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Reenactors on the grounds of the Three Village Historical Society during Culper Spy Day on Sept. 10. Photo by Joseph Cali

By Heidi Sutton

Mark your calendars! On Saturday, Sept. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the Three Village Historical Society and Tri-Spy Tours will host a Revolutionary event — Culper Spy Day. Made possible by title sponsor Heritage Spy Ring Golf Club, it’s the event that every history buff looks forward to.

Now in its 10th year, the annual event is the brainchild of Margo Arceri, who first heard about Washington’s Setauket spies (including her favorite spy Anna Smith Strong) from her Strong’s Neck neighbor and local historian, Kate W. Strong, in the early 1970s. 

Meet Big Bill the Tory at the Sherwood-Jayne Farm on Sept. 7 from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Photo courtesy of Preservation Long Island

“My love of history grew from there,” said Arceri who today runs Tri-Spy Tours offering walking, bike and kayak tours of the Setauket area. “Everywhere you turn in the Three Villages you are looking at an artifact, and as the historical society believes, the community is our museum and I would really love to put that on the forefront of people’s minds. History is constantly evolving and new information is being discovered everyday. We don’t know what is waiting to be unearthed next and that fills me with excitement.”

The day of spy-related tours and activities was named for the Culper Spy Ring founded by Benjamin Tallmadge of Setauket, which provided General George Washington the information he needed to turn the tide of the American Revolution.

On Culper Spy Day, you will have the chance to visit the places where history was made and visit with area groups to learn about the patriots who risked their lives. 

Visitors can enjoy docent-led tours of historic homes, churches and cemeteries; Colonial cooking demonstrations; Anna Smith Strong’s famed clothesline; and a Revolutionary War encampment and musket firing drills by several militia groups.

There are plenty of children’s activities too including a children’s story hour, a potato sack race, an epic scavenger hunt, invisible ink demonstrations decoding spy names, sending wax sealed letters, making colonial crafts, and building a scale model timber frame house alongside Abraham Woodhull. 

In addition, Revolutionary War artifacts, including George Washington’s original letters to members of his spy ring will be on display in the Stony Brook University Library Special Collections. View a rare surviving letter dated November 8, 1779, between Benjamin Tallmadge and Robert Townsend at the Long Island Museum and explore their  world-famous carriage collection, with ties to Long Island’s Revolutionary War history 

Visitors will have a chance to meet Abraham Woodhull, Big Bill the Tory and Anna Smith Strong as well. 

See history come to life with this self-guided interactive tour spanning the Three Villages and beyond! Start your adventure at the Three Village Historical Society, 93 North Country Road, Setauket and then visit participating locations including the Sherwood-Jayne Farm, Drowned Meadow Cottage Museum, The Long Island Museum, Emma S. Clark Memorial Library, Caroline Episcopal Church, Setauket Presbyterian Church, Setauket Neighborhood House, Patriots Rock, and Stony Brook University. The Setauket Elementary School’s auditorium will also be open for a special viewing of the Vance Locke murals depicting the founding of the Town of Brookhaven. 

All events are free with the exception of the Sherwood-Jayne Farm house tour ($5 adults, free for ages 17 and under) and the award-winning Spies! exhibit at the Three Village Historical Society. Build your own Revolutionary War story and see history come to life at this fun-filled event. For more information, call 631-751-3730 or visit www.tvhs.org for a full schedule of events.

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*New this year will be a Culper  5K Race/Walk on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 9 a.m. Presented by Strong Island Running Club and sponsored by the Three Village Dads Foundation, the event will support the Dominick-Crawford Barn History & Education Center. Racers can trace the footsteps of the spies starting at the TVHS Headquarters, through the Old Setauket Historic District, up through battle fields and farmlands, around the churches, past pre-Revolutionary homes, and back to the Museum. Tickets are $30 adults, $10 kids fun run. Sign up at tvhs.org/5k.

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Collegno, tomb 143. Iron 'multiple' belt elements with silver and brass inlay. Photo by Caterina Giostra

Stony Brook Ecology & Evolution professor and an international team complete DNA analysis that provides insight to how communities formed after the collapse of the Roman Empire

A new study of ancient DNA by a team of international researchers and co-led by Krishna R. Veeramah, PhD, of Stony Brook University, provides insight into the development and social structures of European rural communities following the fall of the Roman Empire. The findings, published in a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), suggest that early medieval elites, or those of higher social status, were initially made up of multiple families with distinct genetic ancestries. However, over time these families intermarried and also the local communities integrated genetically diverse newcomers from a variety of different social and cultural backgrounds.

Collegno, tomb no. 150. End element of belt for weapon suspension in iron with silver and brass inlay. Photo by Caterina Giostra

The research team combined paleogenomic, archaeological, and isotopic data to shed light on the community that used a cemetery in Collegno, Italy, as a burial site during the 6th to 8th centuries CE. Researchers sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 28 individuals from the cemetery and incorporated data from 24 previously published genomes. They also studied individuals’ patterns of social mobility, burial patterns, and diet.

“When the Roman Empire collapsed, we did not really know much about how new communities formed, yet many of these communities would go on to be the basis for modern European countries,” explains Veeramah, an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolution in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Director of The Veeramah Lab, which is dedicated the study of evolutionary genomics. “Our study reveals that these elites were genetically surprisingly diverse, and in the process of creating new European communities in the medieval era, families with diverse genetic ancestry would come together to form ruling groups.”

“In 2018, our team published a paper that demonstrated genomic and cultural similarities between Collegno and Szólád, a village in modern Hungary that showed a significant correspondence between individuals with a northern European ancestry in both,” adds Patrick Geary, PhD, of the Institute for Advanced Study.  “Our new study follows the transformation of this Italian community over a century, and shows how new groups moved into and merged with the existing inhabitants.”

The researchers discovered that the Collegno community was initially established by and organized around a network of closely related individuals, likely from several elite families. But over time, they evolved into a single extended lineage spanning at least five generations.

Veeramah and colleagues believe individuals from this lineage had a higher ranking in society based on their richer diets and heavily detailed, and likely more expensively made items they were buried with, such as weapons and elaborate belts [see attached photos].

The findings also show that while the Collegno community was initially established by these elite families, a majority that came from northern Europe, the community later incorporated individuals from other origins and genetic backgrounds into it, including surrounding locals.

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Photo courtesy Stony Brook Athletics

It was a victorious opening weekend for the Stony Brook volleyball team as they secured a five-set win over James Madison University in Harrisburg, PA on Aug. 31.The Seawolves were led by double-doubles from Quinn Anderson, who had 15 kills and 13 digs and Leoni Kunz, who had 12 kills and 16 digs. The win improved the Seawolves’ overall record to 3-0 on the season, their first 3-0 start since the 2006 season.
Offensively, Kunz recorded her 16th double-double of her career while Anderson tallied her first in just her third collegiate outing.  Kali Moore also added 16 kills to help the offense. Torri Henry dished out 48 assists to bring her invitational total to 139. On the defensive end, Julia Patsos chipped in with 19 digs to go with six blocks from Ayanna Pierre Louis.

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET 1 | The Seawolves found themselves in an early deficit, dropping a tough first set 25-12. Stony Brook trailed by as many as 13 points as JMU never surrendered the lead in a set that didn’t have a single tie before the Dukes took control.

SET 2 | Stony Brook rallied after dropping the first set to take the second set 25-21, evening the match at one set apiece. The Seawolves grabbed control of the set lead early on, at 6-5, and held the lead the rest of the way. Stony Brook led by as many as six points at 21-15 before closing out the set, totaling 16 kills while only notching two attack errors in the process. Stony Brook’s front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four JMU attacks in the stanza.

SET 3 | JMU took a 2-1 match lead after taking down the Seawolves in the third set by a score of 25-20. JMU grabbed the advantage for good at 15-14 in a set that was tied up 10 times before the Dukes took over in the second half.

SET 4 | Stony Brook then responded to secure set four 25-23 to force a fifth set. A strong performance on the attacking side led the Seawolves to victory in the set. Stony Brook put together a .378 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win. After the lead changed hands five times, the Seawolves took control for good at 24-23 and rode that advantage to victory. Stony Brook got a solid defensive performance from a front row that blocked five JMU attacks.

SET 5 | Down two sets to one, Stony Brook fought back to win sets four and five, culminating in a 15-9 fifth-set victory, to take the match 3-2. The Seawolves took control of the set-five lead at 3-2 and never looked back. Stony Brook ended strong, opening its biggest lead of six points, to finish off the set.

STATS AND NOTES

  • This marked the second time in program history that the Seawolves and Dukes met, and the first time since August 30, 2019. Stony Brook improved to 1-1 all-time against JMU.
  • Freshman outside hitter Quinn Anderson and graduate student outside hitter Leoni Kunz each registered double-doubles in the win.
  • Junior outside hitter Kali Moore had a team-high 16 kills for Stony Brook.
  • Graduate student setter Torri Henry recorded 48 assists in the victory, adding 14 digs, four kills, four blocks, and one ace.
  • Graduate student libero Julia Patsos led the Seawolves with 19 digs.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Ayanna Pierre Louis tied her career-high with six blocks.
  • With the win, the Seawolves start their season at 3-0 overall; the first time since the 2006 season.

“The fight in our group this weekend was incredible,” stated head coach Kristin Belzung postgame. “Today was a cat and mouse match and we made adjustments throughout both offensively and defensively. I’m so proud of our team for competing throughout and taking care of each other.”The team returns to action next weekend as they travel upstate to take on Buffalo, UConn, and Colgate in the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament. Friday’s match will begin at 4 p.m. with coverage available on ESPN+. Saturday and Sunday both have first serve scheduled for 2 p.m.

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Photo courtesy Stony Brook Athletics
Seawolves Defeat Hornets and Blue Hose in a Pair of Five-Set Thrillers

It was a dominant opening day for the Stony Brook volleyball team as they picked up a pair of five-set victories over Delaware State and Presbyterian at the JMU Invitational on Aug. 30.  The non-conference wins improved Stony Brook’s overall record to 2-0 on the young season.

Offensively, Kali Moore secured double-doubles in both matches to help propel the team past the Hornets and Blue Hose, while Leoni Kunz tallied herself a double-double against Delaware State. Contributing to their success, Torri Henry recorded 91 total assists throughout the two-match day.

The Seawolves began match one trading set wins with Delaware State before finishing it off in the final deciding set. The squad would end on a high note, scoring first and never trailing to secure the victory by a match-high 10-point lead. Kunz (.429) and Moore (.208) led the attack with 20 kills apiece, as Henry totaled 49 assists, Julia Patsos added 26 digs, and Mercedes Motton tied her career-high with seven blocks.

Identical to the first match, Stony Brook and Presbyterian went back-and-forth in their efforts. In the fifth set, the Seawolves once again took the lead and did not falter, closing out the match with a 15-8 deciding score. Moore (.227) had a team-high 23 kills as rookie outside hitter Quinn Anderson (.231) tallied 13 of her own. Ashleigh Woodruff (.450) added a career-high 10 kills against the Blue Hose. Henry led with 42 assists and 31 digs to round out the squad.

MATCH 1: STONY BROOK – 3, DELAWARE STATE – 2 (25-18, 25-27, 25-20, 23-25, 15-5)

  • This marked the third time in program history that the teams went head-to-head and the first time since October 23, 2015. The Seawolves improved to 3-0 all-time against the Hornets, and today being the first match to go five sets.
  • Junior outside hitter Kali Moore registered a double-double with a team-high 20 kills on .208 hitting. She also totaled 13 digs, three blocks, and a pair of assists.
  • Graduate student outside hitter Leoni Kunz also recorded a double-double, the 15th of her career, with a team-high 20 kills on .429 hitting. She added 12 digs, four blocks, and one assist.
  • Reigning CAA Setter of the Year Torri Henry recorded 49 assists in the victory and had a match-high four aces.
  • Graduate student libero Julia Patsos led the Seawolves with 26 digs.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Mercedes Motton tied her career-high with seven blocks.
  • Graduate student middle blocker Abby Campbell had a team-high three aces in the win.

MATCH 2: STONY BROOK – 3, PRESBYTERIAN – 2 (25-16, 14-25, 25-19, 23-25, 15-8)

  • This was the first meeting between the Seawolves an Blue Hose in program history.
  • Moore registered her 21st career double-double with 23 kills and 24 digs. She also had three aces, one assist, and one block in the victory.
  • Outside hitter Quinn Anderson led all freshman with 13 kills.
  • Kunz contributed with 12 kills, seven digs, two blocks, and one assist.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Ashleigh Woodruff added a career-high 10 kills.
  • After tallying 49 assists in the first game, Henry dished out a match-high 42 assists and 31 digs. She also had four aces, one kill, and one block.
  • Freshman libero/defensive specialist Zayda Fuertez dug 15 balls in the victory for the Seawolves.

“Starting off the season competing in back-to-back five set matches is incredibly tough,” head coach Kristin Belzung noted postgame. “I thought we fought to adapt throughout both matches and am proud of our fight. To have so many people step up and contribute is something that will be a strength of ours this season.”

NEXT UP
The Seawolves are back in action Aug. 31 as they face off against invitational host James Madison University at 12:00 p.m. This will be only the second meeting between these two teams in program history, as the Dukes earned a straight sweep back in 2019.

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Pixabay photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Benjamin Luft. Photo courtesy of SBU

They bother us, particularly in the summer, but they don’t need us.

The 23 species of Borrelia bacteria, which cause Lyme disease, have been around for millions of years, dating back to when the continents were all linked together like pieces of a puzzle in Pangea. The bacteria likely infected early mammals in those days.

In a recent paper in the journal mBIO, researchers from over 12 institutions put together the genetic sequence of these bacteria, which include 47 strains.

The scope of the work “was enormous and we were lucky” to have so many dedicated investigators, said Ben Luft, Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, including lead senior author Weigang Qiu, Professor of Biology at Hunter College of the City University of New York.

The work, which took about a decade to complete, could provide a valuable resource to researchers and doctors today and in the future. The genetic information could lead to advances in diagnostics, treatment and prevention of Lyme disease.

Scientist could use the database to compare the genomes of different species and variations that cause different symptoms to help diagnose the likely severity of an infection as well as to search for specific pathways that lead to the virulence of an infection.

Some infections can lead to fever, headaches, fatigue and a skin rash. Starting with the bite of an intermediate host such as a tick, these infections, when left untreated, can lead to problems in the joints, heart, and nervous system.

The number of new cases of Lyme disease each year has been climbing, reaching close to 500,000 per year in the United States.

Researchers added that creating a genetic catalog of the different bacterial species can also help current and future scientists and doctors manage new threats from strains of bacteria that move into new areas amid climate change.

These species haven’t interacted with each other in the past, but climate change may create opportunities for bacteria to create recombinant genes, presenting new threats to human health.

“You may start seeing things that you didn’t see before,” said Luft. “We don’t know what’s going to happen” amid climate change. “There might be new forms” of Lyme disease.

The challenge with Lyme is not necessarily what happens in 2024, but how it might change in 20 years, when organisms develop a new pathogenicity.

Lyme on four continents

An international team of researchers sequenced the genomes of many species of Borrelia, the cause of Lyme disease. By comparing these genomes, the researchers reconstructed the evolutionary history of Lyme disease bacteria. The map shows many of the global regions where the team sequenced a species. Borrelia burgdorferi, the most common cause of disease, is indicated in red. Other species are indicated by different colors. Image created by Saymon Akther

In addition to generating a database of the Lyme disease bacterial genome, the researchers wanted to develop an understanding of its phylogenetic history.

“The goal really was to show how genetically diverse Borelia is throughout the world,” said Luft.

The researchers gathered genetic data from this bacteria, which was sampled in Europe, Asia, and North and South America.

By collecting the genetic information in each of these locations, the scientists were able to recreate the history of a bacteria that’s lasted considerably longer than many other organisms that have since become extinct.

“The genetic make up (genes and plasmids) hasn’t changed very much since the last common ancestor on Pangea (otherwise we would see different sets of genes and plasmids from different continents),” explained Qiu.

An extensive collaboration

Qiu and Luft were grateful for all the work scientists around the world did to contribute to this study.

On Long Island, Lyme disease is transmitted mainly by the bite of an infected deer tick, also is known as the black-legged tick.

The team of Claire Fraser and Emmanuel Mongodin at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Richard G. Morgan of New England Biolabs helped use next generation sequencing to determine the bacterial genome.

Indeed, Fraser was the first to map the complete genetic code of a free-living organisms. She worked with the Haemophilus influenza, which causes respiratory infections and meningitis in infants and young children, according to the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Qiu, who earned his Phd from Stony Brook in 1999, suggested that the effort required regular, ongoing work. He supervised Dr. Saymon Akther for her thesis work, which was the basis of the paper. He also performed additional evolutionary analysis.

“For the past two years, we have been having weekly meetings on zoom,” said Qiu. “It’s a big relief” that the researchers published the study and shared the information with the scientific community.

Qiu credited Luft with being a consistent coordinator of the sequencing effort and diversity study for over 20 years.

The next steps

At this point, Luft and his colleagues are eager to share the information with the broader scientific community.

The researchers hope experts in artificial intelligence, bioinformatics and computer programming can use the data to understand more about the genome and develop potential therapeutic targets.

Luft is eager to see “how smart people take advantage of a decade’s worth of work that has been very carefully done, to move it all forward,” he said. “We have certain ideas that we are doing” to fill in the gaps.

Qiu has some existing grants he’s using to work on diagnostics and vaccine development.

Qiu, along with chemistry-department colleague Brian Zeglis, and Lyme diagnostic/ vaccine researcher Maria Gomes-Solecki, has a joint NIH/ NIAID grant to develop a novel PET-based technology to detect Lyme pathogens in vivo. They have also proposed a new Lyme vaccine design strategy.

Additional sequencing of the variable plasmid, which is not a part of the chromosomal DNA but can replicate independently, would continue to help determine what genetic codes contribute to the level of virulence for each strain or species.

“That’s like the last mile for the communication network,” said Qiu. The challenges include annotating the genomes, providing comparative analysis and using informatics development to share the genome variability with the research community.

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Jian Li

Stony Brook University Assistant Professor Jian Li, from the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics and the Department of Computer Science, was recently awarded a U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Early CAREER award for his project, “CAREER: Structured Learning and Optimization for Efficient Management in the Wireless Edge Cloud: Theory and Algorithms.”

“This project aims to bridge the gap between prevailing graph-based job services and wireless edge cloud designs via advocating structured learning and optimization solutions with provable performance guarantees,” said Professor Li. “The results will enhance the performance of wireless edge networks for distributed computing loads. At the same time this project develops fundamental theories that pertain to the area of machine learning, specially to reinforcement learning and distributed learning.”

According to the National Science Foundation, NSF CAREER Awards support early-career faculty with the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

“These awards are extremely competitive and are selectively given to the nation’s most promising researchers. We are very proud of Jian,” said Professor Joe Mitchell, chair of the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics. “Professor Li’s project seeks to improve our fundamental understanding in areas of reinforcement learning, optimization, and scheduling, with potential broader impacts in the performance and responsiveness of edge and cloud computing, which is a core technology we all rely upon, especially for the ever-expanding suite of AI tools that have become an integral part of our daily lives.”

Li earned his doctorate in computer engineering from Texas A&M University in 2016 and his bachelor of engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2012. He was a postdoc with the College of Information and Computer Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst from 2017 to 2019 and an assistant professor at Binghamton University before joining Stony Brook in 2023.

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August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours Mill Dam storm damage in Stony Brook. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours SUNY Stony Brook storm damage. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours SUNY Stony Brook storm damage. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours SUNY Stony Brook storm damage. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
August 27, 2024 — Stony Brook, NY — Governor Kathy Hochul tours SUNY Stony Brook storm damage. (Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)
Extensive water damage at the Gitto Group’s properties. Photo by Rob Gitto
Extensive water damage at the Gitto Group’s properties. Photo by Rob Gitto
Extensive water damage at the Gitto Group’s properties. Photo by Rob Gitto
Extensive water damage at the Gitto Group’s properties. Photo by Rob Gitto
Extensive water damage at the Gitto Group’s properties. Photo by Rob Gitto
Extensive water damage at the Gitto Group’s properties. Photo by Rob Gitto

By Toni-Elena Gallo

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R) and Town of Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico (R), declared a State of Emergency, following the Aug. 18-19 devastating storm.

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) responded by procuring President Joe Biden’s (D) approval for a federal Emergency Declaration. This allows for federal resources and assistance to be provided for the necessary repairs, prevalent in hard-hit western and middle Suffolk. FEMA will provide emergency protective measures, such as the protection of critical infrastructure facilities. According to the state’s website, “with this Emergency Declaration secured, New York’s disaster recovery experts are continuing to work with local and federal partners, to determine the state’s ability to also request a federal Major Disaster Declaration and low-interest loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration.”

Hochul toured the damage of both Stony Brook University and the site of the Mill Pond dam collapse. At the event, Hochul said, “In the wake of unprecedented rainfall, we continue to support Suffolk County to ensure those impacted can get back to life as usual as quickly as possible. … But seeing the people of Long Island come together to rebuild, shows the true strength of New York.”

Over in Port Jefferson, the toll of the extreme weather event is still being felt.

Rob Gitto, of the Gitto Group in Port Jefferson village, was blindsided by the severity of the storm.

“We were watching the storm closely, as we do with other major storms. I went to bed at 11;30 p.m. We checked our cameras, watched our radars and it looked like everything was going to stop in an hour,” Gitto said.

“But, this was a unique storm, where it apparently came from the North to the South, so it was a different situation. In fact, one of my employees was on standby, and went down to both [our] buildings, at around 12:30 p.m., and everything seemed fine. But, I just happened to wake up at 1:30 a.m., and whenever I can see the floors of one of the lobbies glistening, I know it’s water,” he added.

Gitto went down to the area immediately, and walked into a disaster area.

“Unfortunately, there was nowhere to pump water at that point. This particular area is taking on quite a bit of the village’s stormwater. You can see it in video footage, coming down the hill, and hitting the CVS, Barnum property, first, and then it seeped into The Brookport property.”

He said that Brookport, on Barnum Avenue, was made with the “latest and greatest” drainage requirements, but the almost-11 inches overwhelmed the system. Flood doors were on some of the water entry points, but those were, also, quickly overcome. The properties do have flood insurance. 

Gitto said his main priority in the coming months will be to replace the cardio equipment in the two gyms, rip up the carpets, take out the damp sheetrock and repainting.

Rocky Point is not faring much better. Hagerman Landing Road, a dead end street, had five homes severely flooded.

In the coming weeks, more information will become available about updated financial aid disbursements.

For all the latest coverage, go to our website at tbrnewsmedia.com.

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Stony Brook doctor, tending to a newborn baby. Courtesy Stonybrookchildrens.org

By Daniel Dunaief

Water inside a house isn’t just bad for the structure, it can also be damaging to your health.

Local health care professionals suggested that Stony Brook residents whose basements flooded from this weekend’s heavy rainfall should be careful about the growth of mold or mildew, which can be especially problematic for anyone with chronic breathing issues.

“People can inhale spores over a period of time and can develop respiratory symptoms,” said Dr. Sunil Dhuper, Chief Medical Officer at Port Jefferson’s St. Charles Hospital.

People with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchitis and emphysema “need to be particularly concerned about some of these issues,” he continued.

Dr. Sharon Nachman, Chief of Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, suggested that residents of Stony Brook, who experienced a localized 10 inches of rain this weekend, should “aggressively clean” their basements, from any standing water, as mold and mildew can start growing within a few days.

“You won’t see it because it’s small,” but people should dry the walls and under the floorboards and carpet, she said. “You want to get the water out.”

Local doctors, also, recommended dumping standing water off any surface that might become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, who can carry the West Nile virus.

At this point, the County Department of Health believed the West Nile threat wasn’t likely particularly high.

“The heavy rains and wind might have washed away adult larvae and adult mosquitoes,” Dr. Scott R. Campbell, Laboratory Chief in the Arthropod-Borne Disease Laboratory at the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, explained in an email.

“Wet springs and hot, dry summers — in which mosquitoes and birds may congregate at limited sources of water — may be conducive to higher West Nile virus transmission.”

The heavy rain, which was triple the usual average for the entire month of August, according to Weather Spark, likely reduced area mosquitoes.

Local medical care professionals suggested that residents should still remove standing water as a way to protect themselves against any remaining mosquitoes.

Congenital viral infection

Apart from the impact of local flooding, doctors discussed a host of other medical issues.

New York State has been testing newborns, since last fall, for congenital cytomegalovirus, or CMV, which infected mothers can give to their unborn children.

The testing so far has shown that CMV is less prevalent than previous estimates.

The state started the one-year study of the virus to track children who might develop symptoms, such as hearing loss or learning challenges, later on.

“The earlier you identify babies with hearing deficits, the sooner you can act, and there will be fewer ramifications on their intellectual development, as a result of it,” said Dr. Andrew Handel, pediatric infectious diseases expert at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital, and a co-leader, along with Dr. Nachman, of one of the 11 units across the state.

Dr. Sharon Nachman. Courtesy Stony Brook Medicine Facebook page

Earlier medical sources estimated that the infection rate for newborns was about one in 200 babies. But, with about 300 newborns testing positive, the rate is closer to one in 325.

The percentage of symptomatic babies is tracking with previous expectations, at around 10 percent. Symptoms of congenital CMV at birth include hearing loss, jaundice, low birth weight, seizures and retinitis.

“Our numbers are matching up with the 90 percent” of those who have the virus, but are asymptomatic, Handel added.

“That’s why we feel screening is so important.”

For the asymptomatic newborns, about 10 percent will develop permanent hearing loss, which is why doctors are tracking them so closely.

The virus, which is a relative of the Epstein Barr virus, which causes mononucleosis, is spread through direct contact with body fluids, such as tears, saliva or urine. Over half of all adults have had a CMV infection, with some studies estimating the rate as high as 80 percent.

Adults can shed the virus for a few weeks after contracting it, while children can shed it for a few months.

While all newborns will receive CMV screening after birth, parents have five days to opt out of any link to a report of the presence of the virus in their children.

At this point, fewer than one percent of parents are opting out of the testing. Some of the parents aren’t interested in the test, others don’t believe it’s useful, while some believe their babies look fine, and don’t want the additional test.

Most parents appreciate the opportunity to gather information about their children’s health. Patients are “grateful the state has this program,” said Dr. Sunil Sood, Systems CMV specialist at Northwell Health.

At Stony Brook and other hospitals, doctors are monitoring those babies who test positive.

The County Department of Health supports the testing, as well.

“Routine screening of newborns for [congenital CMV] will help identify affected infants early on so they can receive appropriate follow-up and treatment,” Cynthia Friedman, Director of Public Health Suffolk County Department of Health Services, explained in an email.

“Infants who screen positive … should be followed closely by their pediatricians and referred to specialists as needed to ensure early detection of problems with hearing, vision or development so that appropriate care and support can be implemented.”

Once the funding for the testing runs out, which will be around October, hospitals around the state will no longer perform the test.

Parents can ask for a urine test, which doctors estimate could cost between $50 and $100, but which insurance, likely, won’t pay for — especially if the child is asymptomatic.

Legislators, including Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D-NYC) plan to introduce a bill in January that would fund tests, in future years.

“We would advocate that that become a permanent part of infant testing,” said Sood. “There are diseases that are far less common than CMV that have made it into the newborn testing programs.”

Immunization

Amid pushes by some pharmacies to encourage people to get flu shots, health care experts suggest waiting until closer to late September, or early October, for the inoculation.

“Vaccine efficacy is about three to four months,” said Nachman. “If you get it in August, when the flu season hits in January, you may not have much protection.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends similar timing, around September or October.

At the same time, Nachman expects a new batch of Covid vaccines will be available around September.

She recommends getting both shots at the same time, which increases both vaccines’ effectiveness.

Pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, and BioNTech, recently reported that a single combined shot for Covid and flu was not effective against influenza B, which means that people interested in receiving vaccines this fall should plan to get two shots.

Covid numbers

As for Covid, the current strain has made the rounds this summer.

“Everybody and their neighbor had Covid,” said Nachman, who added that the virus has spread across all ages. Covid was “clearly more infectious than what we had in the spring” and people were sicker for longer.

While the number of infected people has decreased, the start of the fall semester could trigger an increase.

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Stony Brook football is set to open the 2024 season on Aug. 31 at Marshall University in West Virginia. Photo courtesy Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook Football team has announced the program’s 2024 Game Theme schedule. The list of theme games includes the Welcome Back Bash, SeaPups Kids Day, Breast Cancer Awareness, Homecoming, Salute to Service, Healthcare Appreciation Day and more.

The Seawolves’ home opener on Sept. 9 against Stonehill will be a celebration of welcoming Seawolves country back to LaValle Stadium with our 2024 Welcome Back Bash. Stony Brook faculty and staff will also be encouraged to come out for Faculty and Staff Appreciation Day, as the members will receive a discount for themselves and family members to show our gratitude for their work. Additionally, select faculty and staff members will be recognized on the field for their dedication.

Stony Brook returns home to face Morgan State for the second time in program history on Sept. 28th. Coinciding with Stony Brook CommUniversity Day, the Seawolves will be honoring all the youth for our SeaPups Kids Day. The SeaPups will get to enjoy in-game activities, free giveaways, and other events to celebrate the youth in our community.

Following SeaPups Day, the team welcomes Villanova to LaValle Stadium for Stony Brook’s Oktoberfest celebration on Oct. 5. For the first game of October, the theme night will be honoring Breast Cancer Awareness as the players will be wearing splashes of pink on their jersey and cancer survivors will be recognized in collaboration with Stony Brook Medicine.

The squad will battle William & Mary in the 2024 Homecoming game and Red Out on Oct. 26. There will be pre-game and in-game activities designed for alumni, students, faculty, staff and their families. All fans will be encouraged to wear red and participate in the Red Out by showing off their Stony Brook pride!

For the 26th time in program history, the Seawolves and Great Danes of Albany will battle for the Golden Apple on Nov. 9. Stony Brook will host its first-ever Salute to Service game as past and present service members of all branches of the military and first responders will receive a ticket discount. The team will also be hosting Scout Day for all local area scouts.

The final game for the Seawolves is Senior Day against Monmouth on Nov. 23. Stony Brook will also honor healthcare workers as well for Healthcare Appreciation Day and will be bringing awareness to mental health with Mental Health Awareness day at LaValle Stadium.

FULL CALENDAR:
Sept. 7 – Stonehill – Home Opener, Welcome Back Bash, and Faculty and Staff Appreciation
Sept. 28 – Morgan State – SeaPups Kids Day and CommUniversity Day
Oct. 5 – Villanova – Breast Cancer Awareness and Oktoberfest
Oct. 26 – William & Mary – Homecoming and Red Out
Nov. 9 – UAlbany – Golden Apple Game, Salute To Service, and Scout Day
Nov. 23 – Monmouth – Senior Day, Healthcare Appreciation Day, and Mental Health Awareness

To purchase season, single game, mini plans or group tickets, click here or call 631-632-WOLF (9653) or email [email protected].

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Imoigele Aisiku. Courtesy Imoigele Aisiku

By Daniel Dunaief

Stony Brook University named physician-scientist Dr. Imoigele “Imo” Aisiku as chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine, starting Aug. 15.

A national leader who has dedicated his career to critical care and neurocritical care in emergency medicine, Aisiku worked for more than a decade at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Aisiku, who was born in Nigeria and raised in Brooklyn and Auburn, Massachusetts, found several factors appealing about the Stony Brook role.

“My immediate family is predominantly in the Northeast” stretching from New York to Richmond, Virginia,” he said. Additionally, he suggested that numerous aspects of the role were “right in my area of expertise.”

His experience at Brigham and Women’s Hospital involved integrating systems, and he recognizes the opportunity to deploy that skill set at Stony Brook, where he will help integrate the emergency department at different hospitals.

He also has considerable experience in critical care, which is a strength at SBU.

“There are some natural synergies that you couldn’t script” he added, including strong clinical interest in stroke, telehealth, critical care and a desire to develop a systems integration model

Indeed, before he came to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Aisiku worked at the University of Texas at Houston. UT Houston/Memorial Hermann was one of the earliest to be named a JCAHO Comprehensive Stroke Center.

Aisiku was the medical director of their neurosurgery intensive care unit, which had one of the first mobile stroke units in the country. The unit was a collaboration between EMS, neurology, the stroke division, EM and the ICU.

A mobile stroke unit can provide critical and timely diagnostics and care for people having a stroke, which can not only save lives but can also lead to a dramatic improvement in the outcome after a stroke event for patients.

Stony Brook currently has two mobile stroke units and is working on adding a third.

“I hope to leverage what is the strength of Stony Brook with my experiences” and strengthen any weaknesses in a bidirectional manner, said Aisiku, who will report to Peter Igarashi, dean of the Renaissance School of Medicine.

For his part, Igarashi was eager to welcome the new addition to the emergency department.

“We are thrilled that Dr. Aisiku will lead Stony Brook’s remarkable team of emergency physicians,” Igarashi said in a statement. “As a pioneering physician-scientist in neurocritical care, and as an emergency medicine scholar and researcher, Dr. Aisiku will help advance our capacity to save lives and care for critically ill patients in the years to come.”

Evolutionary change

The new emergency department chair is hoping to learn more about Stony Brook’s strengths and weaknesses before implementing any changes.

“I hope to make a change and a difference,” Aisiku explained in an email. “I believe it is prudent to aim for evolutionary change and, if there is an opportunity, for positive revolutionary change.”

His goal is to see the department grow from a regional strength to a national and even an international strength.

He plans to develop partnerships with other chairs and departments and hopes to enhance programmatic and faculty development.

Aisiku also hopes to develop opportunities for faculty at Stony Brook, including in areas that involve research. He would like to see the department earn more National Institutes of Health and federal funding.

DEI experience

An accomplished physician, researcher and administrator, Aisiku also has considerable experience building and encouraging opportunities for underrepresented groups in medicine.

Aisiku was the founder and director of the Offices of IDEaS, which stands for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Social Justice, in Emergency Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he credits a team of faculty administrative staff and supportive chair for the success of that effort.

Aisiku “played a crucial role in the development of the office of IDEaS,” Jayelani Hall, administrative manager for Emergency Medicine and the Office of IDEaS at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, explained in an email. Aisiku’s vision for creating an inclusive environment and commitment to equity and diversity were “instrumental in shaping the initiatives and programs that define IDEaS today.”

IDEaS has launched several initiatives, such as the Profile in Diversity Series and the SPAK Grant program, which provides funding to projects that advance diversity, equity and inclusion.

The office established scholarship programs to support underrepresented students pursuing careers in medicine and health care, Hall added.

The president of Brigham and Women’s Hospital named Aisiku endowed Distinguished Chair in Health Equity and Diversity.

The broader Stony Brook area extending to New York City “draws diverse and international people to the region,” Aisiku explained. “While I acknowledge that [DEI] is an area of controversy in our country, I believe continuing to strive for diversity has a significant role for the development of our youth all the way to impacting our patients.”

In speaking with the leadership of the hospital and medical school, Aisiku believes his diversity goals are “aligned in these efforts” as he looks forward to developing strategies that will lead to diverse students, residents and faculty.

In addition to providing opportunities to students in the health care field, a more diverse population of caregivers enhances the patient experience, Aisiku contends.

A diverse health care force provides greater opportunity for patient choice and advocacy, he added.

Aisiku, who has master’s degrees in business administration from Goizueta School of Business and a master’s in clinical research from Rollings School of Public Health at Emory University, would like to partner with the business school and the school of public health, among others, to build diversity, which may broaden and enhance his efforts in this area.

People who have worked with Aisiku appreciate his commitment and openness to those around him.

Aisiku is “known for his compassion and dedication both as a physician and as a leader,” Hall wrote. “He consistently goes above and beyond to ensure that his patients receive the best care possible and his commitment to equity in health care is evident in all his endeavors.”

Hall suggested that the Stony Brook community is fortunate to have Aisiku in this role.

“Given his track record, I fully expect him to engage deeply with students, faculty and community members, fostering connections and driving positive change,” Hall explained.

From left to right, Robert Samuel Decosta Higgins, Jayelani Hall, Imoigele Aisiku, Ron Walls and Mike VanRooyen, at a ceremony for Aisiku. Photo courtesy Imoigele Aisiku

Telehealth experience

Over a decade ago, Aisiku started iDoc Telehealth Solutions, a telemedicine company dedicated to critical and neurocritical care and tele-stroke services, with the goal of providing this type of care to people in areas that didn’t have enough clinicians with that experience.

Since then, he has become co-CEO of a public company called VSEE Health.

He expects to pass the torch on to other executives. His commitment is to the university as his obligation to the company is for about four more months.

To be sure, he wants to ensure there are no conflicts of interest in his roles at Stony Brook and in the decision about how and in what ways the university can continue to build telehealth capacity.

“If there is an opportunity to enhance an area, with full disclosure, there can be pathways to achieve things that improve the patient experience while separating ‘church’ and ‘state’ so to speak,” he explained in an email.

Morana Lasic, interim chief diversity & inclusion officer at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, suggested that Aisiku has served as a personal and institutional resource for a wide range of people.

Aisiku “works with those who are yet to enter the medical field and need mentorship, just as he does with institution presidents,” Lasic explained in an email. “He empowers those on his team and pays special attention to those who are often forgotten in mentorship (such as young administrative staff.)”

Lasic added that Aisiku was generous with his time and has reached out to her with emails and new thoughts and ideas at any time of day.

“Just like the rest of his life, his sleeping schedule is unique and his own, and he wears an Oura ring (which tracks sleep patterns) just to confuse it,” Lasic said.

In his research, Aisiku has focused on three areas: traumatic brain injury, subarachnoid hemorrhages and acute respiratory distress syndrome/sepsis.

Aisiku is living with his wife Diana, who is a nurse, and their 4 1/2-year-old son Myles in Westbury. They are in the process of searching for a home.

Outside of work, Aisiku has a black belt in the martial art of Jeet Kune Do, enjoys working out and played Division 3 tennis and basketball, at Worcester State University. He is also a motorcycle enthusiast.

As for his likely contribution to the Stony Brook community, Lasic, who has been at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for 25 years, suggested that she anticipated he would continue on an impressive journey.

Aisiku is “one of the most innovative leaders in academic medicine I have seen in a long time,” she wrote. “He is a true role model in his ability to connect with those around him.”

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