CLOSE
Stony Brook University

by -
0 317
Stony Brook University: Entrance sign

The Simons Foundation’s contribution is the largest unrestricted endowment gift to a higher education institution in American history

The Simons Foundation, a philanthropy working to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences, today announced a historic $500 million endowment gift to Stony Brook University during a news conference at the foundation’s Manhattan headquarters. This monumental gift — the combined largesse of the Simons Foundation and Simons Foundation International — is the largest unrestricted donation to an institution of higher education in U.S. history.

The extraordinary gift is also expected to grow by up to $1 billion in contributions for Stony Brook University’s endowment by capitalizing on New York State’s 1:2 endowment matching program and other philanthropy inspired by this gift. This transformative donation will cement Stony Brook’s place as New York’s flagship research institution and provide the means to invest in areas most urgent and necessary to help sustain the university’s commitment to educational excellence, research innovation and community support.

Investments stemming from this gift will have a direct and positive impact on perpetual funding for student scholarships, endowed professorships, innovative research, and excellent clinical care.

“The Simons Foundation mission is to advance the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences,” Foundation President David Spergel said. “For more than a decade, we have been proud to give to an institution that is at the forefront of educational excellence in the sciences. It is our sincere hope that this large unrestricted gift will build upon our previous support to Stony Brook, giving students and faculty the ability to dream big and engage in transformative research.”

“A world-class, public education has the ability to transform the lives of New Yorkers, which is why in this year’s budget we created the first-ever matching fund for endowment contributions for SUNY’s university centers,” Governor Kathy Hochul said. “Time and again, Stony Brook University forges a bold path forward, from innovation happening at Brookhaven Lab to the economic development throughout Long Island. With this remarkable contribution from the Simons Foundation, Stony Brook will continue to excel as an internationally recognized research institution and give students the tools they need to succeed.”

“We are eternally grateful to Jim and Marilyn Simons and Simons Foundation President David Spergel for their unparalleled support of Stony Brook University. In 1960, we were given a mandate by the State Board of Regents to become a university that would ‘stand with the finest in the country,’” University President Maurie McInnis said. “Thanks in large part to the generosity of the Simons Foundation, we have done just that, and we have no intention of slowing down. We take seriously our commitment to our students, our faculty and our broader community to advance knowledge and contribute to the most significant challenges facing our society. We are so proud of all that we have accomplished as an institution and our best days are ahead of us.”

“I joined Stony Brook University in 1968 as Chair of their Department of Mathematics,” Simons Foundation Co-Founder Jim Simons said. “I knew then it was a top intellectual center with a serious commitment to research and innovation. But Stony Brook also gave me a chance to lead — and so it has been deeply rewarding to watch the university grow and flourish even more. Marilyn and I are proud to support this outstanding public university that has given us so much.”

“As a Stony Brook graduate, I know firsthand the role that a quality education plays in the trajectory of one’s life,” said Marilyn Simons ’74, PhD ’84, Simons Foundation Co-Founder. “I am proud of the education I received there. Jim and I want to ensure that Stony Brook continues to serve its students with the highest level of educational excellence and with world-class resources. The foundation’s gift will also help give those from underserved communities the opportunity to reach their full potential. We look forward to seeing this institution continue to thrive.”

Since Jim and Marilyn made their first gift of $750 in 1983, they and the Simons Foundation have committed more than $1.2 billion to Stony Brook, while also inspiring over 2,100 other donors to give to the university. Their transformational support has led to growth impacting every corner of the Stony Brook campus and beyond, from the Renaissance School of Medicine and the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics to Stony Brook’s Simons STEM Scholars program, nine endowed chairs and professorships in economics, and more.

In addition to this historic gift and previous gifts to Stony Brook University, last month, following Stony Brook’s successful bid to serve as the anchor institution of the The New York Climate Exchange, the Simons Foundation committed $100 million to the project’s expected $700 million budget. These funds will help establish this climate research, education and green-economy training hub, set to transform how the world responds to the climate crisis and pioneer investigation into environmental, community and health outcomes and impacts.

The Simons’ own personal involvement in Stony Brook community life over the past 55 years has been life-changing for generations of students’ and scholars’ past, present and future. They have provided countless hours of counsel and leadership to advance important initiatives. For example, Marilyn Simons’ work with the  Stony Brook Women’s Leadership Council mentoring program has been a launchpad for the careers of many undergraduates from all over campus.

“Jim and Marilyn have a long history of generously supporting the sciences, education, and the health and well-being of New Yorkers,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and 108th Mayor of New York City. “This new gift is an extraordinary example of that, and it will help Stony Brook University make critical investments that will empower more students to reach their full potential.” 

“The generosity of Jim and Marilyn Simons and the Simons Foundation has already changed the lives of millions of New Yorkers, and this historic contribution to Stony Brook University will impact our students and our state for generations to come,” said SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. “Today’s announcement will benefit SUNY students through scholarship, academic programs, and research opportunities, and it will enhance Stony Brook’s prominence as a world-class leader of higher education. The Simons donation illustrates the power of Governor Hochul’s Endowment Fund Match program to multiply the support of generous donors to expand research and scholarship across SUNY.”

“It is my true honor to know Jim and Marilyn and to have had the privilege to work alongside them for more than 30 years,” said Stony Brook Foundation Board of Trustees Chair Richard Gelfond ‘76. “Both as an alumnus of Stony Brook and as Board chair, I am grateful for their generous philanthropic support, their leadership, and their friendship. They have made an indelible impact on the future of the University.”

# # #

About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook is New York’s top ranked public university and a part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, an internationally recognized research institution and center of academic excellence dedicated to addressing pressing global challenges. SBU serves as the anchor institution for the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island, the nation’s first climate research, education and green-sector-job-training hub set to transform how our global response to the climate crisis. As one of only eight American universities with a role in running a national laboratory, Stony Brook is also the joint managing partner of the Brookhaven National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy.  The university’s distinguished faculty have earned esteemed awards such as the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, Indianapolis Prize for animal conservation, Abel Prize and the inaugural Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics.

 

About Simons Foundation

Co-founded in 1994 in New York City by Jim and Marilyn Simons, the Simons Foundation’s mission is to support basic scientific research in pursuit of understanding the phenomena of our world. The Simons Foundation provides grants to individual researchers and to scientific collaborations and institutions, work in mathematics and physical sciences, life sciences, neuroscience, and autism science. The Simons Foundation also conducts computational research in basic sciences in-house at its Flatiron Institute.

by -
0 399
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
All photos downloaded with permission from:
www.flickr.com
Username: turkanabasin
Password: knmwt15000

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/

by -
0 1219
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.

——————————-

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.

by -
0 1722
1 of 7
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.

by -
0 3201
1 of 3
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.

 

by -
0 573
Pictured from left, seniors Jared Bellissimo, Eric Foster, Brandon Lashley, Devin Sharkey, Brett Paulsen, Shane Paradine, Josh O'Neill and Derek Yalon. Photo from Stony Brook Athletics

The Stony Brook baseball team (22-27, 13-14) celebrated their Mother’s Day and 2023 senior class on May 14 by defeating Monmouth University (15-28, 5-20 CAA), 8-5, to secure the series sweep. 

Leading the offense this afternoon was a trio of student athletes who recorded multiple hits and RBI. Junior Evan Fox was the spark in the lead-off spot by finishing his afternoon 2-for-4 with his career-high eighth home run of the season. Also, senior Brett Paulsen continued to rake as he went 2-for-4 with a run scored. He is now hitting .328 this season and has four multi-hit games in his last five. 

In his final game at Joe Nathan Field, graduate Evan Giordano left his mark as he finished his day with a double, triple, two RBI, and scored a run.

First-year student Eddie Smink got the start for the Seawolves and was dominating the Monmouth hitters early in the game. The right-hander retired nine of the first 10 batters that he faced, including a double-play to end the third inning. 

With the momentum on the Seawolves side, the squad tallied three runs in the next half to take a 3-0 lead. After sophomore Matt Miceli began the inning with a walk, junior Ryan Micheli sent the sophomore to third base by doubling down the left field line. First-year student Matthew Wright came to the plate and produced a sacrifice-fly to bring Micheli home. 

Following the out by Wright, Fox came back at the top of the order with the two-run home run to left field that gave the Seawolves the 3-0 advantage. 

The Hawks would come back in the fourth inning with a run of their own to cut the deficit to 3-1. But, Stony Brook made the most of an error by Monmouth in the next half to retake their three run lead. 

After Smink held Hawks scoreless in the fifth inning, the Seawolves collected another two runs to go up 6-2. It was the top of the order again doing the damage for Stony Brook as Fox notched a hit with one-out and Giordano brought him around the bases by launching a triple to center field. Following a pitching change, senior Shane Paradine came up with an RBI knock to bring Giordano home. 

Monmouth answered with three runs of their own to make the score 6-5 in the top of the sixth. 

This would force Stony Brook to turn to their pen and graduate Nick DeGennaro entered the game. In his final appearance at Joe Nathan Field, the right-hander held the Hawks scoreless over the final 3.1 innings and struck out three batters to earn his second save of the season.

DeGennaro punched out the side in the seventh inning and the Seawolves tacked on another two runs after Giordano collected an RBI double to left field in the seventh and Miceli brought home Paulsen on a ground-out to give Stony Brook the 8-5 lead and ultimately the victory. 

Before the game, the Seawolves honored their senior class, Jared Bellissimo, Eric Foster, Brandon Lashley, Josh O’Neill, Devin Sharkey, Shane Paradine, Brett Paulsen, and Derek Yalon, who have all made lasting impacts on the program over the course of their careers. Their hard work, dedication, and contributions have and always will be greatly appreciated. 

The team returns to the diamond this weekend in Towson, Md., to take on Towson University in their final three game set of the season. The matchup on Friday and Saturday is set for 3 p.m., while Sunday’s first pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

by -
0 264
Liliana M. Dávalos, PhD. Photo by Angelique Corthals

Animals losing their habitats, humans losing their homes, deforestation and land grabbing are all well-documented issues in the Amazon — but some of their drivers have yet to be investigated. 

A newly established Fulbright Scholar Program called Fulbright Amazonia supports an international network of scientists who will carry out research dedicated to protecting the diverse wildlife and indigenous communities of the Amazon. Evolutionary biologist and Stony Brook University Professor Liliana M. Dávalos, PhD, will be part of this select group of international experts seeking to find solutions to some of the Amazon region’s ecological and environmental problems.

Dávalos, Professor of Conservation Biology in the Department of Ecology and Evolution in the College of Arts and Sciences, and the Fulbright Amazonia Scholar in Environmental Science, joins this first-ever cohort of scholars with research set to begin in July. Fulbright announced a total of 16 Fulbright Amazonia Scholars.

Under the fellowship, Dávalos will conduct research to study the dynamics of cocaine trafficking in the Amazon rainforest and assess the associated impact on land use.

The project will combine historical research with data analysis to measure the breadth of cocaine trafficking’s influence on long-standing environmental and humanitarian crises. The findings could have actionable impacts on regional policies throughout the Amazon. Dávalos believes the study will proved to be key to promoting sustainability within political and socioeconomic landscapes.

“Trafficking dynamics and their relationship to land use in the Amazon remain unexplored,” she said. “By providing the first quantitative analyses of this kind, my project will generate invaluable information on risks to protected areas and local communities and inform conservation and counterdrug policy.”

As a Stony Brook Professor, Dávalos has spearheaded leading ecological and biodiversity studies including work on biodiversity trends and changes in the Caribbean, how shrews shrink then regrow their brains, and the science behind sensory adaptations across mammals. Dávalos, an expert on the biodiversity of bat populations around the world, also co-directs the Global Union of Bat Diversity Networks (GBatNet), a position in which she brings research groups together worldwide to advance knowledge of ecological and evolutionary bat characteristics.

For more information about her research and collaborative work, visit the Dávalos Lab.

by -
0 657
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.

by -
0 509
Joel Gonzalez, right, with his wife Amanda, daughter Isabella and son Julian. Photo courtesy Gonzalez

Joel Gonzalez was waking up in the middle of the night, gasping for air. During the day, if he ate too quickly, he felt like food was getting stuck in his throat.

In 2018, Gonzalez, who lives in Coram and is a high school counselor, was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. A small hiatal hernia, in which part of his stomach bulged through an opening in his diaphragm and into his chest, caused the condition.

Gonzalez started taking medications, which helped relieve the symptoms and enabled him to sleep without experiencing discomfort or waking up suddenly.

In August 2022, after learning that his hiatal hernia had gotten slightly larger and deciding he didn’t want to continue taking reflux medicine for the rest of his life, he met with Dr. Arif Ahmad, director of the St. Charles and St. Catherine of Siena Acid Reflux and Hiatal Hernia Centers of Excellence, to discuss the possibility of surgery.

Gonzalez was so convinced that the surgery would help and confident in Dr. Ahmad’s experience that he scheduled the procedure during that first meeting. Since his November surgery, which took about an hour, he hasn’t had any GERD symptoms and is not taking any medication for the condition.

Gonzalez said he would “absolutely” recommend the surgical procedure, which became a “simple decision” after consulting with Dr. Ahmad.

Caused by a mechanical problem with a valve at the bottom of the esophagus called the lower esophageal sphincter that allows stomach acid to enter the esophagus, GERD affects over 20% of the population.

Symptoms of GERD vary, which means doctors can and do take a range of approaches to treatment.

Hospitals, including St. Charles, St. Catherine of Siena, Stony Brook and Huntington Hospital, have been ramping up their efforts to evaluate and treat GERD.

Port Jefferson-based St. Charles and Smithtown-based St. Catherine of Siena, both part of the Catholic Health system, have been expanding these services at the Acid Reflux and Hiatal Hernia Centers of Excellence.

“There is a big need” for this increasingly focused effort to help patients dealing with the symptoms of GERD, said Dr. Ahmad.

At St. Charles and St. Catherine, Dr. Ahmad, who has been doing hiatal hernia and GERD-correcting surgery for over 25 years, created the center to ensure that the nurses on the floor, the people who do the testing, and the recovery staff are aware of the specific needs of these patients.

Dr. Ahmad has done presentations for the staff to ensure they have “the highest level of expertise,” he added.

Dr. Ahmad, also the director of the Center of Excellence in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Mather Hospital, said he could perform surgery, if a patient needs it, at any of the hospitals, depending on a patient’s request.

Stony Brook’s efforts

At the same time, Stony Brook recently created a multidisciplinary Esophageal Center at Stony Brook Medicine, designed to provide a collaborative care model for diagnosing and treating GERD.

The center provides minimally invasive endoscopic treatments as well as surgical options.

Dr. Lionel D’Souza, chief of endoscopy, said the center provides a cohesiveness that “allows an evaluation by a group of people who are experts and can communicate with each other” to provide a patient-specific plan.

Dr. D’Souza suggested people seek medical attention from their primary care physician or gastroenterologist if they experience any of the following conditions: heartburn every day or severe heartburn several times a week, trouble swallowing, food getting stuck in the throat, anemia, blood in the stool or weight loss without another explanation.

Other partners in the Stony Brook GERD Center include Dr. Olga Aroniadis, chief of the division of gastroenterology, Dr. Alexandra Guillaume, director of the gastrointestinal motility center, and Dr. Konstantinos Spaniolas, chief of the division of bariatric, foregut and advanced GI surgery at Stony Brook Medicine and director of Stony Brook’s bariatric and metabolic weight loss center.

“When someone has a lot of excess weight, the chance of developing GERD is a lot higher,” Dr. Spaniolas said. “Sometimes, getting patients through a program to facilitate with weight loss can help [people] avoid GI symptoms, such as heartburn.”

Stony Brook will see patients in different parts of its network and then, depending on the needs, will determine who is best-suited to start their work up and treatment, Dr. Spaniolas added.

While a potential option, surgery is among a host of choices for people who have ongoing heartburn.

Huntington Hospital, meanwhile, will begin offering esophageal motility testing starting in June. Patients can call Northwell Health’s Heartburn and Reflux Center to schedule an appointment.

A team of gastroenterologists, surgeons and dietitians will work with patients at Huntington to determine the cause of GERD and possible treatments, according to Dr. David Purow, chief of gastroenterology.

Soft foods

Those who have surgery return to solid foods gradually.

Marlene Cross, a resident of St. James who struggled with GERD for about a decade, had the procedure in March.

For the first few weeks, she ate primarily liquids, with some protein drinks and puddings. She added Farina and oatmeal to her diet and then could eat flaky fish.

At 83, Cross, who lost sleep because of GERD-induced heartburn, said the surgery was a success.

“I’m not running a marathon, but I’m definitely feeling a lot better,” said Cross, who is a retired teacher’s assistant for special education students.

Cross urged others who might benefit from surgery to “see a specialist and ask questions and do it” if the doctor recommends it. “The younger you do it, the better.”

by -
0 527
Tony & Mary Liedtke, center, with RMHC NYM CEO Matt Campo (left, jacket & sunglasses) and the Suffolk County Police Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, which performed before the awards ceremony. Photo by @hoonsohnvisuals

Ronald McDonald House Charities NY Metro honored Tony Liedtke and the Liedtke Organization at its 6th Annual Stony Brook Golf Outing & Dinner at the Baiting Hollow Country Club recently, raising more than $150,000 to RMHC NYM activities supporting families with children receiving medical care in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The funds will support existing RMHC NYM programs that help families with children receiving medical care.

Tony Liedtke, right, with grandson Anthony Liedtke, Jr. (hat) with Jennifer Nicholson, COO, and Matt Campo, CEO.

“This event, like so many we celebrate, honors the commitment of Long Islanders who have their heart in the right place and back it up with action,” said Matt Campo, CEO of RMHC NYM. “We are grateful for the leadership of Tony Liedtke and his whole family, making sure our families have the help, support and resources that we provide.”

Founder Tony Liedtke started his journey with McDonald’s after he returned from Vietnam, first as a manager trainee and later growing into an owner/operator with nine store locations across the region. Over that time, he has helped McDonald’s grow into new technologies, piloting the first 24-hour store in the country and introducing credit card payments in the late 1990s, resulting in millions of dollars in increased sales across the country.

Today, Tony leads a senior management team that includes his daughter Jaime and other members of his family. He has paid his good fortune forward with philanthropy, supporting local Boy Scout troops and rebuilding the Long Beach McDonald’s store after Super Storm Sandy. He’s also been an integral part of the Stony Brook Advisory Council that is spearheading the drive to build a Ronald McDonald House in Suffolk County to serve families there.

About Baiting Hollow Country Club 

The Baiting Hollow Country Club is a privately owned, members-only golf club located in the rolling hills of Long Island’s north shore, just 10 miles from the Hamptons.  The golf course, designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones, has been restored to its former glory in recent years and a magnificent 25,000 square foot Clubhouse was completed in 2008.

About Ronald McDonald House Charities NY Metro 

Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) New York Metro provides free lodging, meals and emotional support to keep families seeking medical treatment for their sick children near the care they need and the families they love.

Prev1...616263...134Next Page 62 of 134
TBR News Media is your local news and entertainment website.
We provide you with the latest breaking news and information for your community.
Contact us: [email protected]

Most Viewed

©