strong lensing measurements yielded higher values in tension with the cosmic microwave background estimates, more recent estimates and revised methodology has resulted in lower values. Our research corroborates a trend, yet does not provide the last word on the expansion rate.”

Knowing the Hubble Constant is knowing the age of the universe. Birrer explains that the findings described in the Science paper “provide a new and completely independent measurement of the age of the Universe, and that by knowing the absolute scale and relative expansion, we can infer the age of the Universe.”

The age of the Universe is about 13.6 billion years, when the cosmic microwave background inferred value of the Hubble constant is correct, or about 12.6 billion years, if the Cepheid-based local distance ladder value is correct.

“The prediction and subsequent observation of the fifth image of Supernova Refsdal was a great success of our cosmological model based on General Relativity and the mysterious dark matter,” adds von der Linden, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “Now, these data have allowed multiple teams to further refine their models of how dark matter is distributed in galaxy clusters, yielding a precise measurement of the Hubble constant from a lensed supernova.”

Central to the research and successful measurement of the Hubble constant is a measurement of the time delay between multiply arriving images of the supernova. The researchers address this point in an accompanying paper published in The Astrophysical Journal, also lead by Kelly. They explain that the time delay is directly proportional to the absolute scales in the observer-deflector-supernovae system. Knowing the time delay precisely and reconstruction the matter distribution of the lens enabled them to constrain a distance. This measurement is completely independent from other approaches in measuring the Hubble constant.

Professor Vivian Miranda from Stony Brook’s C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics, who was not involved in the current work, but contributed to an earlier, less precise estimate of the Hubble constant from the same supernova, commented: “This team has now established a new, exciting way of measuring the Hubble constant, which will add to our endeavor to understand the cause of the Hubble tension.  I congratulate them on their work.”

Birrer and von der Linden are now working on the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), to be conducted with the newly built Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The LSST will discover many more lensed quasars and supernovae. Birrer has a leading role in the efforts to measure the Hubble constant from the LSST-discovered systems.

The research was funded primarily by NASA through the Space Telescope Science Institute and the National Science Foundation.

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Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

For the 10th season in a row, the Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team (14-3, 7-0 CAA) is headed to the NCAA Tournament. The Seawolves are set to go head-to-head with Penn State (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten) on Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m., in Baltimore, Md. on the campus of Loyola Maryland as announced during the May 9 selection show.

Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

Stony Brook earned the CAA’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament after it claimed its first-ever CAA Championship in dominant fashion on Saturday afternoon. The Seawolves downed Towson, 19-4, en route to their ninth conference tournament title. Stony Brook’s 19 goals were a CAA Championship game record, and the 15-goal margin of victory was the largest ever in a title game.

The winner of Stony Brook vs. Penn State will take on the winner of Loyola Maryland and Fairfield on Sunday, May 14. It marks the third time in history that the Seawolves and Nittany Lions will meet and the first time that the teams square off in the NCAA Tournament. Stony Brook is 2-0 all-time against Penn State and picked up a 16-11 win in their last meeting on April 23, 2019, in University Park, Pa.

Four Seawolves were tabbed to the CAA All-Tournament Team following Saturday’s historic win. Ellie Masera, Hailey Duchnowski, Kailyn Hart, and Clare Levy all earned All-Tournament Team honors and Masera was named the Most Outstanding Performer of the tournament after she recorded 14 points (nine goals, five assists) and 19 draw controls.

Stony Brook made its mark on the CAA as it ran the table in league play, going 7-0, and the team had eight individuals earn CAA postseason honors. Masera was tabbed the CAA Midfielder of the Year and head coach Joe Spallina earned the CAA Coach of the Year honor. For Spallina, it was his seventh conference Coach of the Year award.

Masera was also tabbed to the All-CAA First Team and was joined by Hart and Levy. Morgan Mitchell, Jaden Hampel, Charlotte Verhulst, and Haley Dillon all earned All-CAA Second Team honors.

Stony Brook has advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals four times in its past five appearances. Last season, the Seawolves earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament and defeated Drexel and Rutgers before falling to eventual National Champion North Carolina in the quarterfinals. 

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David Baszucki and Jan Ellison Baszucki. Photo from Baszucki Group

Stony Brook University has announced a philanthropic gift to develop Neuroblox, a software platform developed by biomedical engineer and neuroscientist Lilianne Mujica-Parodi that will model brain circuits to treat brain disorders. The gift was made possible by David Baszucki, founder and chief executive officer of Roblox, and his wife, bestselling author Jan Ellison Baszucki.

Mujica-Parodi took inspiration from Roblox in conceiving Neuroblox as a cutting-edge platform that will open up a world of modeling possibilities for neuroscientists without training in computational sciences. The platform will allow researchers to explore the complexities of brain-based disorders by providing a blueprint for individualized care.

Roblox is an interactive platform that allows users to create their own immersive experiences and release them with one click to smartphones, tablets, desktops, consoles and virtual reality devices. Anyone can use the platform, even those without programming experience.

“Right now, there is a disconnect between the aims of clinical research and the computational tools we have to exploit that research,” said Mujica-Parodi. “Neuroblox is doing something fundamentally different. It’s trying to bridge that gap.”

Brain disorders like bipolar disorder, dementia and schizophrenia impact millions of families who have long struggled to find answers, including the Baszucki family. Jan and David Baszucki reached out to Mujica-Parodi after learning about her first-of-its-kind study exploring the role of ketosis on brain functioning. This was an area of particular significance for the Baszuckis, as it was a ketogenic diet that put their own son’s bipolar disorder into remission.

Fueled by enthusiasm for the potential of this project, Mujica-Parodi quickly assembled a team of the brightest minds in computing, neuroscience, biomedical engineering and beyond to bring the Neuroblox vision to life.

“Here was a neuroscientist unveiling the mechanism by which ketones work to stabilize brain networks,” Jan Ellison Baszucki said. “This explained why a ketogenic diet gave our son his mind and his life back. We had to wonder if building on this knowledge by investing in metabolic neuroscience could be the first step toward helping others suffering from mental illnesses.”

The $6.2 million investment from the Baszucki family includes $3.2 million to help build and launch Neuroblox and $3 million to create the Baszucki Endowed Chair for Metabolic Neuroscience at Stony Brook University. Mujica-Parodi will be the inaugural holder of this chair, which recognizes an exceptional researcher in metabolic neuroscience.

“Lily is building a software platform where neuroscience researchers worldwide can refine, test and share models to help us understand how the brain regulates energy — a critical driver of mental health,” said David Baszucki. “Our family believes Neuroblox’s impact on understanding and treating brain-based disorders, including mental illness, will be transformative.”

The gifts will be enhanced by an additional $550,000 from Stony Brook’s Presidential Innovation and Excellence Fund. This fund is designed specifically to accelerate the university’s highest ambitions.

“Lily’s innovative approach to one of our most pressing societal issues — our mental health and well-being — is inspiring. It underscores our commitment as an institution to advance knowledge that will have a long-term, significant impact on the world,” said President Maurie McInnis. “We could not be prouder of these efforts, and we are thrilled that the Baszuckis have chosen to invest in Lily’s trailblazing work in a way that will undoubtedly change lives.”

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Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio
Stony Brook University hosted its Cherry Blossom Festival on May 7. Photos by Daniel Febrizio

Stony Brook University hosted Sakura Matsuri (which translates roughly to Cherry Blossom Tree Festival) at the Charles B. Wang Center Sunday, May 7.      

The event opened with a performance by Taiko Tides, an SBU Japanese musical group. They performed on the front steps to the Wang Center as attendees arrived.

Several dancers and dance groups performed in the Wang Center theater throughout the day. Junko Fisher performed an Okinawan dance and Ichifuji-kai Dance Association performed as well. The 10Tecomai Yosakoi dance team performed five different upbeat dance numbers, focusing on getting the crowd up on their feet and pumping their fists.

Several exhibitors set up booths throughout the Wang Center. The Long Island Bonsai Society displayed potted plants. There was also a Manga workshop and a brush painting demonstration. Later in the day, the Greater NY Naginata Federation produced a martial arts and weapons display.

The Miyabi Koto Shamisen Ensemble, headed by Masayo Ishigure, performed on a kotos (a plucked half-tube zither instrument and the national instrument of Japan) and a shamisens (a three-stringed traditional Japanese instrument).

Visit our website at www.tbrnewsmedia.com or our YouTube site to watch a montage of some of the event’s performances.

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