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Maurizio Del Poeta, right, with his wife, Chiara Luberto, in front of the pizza oven that he built himself at his Mount Sinai home. Photo by TBR News Media

He’s a scientist, dedicated father and husband, businessman, mentor, collaborator, accomplished cook and gracious host. It seems fitting that Dr. Maurizio Del Poeta, a distinguished professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology and someone several people described as a Renaissance man, would work at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

A fungal researcher who is working to find treatments and vaccines for fungal infections that kill over 1.3 million people annually, Del Poeta turned his talents to the study of COVID-19 this year.

Teaming up with researchers at The University of Arizona and Wake Forest School of Medicine in North Carolina, Del Poeta and his collaborators worked with an enzyme also found in rattlesnake venom that may provide a target for diagnostics and therapeutic intervention for COVID-19.

TBR News Media is pleased to recognize the research efforts of Del Poeta, who represents one of several scientists throughout Long Island and around the world working to find ways to improve human health and reduce the life-altering effects of the pandemic.

In a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the research team found that an enzyme called secreted phospholipase A2 group IIA, or sPLA2-IIA, is in higher concentrations in well over half the people with the most severe forms of the disease.

“This is certainly an exciting discovery in terms of a marker [that might] provide a mechanistic understanding of severe cases of COVID,” said David Thanassi, Zhang family endowed professor and chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the Renaissance School of Medicine. “It’s hard to know exactly how this is going to play out” in terms of a therapy or a cure, he said, but it offers hope in terms of a way to diagnose or treat COVID.

Dr. Yusuf Hannun, director of the SBU Cancer Center who contributed to this research effort, described the work as a “major discovery” that could provide a “novel key player in the development of the COVID-19 illness.”

Hannun, who has known Del Poeta for 25 years, suggested that his colleague’s success stems from his commitment to his work.

Del Poeta’s “energy and passion are very observable in his academic life,” Hannun said. “His research team is energized by his enthusiasm and good instinct for important problems.”

Indeed, the members of his lab appreciate his commitment to making scientific discoveries and to providing considerable personal and professional support for them.

Antonella Rella worked in Del Poeta’s labs from 2010 through 2017. When she arrived in the United States, Rella joined Del Poeta’s lab at the Medical University of South Carolina.

Maurizio Del Poeta. File photo from SBU

While Rella appreciated all the scientific support she received over the years, including after she moved with him to Stony Brook in 2012, she was especially grateful for the first impression he made when she arrived at the airport.

On her trip from Italy, her flight was delayed and she had to stay overnight in Atlanta. When she landed in South Carolina, Del Poeta not only met her at the airport, but he also greeted her with his wife Chiara Luberto and their first child.

“I thought nobody would be at the airport,” said Rella, who is now a senior scientist with Estée Lauder. “When you meet your boss, you are not feeling very comfortable. Instead, I was very happy and relieved and felt welcomed.”

Rella said Del Poeta and Luberto, who is research associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at Stony Brook, have treated other members of his lab the same way, especially when they come from abroad.

Rella said she and her lab mates were thrilled when Del Poeta and Luberto hosted them at their house in Mount Sinai.

“We were super happy whenever we were invited” to their home, Rella said. “We knew the food would be super amazing” because he cooked pizza at a brick oven he designed and built himself. He also made considerable effort to prepare food like tagliatelle.

“There is heart in everything he does,” Rella said.

That includes his dedication and focus on research. In addition to making scientific discoveries, Del Poeta, who earned his medical degree from the University of Ancona, Italy, is eager to apply those findings to the medical field.

The co-founder of MicroRid Technologies, Del Poeta and MicroRid are working to develop small-molecule anti-fungal drugs. Last year, the company received a five-year, $4 million award administered by the Department of Defense.

As for his COVID research, Del Poeta explained that the use of an existing drug for snake venom would involve a different preparation to treat people battling against the coronavirus.

In addition to the work he does in the lab, Del Poeta contributes to SBU and to the Department of Microbiology and Immunology.

Up until the pandemic, Del Poeta and Luberto hosted prospective graduate students in his department at their house. The gatherings highlighted the camaraderie in the department, Thanassi said.

He appreciates Del Poeta’s commitment to mentoring and training, which helps attract and retain students.

“He brings a really nice recognition to the department” through the results of his research and his funding, Thanassi added.

Hannun is confident in his colleague’s success. He said his first impression of Del Poeta was that he was a capable and committed scientist who was aspiring to go after big questions.

“That was accurate but understated,” Hannun said.

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A historic photo of downtown Huntington Station. Photo from Town of Huntington

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone (D) announced Dec. 29 a partnership between the county and Town of Huntington to expand sewers into Huntington Station. Both the county and the town will invest $22 million to fund the Huntington Station Hub Sewer Project, the first project funded under the county’s newly created Wastewater Infrastructure Fund, according to a press release from Belone’s office.

“For far too long, our region’s outdated infrastructure has slowed growth and development, with the lack of sewers being a primary driver,” Bellone said. “This is an historic partnership where both the Town and the county have come together and will be utilizing American Rescue Plan funds to push this much needed project forward, which will boost the local economy, create jobs, and allow for the continued revitalization of blighted areas.”

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D) praised the county and town for the partnership.

“I fought hard to deliver over $1 billion in COVID relief to county, town, and village governments across Long Island, and I’m so glad that County Executive Bellone and Town of Huntington and are using some of this aid to make long-sought investments in sewer infrastructure that will help Huntington build back better.,” Schumer said in the press release. “Upgrading sewer infrastructure is key to improving Long Island’s environment, protecting public health, fostering sustainable growth, and spurring economic development.”

Huntington Town Supervisor Chad Lupinacci (R) thanked everyone involved.

“I thank County Executive Steve Bellone, the Suffolk County Legislature and my Town Board colleagues for our shared bi-partisan vision to invest our respective American Rescue Plan Act funds in a renewed Route 110 Corridor,” Luinacci said in the press release.  “It is very satisfying to have, as one of my last acts as Supervisor, allocated this funding for sewers in downtown Huntington Station on the south side of the train tracks, something that will spur economic investment and produce tangible results in the revitalization of my hometown–one of the key goals of my administration–in the years to come.”

The lack of sewers in Huntington Station has long been an obstacle to revitalization efforts by both the county and the town. This expansion will allow downtown Huntington Station to continue to evolve as a major economic center of Long Island. The sewer improvements will promote mixed-use development and provide the possibility to expand existing businesses, allow new businesses to move in and allow for the redevelopment of vacant parcels.

The Huntington Station Hub Sewer Project plans for installation and connection to sewers for both residential and commercial properties within the Huntington Hub. The project will connect approximately 229 parcels in the vicinity of the Huntington Railroad Station and south along NYS Route 110 corridor. Additionally, the sewers would also serve several commercial blocks of Depot Road and industrial land along the LIRR tracks.

Earlier this month, the Town of Huntington allocated $22 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for the Huntington Station Hub Sewer Project. The town will transfer $22,209,010 in American Rescue Plan Act Funds, its entire share of ARPA funds, to Suffolk County for the construction of the project.

As part of the 2022 Operating Budget, Bellone created the Wastewater Infrastructure Fund, which includes $125 million in new funding to significantly advance the County’s historic Reclaim Our Water Initiative.  The program is designed to stop and reverse nitrogen pollution by eliminating old cesspools and septic systems through sewer connections and the installation of Innovative Alternative.

Suffolk  County  is  partnering  with  the town of  Huntington  in  their  revitalization efforts of downtown Huntington Station, providing planning and design services of various infrastructure improvements. The Huntington Station LIRR stop is a vital east-west transportation connection and a study to examine implementing a bus rapid transit (BRT) line is currently underway. These efforts are part of the Connect Long Island economic development initiative and is intended to improve the economic future of Huntington Station.

Huntington Station, home to a diverse population, was once a thriving downtown that was displaced in the 1960s due to an Urban Renewal project. In the decades since, there have been unfulfilled promises to restore the downtown. Fortunately, in the last several years, through collaborative efforts of the public and private sectors, as well as the community- Huntington Station has seen tangible progress. Expanding the sewer infrastructure southbound, will build on the progress made and capitalize on the area’s existing assets such as the train station and access to major highways.

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Northport Scout Joseph Luft on the trail and steps he rebuilt on the Vanderbilt Estate. Photo from Vanderbilt Museum
Project enhanced beauty of estate and safety for visitor-hikers

Joseph Luft rebuilt the steps on a steep trail at the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum as part of his project to become an Eagle Scout.

Luft, a junior at Northport High School and member of Troop 41, reconstructed the hill and the steps leading from the Wishing Well Garden at the Vanderbilt Mansion down to the Boathouse on the waterfront. Jim Munson, the Vanderbilt’s operations supervisor, said the old steps had begun to fail and became a safety concern. On a Troop 41 trip to the Museum in 2020, Luft noticed the deterioration and decided he wanted to make the trail his Eagle project, Munson said.

Above right: Kyle Roelofs, Michael Monda, Connor Jorgensen, James Posillico, Joe Luft, Ryan Edebohls, Will Ponder, David Luft. Photo by Virginia Luft.

Elizabeth Wayland-Morgan, executive director of the Museum, said, “We’re grateful to Joe for his important contribution to the Vanderbilt. The rebuilt hill, steps, and trail are crucial not only to the beauty and accessibility of the estate grounds, but also to the enjoyment and safety of visitors who hike the trail.”

Luft, who chose the project because he loves hiking, started planning it a year ago. He began working on the trail in August and with help from his family, troop, and friends completed work on October 2. He thanked “14 incredible scouts” for helping him raise $1,324 by holding a car wash and for working with him to complete the trail.

“The most surprising aspect of the project,” Luft said, “was how willing people were to lend a hand whenever I needed help or volunteers. Whether it was purchasing supplies or scrubbing down cars, someone was always there with me to help make sure it was done right. The people at the Vanderbilt were incredibly flexible with timing and with occasionally lending us one of their golf carts to haul tools.”

Luft, who is about to complete the Eagle Scout requirements, said it felt “amazing” to finish the project. “It was a huge weight lifted off my shoulders, a lot of stress and work. But the project was finally done and all I could do was sit back and look at everything accomplished with a smile.”

He said he learned a lot about how to organize fundraisers and how to write emails in a professional manner. “I also learned something about time management and how strong a community Northport is when it comes to people supporting each other.”

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Photo by Gerard Romano

SILVER BELLS

Gerard Romano of Port Jefferson Station was out with his camera on Dec. 17 ‘looking for something appropriate for the season’ when he spied these pretty bells adorning the door of the Belle Terre Village Hall and took the perfect shot. Happy Holidays!

Send your Photo of the Week to [email protected]

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Stock photo

It’s the season for giving.

New York Blood Center will hold its 9th annual blood drive at The Paramount, 370 New York Ave., Huntington on Sunday, Dec. 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Your donation will help to save up to THREE lives. Our community hospitals need your help! Please share this lifesaving gift.

All donors at The Paramount Blood Drive will also receive one (1) pair of tickets to any one of these upcoming shows…while they last!

*The Disco Nights – Friday, January 7th (DISCO), *Best of The Eagles – Thursday, January 14th (CLASSIC ROCK), *Jimmy Kenny & The Pirate Beach Band – Saturday, January 15th (TROP ROCK), *Scotty McCreery – Thursday, January 27th (COUNTRY), *Icons of Vinyl – Friday, January 28th (CLASSIC ROCK), *Voyage – Friday, February 4th (JOURNEY TRIBUTE), *Randy Houser – Thursday, February 10th (COUNTRY)

Eligibility Criteria:
• Bring ID with signature or photo.
• Minimum weight 110 lbs.
• Eat well (low fat) & drink fluids
• No tattoos for past 12 months
• Age 16 – 75 (16-year olds must have parental permission. Age 76 and over need doctor’s note)

For questions concerning medical eligibility call 1-800-688-0900 www.nybc.org.
For more information, please call The Paramount @ 631-673-7300.

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Photo from Unsplash

With Christmas this weekend, families are looking to get together for some quality time.

Last Christmas, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, people quarantined with just those in their households. It was lonely for some, but they stayed safe, away from contact with other people.

Then 2021 came around and with the vaccines we saw some hope — we began slowly peeling off our masks and traveling again. Families became reunited.

But unfortunately, that was premature and now Suffolk County is at a 14% positivity rate as of Tuesday, Dec. 21.

To put it in perspective, municipalities across New York state were shut down at 5% in the spring of 2020. We have doubled the seven-day average compared to where we were at that time and have not shut down.

And there are reasons for that. Luckily more than a year-and-a-half later we have the vaccines, we have boosters and we know that masks work — we just need to continue using them and continue using common sense.

It’s sad to think that this is the second Christmas where some families might not be able to see their loved ones out of fear. It’s sad that we as a country were doing well and now have fallen back into old habits of not taking care of ourselves and of others.

If we continue not to listen to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, our health care providers and the science,

Politicians insist we won’t go into lockdown, but what will happen if the infection rate goes to 20%? What will we do if the hospitals are overfilled again?

With the comfort we felt during this past summer, newly vaccinated with restrictions lifted, some might have forgotten what early 2020 looked like. Visits to grandparents were through a window. Restaurants were not allowed to have inside dining. Disinfectants and masks were impossible to find, while bodies were kept in outside trailers because the morgue was filled to capacity.

We don’t want to head back in that direction, especially with all of the resources now available to us. We have the vaccine, we have the booster, we have masks and we know how to combat this virus. We just need to collectively do it and not treat it lightly.

So, for this holiday season, and throughout the rest of the winter, please take care of yourself, take care of others and be cautious.

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Pexels photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

He was a part of my wife’s family’s inner circle for years. He appeared at summer gatherings and at significant family events and celebrations.

With his white hair, his signature smile and a Polish accent that seemed as fresh in each conversation as it likely was the first time he arrived in the United States, Carl wandered in and out of conversations and rooms, often smiling and always listening.

He seemed as comfortable in his own skin as anyone I’d ever met, paying close attention to his wife, interacting with his children and grandchildren and soaking up life the way everyone around him soaked up the warm rays of the sun.

Carl watched one day almost 20 years ago when my daughter got too close to the pool’s edge, falling in before she could swim. I immediately jumped off the diving board and brought her back up, where, as I dried her off, she protested that it took too long for me to get her.

When my daughter felt comfortable and confident enough to walk away from me, Carl waited for me to make eye contact.

“That’s what you do when you’re a father,” he smiled.

I nodded and sighed while my blood pressure and pulse returned to normal.

Several times over the years, Carl and I sat next to each other, sharing buffet-style meals of chicken kebobs, pasta, and filets.

Carl didn’t have the numbers tattooed on his arm, but I knew some of the story of his life. I didn’t want to bother him or upset him with a discussion of what was a painful and difficult period.

Once, when we were alone inside a screened-in area, I raised the topic.

“Hey, Carl, I understand you survived the holocaust,” I said.

When he looked me in the eyes, he narrowed his lids slightly, processing what I said and, likely, trying to figure out whether he wanted to talk.

“It’s okay,” I said, immediately backing off. As a journalist, I have a tendency to ask questions. I recognize, however, the boundaries that exist during social interactions and with family and friends. I wanted to speak with him to hear about what had been an unspoken part of his life.

“Yes, I survived,” I said.

“How? Where?”

“In the woods,” he said. “I lived in the woods when the Nazis came.”

He described how he was so hungry that he ate leaves, bugs and bark. That, however, was far preferable to being caught by the Nazis, who had murdered the rest of his family. Carl had been a teenager when he escaped to the woods, avoiding Nazi guards who were always searching for people they deemed enemies and who they readily killed.

Surrounded by a collection of other people who might, at any given time, vanish forever, Carl survived for several years, emerging at the end of the war to try to restart a life shattered by violence and cruelty.

After a brief description of his experience, he told me how important he felt it was that people study the specifics of World War II and understand what really happened to him, his family and people in so many other countries. It angered him that people tried to ignore a history that took so much from him.

All those years later, Carl seemed so easy going and relaxed, so prepared to laugh and smile and to enjoy another bite of lunch or dinner.

Carl recently died. I’m sorry for the loss to his family. I’m glad to have known him and to have shared a few meals, a few smiles and a few stories. All those days, months and years of life, like initials carved into a tree, showed that he was, indeed, here and, having seen his family react and interact with him, that his life had meaning.

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief

As the year draws to a close, I think of the Chinese curse, “May you live in interesting times.” That would seem an apt description of the times we are living through today. Why do I say that? Let me count the ways.

For one, we have been tricked by the coronavirus. As spring faded into summer this year, we thought the pandemic was ebbing. We gathered in groups again, even without masks, visited relatives, returned to restaurants, went on vacations. Surprise! By the end of October, the virus started making itself felt again, by November, it was led by the new variant, Omicron, and now it commands the front page of newspapers and the top of the network and cable newscasts.

Yes, we have made impressive progress with vaccines and precautions, but society is still in the grip of the disease, still with some 30 percent of the population unvaccinated, still with those refusing to don masks, and now lined up not for inoculating but for testing. Testing and boosters are the new battle cry. Just as our grandparents, who were living through it, didn’t know when WWII would end, so we who are at war with the virus don’t know when the pandemic will fade into just another annoying wintertime contagion.

For another unprecedented way in recent memory that times are interesting, we have a country so divided and vehemently at odds that neighbors, friends and family members are afraid to talk politics with each other. It is such a contrast with the 9/11 era, when we all held doors open for each other, flew the American flag together and identified as one nation. “Democracy is at risk” is the new battle cry. And the threat of political violence and random shootings simmers just beneath the surface.

Meanwhile, worthy issues involving any sort of social safety net and how to provide money for them, like pre-school education and acceptable child care enabling parents to work, lie undebated in a symbolically divided Congress. It’s no wonder that the national birthrate for this past year is the lowest since 1979. That’s not just due to the pandemic but has been a trend for the last six years.

Climate change is another subject that has driven itself to top of mind this past year. Fires, the likes of which never before seen, also floods, tornadoes and melting ice caps have changed the face of the nation and have killed many residents.

And then there is racism, the shadow that has always loomed over the United States since its inception and has burst forth to claim attention across the country, spawning marches and protests. Is it better for bigotry to come out of the woodwork and be viewed in all its aspects in the clear light of day? Perhaps that is a necessary step for it to be ultimately eradicated. Until then, the atmosphere is bitter with recriminations.

There are some bright spots. Although the possibility of spiraling inflation has lately been a concern, unemployment is decidedly low and the economy has been growing. So has the stock market, while not the economy, is nonetheless a telltale of how their financial standing is perceived by residents. Stimulative monetary policy on the part of the Federal Reserve and equally generous fiscal action by the administrations of both presidents and Congress have kept civil unrest at bay. Savings rates are at a high. And the kinks in the supply chain, although most apparent now with the gift-giving demands of the holidays, will eventually be straightened out.

Furthermore, Dec. 21 is one of my favorite days because it brings with it the longest night of the year. After that, each day has a bit more light. So I hope for whatever darkness we are presently living through to lift, and I am optimistic that it will.

Until the new year, wishing you all healthy holidays filled with devotion and love.

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From left: Dave Bush; trustees Elizabeth Cambria and James Kelly; Christine Berardi of National Grid Foundation; trustees Laura Gerde, Gretchen Oldrin Mones, and Jack DeMasi; and Elizabeth-Wayland Morgan. Photo from Vanderbilt Museum
Century-old estate trail reclaimed, enhanced

William K. Vanderbilt II built a hiking trail in the 1920s on his Eagle’s Nest waterfront estate in Centerport that became overgrown and disappeared into the forest. The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, located at Eagle’s Nest, has reclaimed the trail, and held a grand opening in November. Major project donors and museum trustees attended the event in the Rose Garden, which is also the trailhead.

Now called the Solar System Hiking Trail, the course includes a scale model of the Solar System, which complements STEM and astronomy-education programs offered by the Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium.

“This is a long-awaited day. We are grateful to Christine Berardi and the National Grid Foundation for 10 years of outstanding, unwavering support and to Vanderbilt trustee Laura Gerde and her husband, Eric Gerde. Their ongoing contributions to our STEM programming include the exhibits in the Planetarium lobby. Their steadfast support makes it possible for the Museum to expand its work as a leader in astronomy and science education,” said Elizabeth Wayland-Morgan, executive director of the Vanderbilt Museum.

Other project donors are Marilyn and Russell Albanese, BAE Systems, Farrell Fritz Attorneys, Northwell Health, People’s United Bank, and PFM Asset Management.

Wayland-Morgan said Dave Bush, the director of the Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium, “single-handedly created the Solar System trail — I don’t think there’s a program like this anywhere else.” She also thanked Jim Munson, the museum’s operations supervisor. “Jim noticed portions of the original trail and saw its potential. He said let’s do this.” 

Bush said that scale models of the solar system have been created before at museums, science centers, and universities. “But the Vanderbilt’s trail is likely the only one that traverses a one-mile hiking trail with hundreds of feet in elevation changes,” he said. “It is an opportunity for visitors to learn about the bodies in our solar system and its vast scale, and to see and experience parts of the museum property that have never been seen before by the public.”

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