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Stony Brook Medicine

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Paolo Boffetta. Photo by Jeanne Neville/Stony Brook Medicine

By Daniel Dunaief

Screening for cancer can help people take steps to head off the development of a disease that could threaten the quantity and quality of their lives.

During the start of the pandemic, people around the world stopped screening for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer, according to a recent study led by Paolo Boffetta, Associate Director for Population Sciences at Stony Brook University’s  Cancer Center.

The results of the study were recently published in the journal JAMA Oncology.

Compared to 2019, screenings for breast cancer dropped in the first few months after the start of the pandemic by 35.6 percent for breast cancer, 41.8 percent for colorectal cancer, and 54.1 percent for cervical cancer compared to the same period in 2019.

Paolo Boffetta. Photo by Jeanne Neville/Stony Brook Medicine

Boffetta chose these three cancers because they are the ones public health authorities recommend for the population at large. Screenings can improve patient outcomes. 

“For some/ most cancer, the earlier the better for detection,” explained Stony Brook Cancer Center Director Yusuf Hannun.

Boffetta, who is also Adjunct Professor at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, suggested that the longer-term impact of a reduction in screenings in the early part of the pandemic won’t be clear to doctors or patients in the short term.

“It will take a little bit of time to have a full understanding of this,” said Boffetta. Depending on the specific type, cancers “that are detected by screenings would not otherwise appear for a few years.”

Boffetta suggested that the pandemic, apart from the illnesses and symptoms that threatened the health of people who were battling the virus itself, affected public health services. He believes several factors likely contributed to the decrease in screenings. Patients around the world were reluctant or restricted in their ability to leave their homes amid lockdowns.

Additionally, some cancer centers likely reduce the number of people they monitored to cut back on the density of patients in health care facilities, although Boffetta did not gather any data on the reduction in the number of screenings at health care centers.

The positive news amid this study, which surveyed cancer screening data in PubMed and other medical journals from 19 countries from January 2020 through December 2021, was that the number of patients screened returned to a more normal level within several months of the start of the pandemic.

“An important finding is that by the summer of 2020, the decrease in screenings for breast cancer and cervical cancer seem to have disappeared,” Boffetta said by phone from Italy, where he is a part-time professor at the University of Bologna. “For colorectal cancer [the decrease in screenings] lasted longer,” through the end of 2020.

Boffetta described the reduction in screenings and then a return to normal as a U-shaped curve, with an initial decline followed by a recovery. Doctors typically screen for colorectal cancers by using a colonoscopy. This technique requires several hours in the hospital. Patients may have been “more reluctant to go back to such a complex procedure, compared to the mammography or pap smear” which screen for breast and cervical cancers, respectively.

Boffetta is conducting a broad study of the cancer literature from early findings to clinical diagnosis to treatment. At this point, he has finished a paper on the frequency and types of clinical diagnoses amid the pandemic. He is collecting data for another study that will examine cancer treatment.

“We are interested in how the pandemic affected each of these stages,” he said.

Hannun suggested that Boffetta’s work expertise help address important health care questions related to the pandemic and other threats to public health, adding, “Epidemiology is essential for understanding the pandemic and many chronic diseases, especially cancer with exposure issues.

A lab update

Boffetta joined Stony Brook University in April of 2020, soon after the start of the pandemic.

Also a Professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive medicine at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Boffetta will return to the United States in a few weeks from Italy.

Boffetta has added Research Coordinator Germana Giupponi and postdoctoral fellow Malak Khalifeh to his research efforts at Stony Brook. 

Germana Giupponi

A native of Italy, Giupponi, who started working with Boffetta in July of 2020 and provides administrative support and coordination with Boffetta’s collaborators, earned her master’s degree from the University of Milan.

Khalifeh joined Boffetta’s lab in March, is originally from Lebanon and conducted her PhD research in France at the University of Bordeaux. She is studying the link between the exposure people have to various chemicals in drinking water and bladder cancer. The bladder is especially susceptible to toxins from the environment.

Boffetta, meanwhile, has started teaching some graduate level classes at Stony Brook on cancer epidemiology for master’s and PhD students. He will teach one class this fall.

He is also continuing his studies with survivors of the World Trade Center attacks.

He has been comparing the survival of these first responders to the overall population in New York, comparing how the risk of cancer changed over the course of the 21 years since the attacks.

Boffetta has been working with Ben Luft, Director of the Stony Brook WTC Wellness Program at the Renaissance School of Medicine. Luft has provided clinical and research support for WTC responders.

Boffetta continues to have academic affiliations with other academic institutions, including Harvard University and Vanderbilt University.

Boffetta and his wife Antonella Greco, who have been living in New York City, plan to move to the Stony Brook area. Their three daughters live in Brooklyn, Italy and Argentina. Now that pandemic restrictions have lifted, Boffetta has been able to return to the opera and museums and has done some skiing and hiking.

As for this study, Boffetta suggested that the findings about screenings were consistent with what he might have expected during the beginning of the pandemic.Delaying screenings could mean that some people discover cancers at a more advanced state by the time they diagnose them, he said.

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Nikhil Palekar, MD. Photo by Jeanne Neville/Stony Brook Medicine

Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease selected as the only recipient on Long Island, and one of only 10 NYSDOH-supported, hospital-based centers of its kind in New York State

Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease (CEAD) was awarded a new $2.35 million, state-funded grant over five years (2022-27 grant cycle) by the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and renews on June 1. Of the 10 NYSDOH-supported, hospital-based centers in the state, Stony Brook Medicine is the only recipient of this competitive grant on Long Island and will continue to serve the growing needs of communities in both Nassau and Suffolk counties.

To qualify as a Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease, a hospital-based center must meet rigorous standards which are measured and reviewed annually. These include: high quality diagnostic and assessment services for people with Alzheimer’s or another type of dementia; patient management and care; referral of patients and their caregivers to community services; training and continuing education to medical professionals and students on the detection, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

With scientific strides being made in identifying potential new ways to diagnose, treat and prevent Alzheimer’s and other dementias, Stony Brook’s efforts during this five-year grant cycle will also include a continued focus on research.

“The renewal of this important NYSDOH grant comes at a time when there are a growing number of people with Alzheimer’s disease in our state, many of whom reside in underserved communities right here on Long Island,” said Harold Paz, MD, MS, Executive Vice President Health Sciences, Stony Brook University, and Chief Executive Officer, Stony Brook University Medicine. “It reinforces the strong reputation Stony Brook has built over the years, as an expert in diagnosis, care, training and resources, and as an institution committed to being at the forefront of research and clinical trials seeking effective treatments and a cure.”

A Growing Population of 65+

According to the DOH, 410,000 New Yorkers age 65 and older live with Alzheimer’s disease. By 2025, this number is expected to increase to 460,000 New Yorkers needing care for Alzheimer’s disease. Long Island has the second-highest age 65+ population in New York State after New York City. On Long Island’s East End, approximately 36 percent of homes have at least one person in the household who is over 65 years of age.

“We are honored once again to be recognized for all that our team and community partners have accomplished as we continue to serve this vulnerable population,” said Nikhil Palekar, MD, Director, Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease. Dr. Palekar, who joined Stony Brook in 2017, has been instrumental in developing the Center’s mission and services.

An expert in the treatment and research of cognitive and mood disorders in older adults with grant funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Alzheimer’s Association and Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, Dr. Palekar encourages people who are having trouble remembering, learning new things, concentrating, or making decisions to get screened and diagnosed — the sooner the better. “When the brain is unable to function well, your entire health starts to suffer. If you’re having memory issues, you’re probably forgetting to take your medications for blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, causing a worsening of chronic medical conditions,” he noted.

Cognitive Screenings, Clinical Trials, Federally Qualified Health Center Partnerships

The Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease, part of the Stony Brook Neurosciences Institute, now offers free cognitive screening clinics to the community at CEAD’s offices at Putnam Hall on the campus of Stony Brook University, as well as at Stony Brook’s Advanced Specialty Care location in Commack. The Stony Brook CEAD staff is also available to conduct free screenings in communities on Long Island upon request. Each individual screened will receive the screening results on the spot so that they can bring the results to their primary care physician for further assessment and treatment if needed.

The Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease also offers a variety of clinical trials in support of groundbreaking research studies on aging, memory, and dementia. Stony Brook has been selected as a study site for several clinical trials, including monoclonal antibody therapy trials that target amyloid plaque for the treatment of mild Alzheimer’s disease.

Another new initiative of the Stony Brook CEAD is the establishment of partnerships with several federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) on Long Island to help meet the needs of unserved and underserved people spanning communities from the east end to those bordering Queens. Stony Brook CEAD will provide free cognitive screening assessments, educational resources, training for physicians, and opportunities to participate in research studies and clinical trials, which will help improve early diagnosis and quality of life for people in these communities living with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.

For more information about the Stony Brook Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease, visit ceadlongisland.org.

About the Stony Brook Neurosciences Institute:

Stony Brook Neurosciences Institute is the regional leader in diagnosing and treating a full range of brain, neurological and psychiatric disorders in adults and children. As a tertiary care center, we also serve as the “go-to” medical facility for community physicians and other specialists in the region who have complicated cases and seek advanced care for their patients. We bring the expertise of renowned specialists together with the use of sophisticated technology to deliver high-quality, disease-specific, comprehensive care for patients, while providing peace of mind to their families. This care includes access to various resources and therapies to assist with rehabilitation and reintegration into everyday living during and after treatment. The Institute features more than 15 specialty centers and programs — several that are unique to our region — and more than 70 research laboratories dedicated to the study of various neurological and psychiatric disorders and diseases. The Institute also provides challenging yet supportive educational experiences that prepare graduates to practice in a variety of clinical and academic settings. To learn more, visit www.neuro.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

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Trevor Verga, of Kings Park, was reported missing March 20. Photo from SCPD

Nearly a month after a Kings Park man was reported missing by a family member, his body was found off Piper Lane in Head of the Harbor on April 9.

Dr. Trevor Verga, 45, last spoke to a family member on the phone on March 20 at approximately 1 a.m., according to the Suffolk County Police Department, and was reported missing around 2:15 p.m. that day.

Verga’s 2019 Dodge Ram was found in the parking lot of 500 East Long Beach Road, Nissequogue, and video surveillance from the parking lot showed a man matching Verga’s description exiting the vehicle at approximately 2:30 a.m. on March 20.

According to SCPD, Homicide Squad detectives are investigating the cause of death, which is believed to be noncriminal. 

A graduate of Northport High School, Verga attended American University and received his medical degree from New York University Grossman School of Medicine, according to his obituary on the Branch Funeral Homes website. He joined North Suffolk Cardiology, a location of Stony Brook internists, in 2010 and also served as a clinical assistant professor at Stony Brook University. 

According to Stony Brook Medicine officials, he was the first doctor on Long Island to perform the LARIAT left atrial appendage suture exclusion procedure for atrial fibrillation.

Stony Brook Medicine officials released a statement after news of Verga’s death.

“Dr. Trevor Verga was a beloved Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group physician known for his compassion and commitment to his patients and community. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dr. Verga’s family, friends, colleagues and patients. To support our community, Stony Brook Medicine has shared with our staff a wide range of counseling services available to help them during this difficult time.”

Verga was also a cardiologist at St. Charles Hospital in Port Jefferson since 2010, according to St. Charles Hospital officials. He was a member of the hospital’s medical board since 2015 and president of the board since 2021. Officials described him as “an esteemed colleague who will be sorely missed.”

“We are deeply saddened to hear of Dr. Trevor Verga’s passing and offer our sincere condolences to his family during this difficult time,” officials said in a statement.

For Dr. Trevor Verga’s full obituary, see branchfh.com.

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Krisha Mehta celebrates her match to Stony Brook Medicine with her family. Photo by Arthur Fredericks
All smiles: matching fourth-year students hold up their signs indicating where their careers as physician will begin. Photo by Arthur Fredericks
Leslie Peralta celebrates her match – to Obstetrics/Gynecology at UNC Medical Center in North Carolina. Photo by Arthur Fredericks
Some of the 26 matching students who will stay at Stony Brook Medicine for their residency training. Photo by Arthur Fredericks
Dr. William Wertheim, Interim RSOM Dean, urged the students to recognize they are on the threshold of their careers where opportunities and enriching experiences await them. Photo by Arthur Fredericks

131 RSOM students match to residency programs; 20 percent to stay at Stony Brook Medicine

Taking a major step toward launching their careers, 131 Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) fourth-year students matched to residency training programs all over the country, New York State and at Stony Brook Medicine on March 18. Twenty percent of the students matched to training programs at Stony Brook, the highest percentage staying at Stony Brook since 2010 when the school began tracking this metric annually.

Match Days are held nationwide each year, a celebratory event when students learn of their residency training assignments. Administered by the National Resident Matching Program (NRMP), this year more than 39,000 positions were filled. See this NRMP news. The numbers of physicians continue to increase, in part because of a need for our nation’s growing population and increasing need for specialty services in medicine. The two-year international pandemic has also raised awareness of the importance of a strong physician pool going forward in the 21st Century.

“The role of the physician has never been more important,” said Hal Paz, MD, MS, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences at  Stony Brook University, in a video message to the matching students. “You will soon be joining a network of over 4.500 physician alumni. The Renaissance School of Medicine gave you an opportunity to become a physician, but you did the hard work to fulfill your dreams.”

Collectively the students matched to programs in 18 states and Washington, DC. Approximately 43 percent of the students matched to programs in NYS, and 56 percent to programs in other states. The leading programs matched to included Internal Medicine (21 students), Emergency Medicine (15), Anesthesiology (12), and Pediatrics (11).

To view the celebration and some students’ matches see this video.

“You all stand on the threshold of your medical careers, a threshold can be the entrance to a new place, or it can be the beginning of some new chapter in our lives, or it can be the limit of a prior condition. For you it is all those things,” said William Wertheim, MD, Interim Dean of the RSOM.

Considering these challenging times in our society and in healthcare, Dr. Wertheim continued:  “COVID has become, during your student years, a fact of life. Though it has posed disruptions for you all, it has also created opportunities  — for you to witness the advances of science and how each of these advances is incorporated into practice, for the rapidity with which recognition of new conditions and new challenges are adopted into medical care. These are all good lessons to learn.”

Among the students matching include native Long Islanders Kristin Krumenacker and Justin Cheung. Krumenacker, a dual-degree student who will also earn a Master of Arts in Medical Humanities, Compassionate Care, and Bioethics in May, matched to a Radiology residency at Virginia Commonwealth University Health Systems. Cheung, who earned a BS in Chemical Engineering at Stony Brook University as an undergraduate, hopes to pursue a fellowship in hematology/oncology. He is one of four fourth-year students completing the BS to MD program at Stony Brook. Cheung matched to an Internal Medicine program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Another student completing the BS to MD program at Stony Brook, Verdah Ahmad, matched to Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Jersey. A native of New Jersey, Ahmad was hoping to match to a school in the New York metro area. She is very happy to match to a program in her home state.

 

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Director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Stony Brook Heart Institute Dr. Eric Rashba is holding the new Watchman FLX device, which provides protection from strokes for people with atrial fibrillation. Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

The butterflies that color backyards are welcome companions for spring and summer. The ones that flutter towards the upper part of people’s chests can be discomforting and disconcerting.

In an effort to spread the word about the most common form of heart arrhythmia amid American Heart Month, the Stony Brook Heart Institute recently held a public discussion of Atrial fibrillation, or A-fib.

Caused by a host of factors, including diabetes, chronic high blood pressure, and advanced age, among others, A-fib can increase the risk of significant long-term health problems, including strokes.

In atrial fibrillation, the heart struggles with mechanical squeezing in the top chamber, or the atrium. Blood doesn’t leave the top part of the heart completely and it can pool and cause clots that break off and cause strokes.

Dr. Eric Rashba, who led the call and is the director of the Heart Rhythm Center at Stony Brook Heart Institute, said in an interview that A-fib is becoming increasingly prevalent.

A-fib “continues to go up rapidly as the population ages,” Rashba said. It occurs in about 10% of the population over 65. “As the population ages, we’ll see more of it.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 12.1 million people in the United States will have A-fib over the next decade.

As with many health-related issues, doctors advised residents to try to catch any signs of A-fib early, which improves the likely success of remedies like drugs and surgery.

“We prefer to intervene as early as possible in the course of A-fib,” Dr. Ibraham Almasry, cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute, said during a call with three other doctors. “The triggers tend to be more discreet and localized and we can target them more effectively.”

Different patients have different levels of awareness of A-fib as it’s occurring.

“Every single patient is different,” said Dr. Roger Ran, cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute. Some people feel an extra beat and could be “incredibly symptomatic,” while others have fatigue, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, and dizziness.

Still other patients “don’t know they are in it and could be in A-fib all the time.”

Doctors on the call described several monitoring options to test for A-fib.

Dr. Abhijeet Singh, who is also a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute, described how the technology to evaluate arrhythmias has improved over the last 20 years.

“People used to wear big devices around their necks,” Singh said on the call, which included about 150 people. “Now, the technology has advanced” and patients can wear comfortable patches for up to 14 days, which record every single heartbeat and allow people to signal when they have symptoms.

Patients can also use an extended holter monitor, which allows doctors to track their heartbeat for up to 30 days, while some patients receive implantable recorders, which doctors insert under the skin during a five-minute procedure. The battery life for those is 4.5 years.

Additionally, some phones have apps that record heartbeats that patients can send by email, Singh said. “We have come a long way in a few years.”

Dr. Roger Fan, a cardiac electrophysiologist at the Stony Brook Heart Institute, added that all these technologies mean that “we are virtually guaranteed to get to the bottom” of any symptoms.

Drugs vs. surgery

Doctors offer patients with confirmed cases of A-fib two primary treatment options: drugs or surgery.

The surgical procedure is called an ablation and involves entering the body through veins in the groin and freezing or burning small areas that are interfering with the heart’s normal rhythm. The procedure breaks up the electrical signals in irregular heartbeats.

Performed under general anesthetic, the procedure generally takes two to three hours. Patients can return home the same day as the operation, Rashba said.

As with any surgery, an ablation has some risks, such as stroke or heart attack, which Rashba said are “very rare” and occur in fewer than one percent of the cases. Additionally, patients may have groin complications, although that, too, has declined as doctors have used ultrasound to visualize the blood vessels.

In extremely rare occasions, some patients also have damage to the esophagus behind the heart, said Rashba, who is also a professor of medicine.

For patients experiencing symptoms like A-fib, doctors recommended a trip to the emergency room, at least the first time.

“If it’s not going away, one, you can reassure yourself, two, you can get treatment, and three, you can get a diagnosis quickly,” said Almasry.

The Stony Brook doctors said choosing the best treatment option depends on the patient.

“Everybody has different manifestations of their A-fib,” said Fan.

Among other questions, doctors consider how dangerous the A-fib is for the patients, how severe the symptoms are, and how much they affect the quality of life.

Doctors urged residents to make the kind of healthy lifestyle choices that keep other systems functioning effectively. Almasry cited a direct correlation between obesity and A-fib.

Reducing body weight by 10%, while keeping the weight off, can reduce the likelihood of A-fib recurrence, he said.

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Pollytia Panagiotou, MD

Pollytia Panagiotou, MD, has joined North Country Primary Medical Care, an internal medicine practice in Stony Brook Medicine’s expanding network of community practices and physicians located at 43 Radio Avenue in Miller Place.

Board certified in both internal medicine and obesity medicine, Dr. Panagiotou’s approach is to control disease with medicine and lifestyle changes to help her patients lead healthy lives and empower them to avoid preventable conditions. “We are very excited to have Dr. Panagiotou be a part of our community physician network,” said Juan Carlos Bucobo, MD, FASGE, President of Stony Brook Medicine Community Medical Group. “Dr. Panagiotou is a bright, energetic primary care physician who is a breath of fresh air to the beloved community of patients previously cared for by Dr. Dhillon. Her experience in obesity medicine and primary care will be a great benefit to our patients.”

 Dr. Dhillon provided care in the community for more than 20 years until his passing in early 2021.  

 “I am very excited to join Stony Brook Medicine and continue the legacy of patient-centered care that Dr. Dhillon provided,” said Dr. Panagiotou. “It is indisputable that he left a noteworthy impression on his patients and I will strive to do the same. My goal is to inspire patients to achieve a higher level of health and provide the care they are accustomed to at North Country Primary Medical Care.”

 Dr. Panagiotou received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Montclair State University and her medical degree from St. George’s University School of Medicine. She then completed her residency in internal medicine at Overlook Medical Center. Dr. Panagiotou is fluent in Greek and has a working knowledge of Spanish.

The practice is currently accepting new patients and has office hours Monday through Friday. For more information, call 631-821-8911.

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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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Photo from Stony Brook Medicine

WHAT: 

Livestream Event – Post-COVID: In it for the long haul

According to the CDC, most people with COVID-19 get better within weeks, though some experience long-term effects. Post-COVID conditions are a wide range of new, returning, or ongoing health problems people can experience weeks after first being infected. This Tuesday, December 21, experts from Stony Brook Medicine’s Post-COVID clinic, the first of its kind on Long Island, will discuss these long-term effects and approaches to care.

Stony Brook’s post-COVID facility opened in November of 2020 at Stony Brook Medicine’s Advanced Specialty Care in Commack to provide ongoing care and assessment of adult patients who are recovering from COVID-19. The clinic provides care for patients who are still experiencing symptoms as well as monitors patients for any late effects of COVID-19 infection. Patients have access to specialists in primary care, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, nephrology, vascular and neurology as well as to mental health providers.

For more information visit, https://www.stonybrookmedicine.edu/advancedspecialtycare/post_COVID_clinic

WHEN:

Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 4:45 PM EST

The livestream event can be seen on:

Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/298909540164955/posts/4578401205549079/

Or

YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vqCloqgKGg

MODERATOR:

  • Sritha Rajupet, MD, MPH, Director, Population-Based Health Initiatives, Department of Family, Population & Preventive Medicine and Primary Care Lead, Post-COVID Clinic, Stony Brook Medicine

EXPERTS:

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Robert Milone, above left, with Peter Killian and Thomas Fellows at the new Oath ceremony for students entering the undergraduate nursing program that Stony Brook started this year. Photo by Jessica Galiczewski

In the wake of an expected nursing shortage and amid an uncertain battle against a pandemic that is well into its second year, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced a scholarship program to support future nurses last week.

The program, called Nurses for Our Future Scholarship, will cover tuition for 1,000 health care workers to get their Resident Nursing degrees at State University of New York and the City University of New York colleges.

The governor announced that the scholarships were designed to address the shortage in health care and a lack of workers in hospitals across the state.

In a statement, Gov. Hochul called the scholarships an “important step to train more nurses and bring them into our health care system.” She added that the pandemic has “shown us that we cannot afford a labor shortage in the health care industry.”

Nursing officers at area hospitals applauded the announcement and suggested it was an important first step in confronting some of the challenges the nursing community faces.

“I was thrilled” with the announcement, said Susan Knoepffler, chief nursing officer at Huntington Hospital. “I’m absolutely grateful for this incentive to go into the field.”

Knoepffler said hospitals throughout the area and the country had a nursing shortage even before the pandemic.

Knoepffler said Huntington Hospital is also hoping to spark an interest in nursing and health care at area high schools, including Commack High School. Huntington Hospital is providing a few students with the opportunity to learn about nursing and is looking to expand that program.

Nurses are “critical to the health of health care,” Knoepffler added. “If we don’t have enough nurses, we’re not going to be able to provide optimal health care.”

Indeed, a study in 2018 in the American Journal of Medicine calculated that patients in intensive care units were accompanied by nurses for over 86% of their time, compared with 13% with physicians and 8% with critical support staff. The figure exceeds 100% because some of these health care workers were in the room at the same time.

These scholarships will help students who might otherwise struggle financially to enter a profession that will be in increasing demand, particularly as current nurses retire.

“Having scholarships to help students stay in or enter the profession is great,” said Annette Wysocki, dean of the School of Nursing at Stony Brook University. “We have a lot of first-generation students.”

Nursing student Jaclyn Jahn. Photo by Rad Reyes

These scholarships can also help ensure that students from a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds enter a challenging but rewarding field, providing underserved populations and communities with a link to the health care community.

Those students who graduate from nursing programs are likely to find a variety of professional opportunities, giving them greater chances to work in geographic areas and in medical specialties that appeal to them.

The American Nursing Association anticipates that more registered nurse jobs will be available through 2022 than any other profession in the country, according to Stony Brook University.

Robert Milone, who is working to earn a bachelor’s in nursing at Stony Brook in 2022, said he has received considerable encouragement about future prospects.

“There’s a lot of buzz around employment afterwards,” Milone said. He anticipates finding more “opportunities for our graduating class than there were.”

Some nurses have advised Milone, who is a native of Seaford and already earned a Bachelor’s Degree from Stony Brook in Health Science, to pursue his “dream job” after graduating.

While nurses applauded Hochul’s decision to create these scholarships, they described numerous nursing challenges.

The scholarships are a “fabulous idea,” said Nicolette Fiore-Lopez, chief nursing officer at St. Charles Hospital. While the scholarships will help in the future, “we need some help right now.”

Fiore-Lopez said a number of nurses have left the profession, both in New York and nationally.

Additionally, the pandemic may cause an increase in residents who need medical attention in the later parts of the fall and winter, when more people are indoors and when families come together from all over the country.

“By all predictors, we believe we will see another surge,” said Fiore-Lopez. “Hopefully, it will remain somewhat blunted, with vaccines being what it is. Not having enough staff [could] become an issue.”

Fiore-Lopez urges states to think creatively about staffing solutions. 

In addition to spending more on nursing students, New York and, indeed, the country, should consider investing more in the education system, which is already straining for resources.

For the past three years, the Stony Brook School of Nursing has admitted 160 students into the pre-licensure undergraduate program, which is about 14.2% to 15.9% of the qualified applicants they receive each year.

“We fervently wish we could accept more students but cannot because we do not have a sufficient number of faculty and resources,” Wyoski explained in an email.

Stony Brook’s nursing school, which has no endowed faculty positions, endowed professorships or endowed lecturers is “already stretched beyond our limits,” Wysocki added.

Fiore-Lopez suggested that the nursing system needs short-term and long-term fixes.

“I see the governor’s proposal as a long-term fix,” she said. In the shorter term, the nursing system needs other assistance, including some financial relief to provide extra staffing.

In the meantime, current students continue to hope to put their training and ambition to use in a field in high demand, particularly during the pandemic.

Jaclyn Jahn, another student in Stony Brook’s undergraduate nursing program, is following in the footsteps of her mother Lynda Jahn and her grandmother Joann Monahan, who have both been nurses.

Her mother and grandmother are “two of the most upstanding, independent, confident women I’ve ever met,” Jahn said. “They are everything I hope to one day live up to.”

Jahn, who sees her role as a patient advocate, looks forward to explaining medicine to patients and to helping patients “feel comfortable and heal.”

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook Medicine

Stony Brook Medicine team performed a life-saving surgery on a Long Island football coach just a few days before the championship game to take place on Saturday, November 20.

Kyle Moodt, 38, a Bellport High School Varsity Assistant Football Coach, 5th grade general education teacher, father, and husband, battled debilitating headaches daily since July 2021. He and his wife Michelle have three children ages 3 (Emma), 5 (Brody) and 7 (Kayla), and live in Center Moriches.

The chronic headaches were isolated in one area, the front right side of his head. Kyle said “they were constant from wake up to bedtime. I’ve had two back surgeries in the past and I would probably take that sciatica pain over the headaches. The headaches never went away. It was hard to function with a headache all day long. Took a lot of Tylenol. At times, I would have to lay down whether I had practice or even in school. It was affecting my teaching in the classroom. I was teaching more from my desk than I have in most of my years. When I went home, after work, I was very tired. I felt like I wasn’t able to contribute to the household as much and more fell on my wife’s shoulders.”

Shortly after Kyle saw Stony Brook Medicine doctors, the medical team quickly identified that these were not normal headaches from reading a computed tomography (CT) and a computed tomography angiogram (CTA) scan. David Fiorella, MD, PhD, Neurointerventional Radiologist; Director, Stony Brook Cerebrovascular Center; and Co-Director, Stony Brook Cerebrovascular and Comprehensive Stroke Center and Michael Guido, MD, Neurologist; Director, Stony Brook Neurology Stroke Program; and Co-Director, Stony Brook Cerebrovascular and Comprehensive Stroke Center determined Kyle had a life-threatening malformation of the arteries in his brain. The diagnosis was arteriovenous fistula, or DAVF. This dangerous increased pressure in his head was a risk for fragile veins bursting which would cause a life-threatening brain bleed.

On November 11, Dr. Fiorella was able to use an angiogram to map out the malformation and make a treatment plan to allow him to be at the football team’s playoff game. And, subsequently treated Kyle’s complex brain malformation on November 16 through a small puncture site in his right wrist, performing a minimally invasive surgery that took less than one hour. The special procedure Kyle had was embolization of a dural fistual with a material Onyx. The goal of the procedure is to block off the abnormal arteries while preserving the normal arteries and veins.

Kyle is ecstatic. “Dr. Fiorella said I’m going to get this taken care of and I feel great 24 hours later after the successful surgery. It’s amazing. I don’t have brain fog. Had a good night’s sleep. I slept through the night. Woke up without a headache. I haven’t taken any medicine or Tylenol in 24 hours. The headaches that I’ve had for months are not there. Luckily, we were able to get to the bottom of this.”

“His angiogram showed the cure after the treatment and his MRI and MRA of his blood vessels indicated his brain is completely normal. He is neurologically perfect,” said Dr. Fiorella.

Kyle is grateful for Dr. Fiorella’s expertise and quality of care received at Stony Brook University Hospital. “About a year ago, he performed surgery on my father who had a stroke. I was very happy to know I was going to him for care. I remember, he put me, my mom, my brother, my sister at ease, talking and dealing with my father’s illness. So, if he’s confident, then I’m confident. And, they set the standards pretty high at Stony Brook.”

This positive outcome couldn’t be more timely as Kyle will not miss the opportunity to coach the offensive and defensive line as his Bellport Clippers face off against the Lindenhurst Bulldogs for the DII Suffolk County Championship at Stony Brook University’s Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on Saturday at 7pm. Bellport last won a Suffolk title in 2010.

In sharing what it means for Stony Brook doctors to urgently treat Kyle with very little recovery time needed and getting him back to his “two families” touches him on a very emotional level. “Football is a passion of mine, but my main goal is the three kids I have at home. Definitely, I wanted to make sure that I would be able to make it to the game as the team gets ready for one of the biggest moments in their life but more importantly, family and my well-being came first. But the football team is family too. Some of these kids I’ve known since fifth grade. Some I played with their fathers or uncles as an offensive lineman for three years between 1998 and 2000. My parents are still very involved. Football brings the community together. We have all walks of races and socioeconomic backgrounds. My wife will cook for the lineman dinners at my house with 10 to 15 kids. We’re building a community and camaraderie between the team and this leads to our success. Kids care about each other. As coaches, we care about them too on and off the field. It’s why I love the district and where I am. It’s a big family affair.”

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