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By Daniel Dunaief

In the typical process of developing cures for medical problems or diseases, researchers explore the processes and causes and then spend years searching for remedies.

Ke Jian Liu. Photo by Jeanne Neville, Stony Brook Medicine

Sometimes, however, the time frame for finding a solution is cut much shorter, particularly when the Food and Drug Administration has already approved a drug treatment for another problem.

This could be the case for hemorrhagic stroke. Caused by a burst blood vessel that leads to bleeding in the brain, hemorrhagic stroke represents 13 percent of stroke cases, but accounts for 50 percent of stroke fatalities.

That’s because no current treatment exists to stop a process that can lead to cognitive dysfunction or death.

A researcher with a background in cancer and stroke, Ke Jian “Jim” Liu, Professor of Pathology and Associate Director or Basic Science at the Stony Brook Cancer Center who joined Stony Brook University in 2022, has found a mechanism that could make a hemorrhagic stroke so damaging.

When a blood vessel in the brain bursts, protoporphyrin, a compound that attaches to iron to form the oxygen carrying heme in the blood, partners up with zinc, a similar metal that’s in the brain and is released from neurons during a stroke. This combination, appropriately called zinc protoporphyrin, or ZnPP, doesn’t do much under normal conditions, but could be “highly toxic” in hypoxic, or low-oxygen conditions.

“We have done some preliminary studies using cellular and animal stroke models,” said Liu. “We have demonstrated on a small scale” that their hypothesis about the impact of ZnPP and the potential use of an inhibitor for the enzyme that creates it ‘is true.’”

These scientists recently received a $2.6 million grant over five years from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, which is a branch of the National Institutes of Health.

Focusing on a key enzyme

After Liu and his colleagues hypothesized that the ZnPP was toxic in a low-oxygen environment, they honed in on ways to reduce its production. Specifically, they targeted ferrochelatase, the enzyme that typically brings iron and protoporphyrin together.

Iron isn’t as available in this compromised condition because it has a positive charge of three, instead of the usual plus two.

Liu discovered the role of zinc in research he published several years ago.

When a hemorrhagic stroke occurs, it creates a “perfect storm,” as the enzyme favors creating a toxic chemical instead of its usual oxygen carrying heme, Liu said. He is still exploring what makes ZnPP toxic.

The group, which includes former colleagues of Liu’s from the University of New Mexico, will continue to explore whether ZnPP and the enzyme ferrochelatase becomes an effective treatment target.

Liu was particularly pleased that currently approved treatments for cancer could be repurposed to protect brain cells during a hemorrhagic stroke. Indeed, with over 80 approved protein kinase inhibitors, which could work to stop the formation of ZnPP during a stroke, Liu and his colleagues have plenty of potential treatment options.

“We’re in a unique position that a clinically available drug that’s FDA approved for cancer treatment” could become a therapeutic solution for a potentially fatal stroke, Liu said.

To be sure, Liu and his colleagues plan to continue to conduct research to confirm that this process works as they suggest and that this possible therapy is also effective.

As with other scientific studies of medical conditions, promising results with animal models or in a lab require further studies and validation before a doctor can offer it to patients.

“This is an animal model, based on a few observations,” said Liu. “Everything needs to be done statistically.”

At this point, Liu is encouraged by these preliminary studies as the subjects that received an inhibitor are “running around,” he said. “You can see the difference with your own eyes. We’re excited to see that.”

Earlier hypotheses for what caused damage during hemorrhagic stroke focused on the release of iron. In research studies, however, using a chelator to bind to iron ions has produced some benefits, but they are small compared to the damage from the stroke. The chelator is “not really making any major difference,” said Liu.

The Stony Brook researcher did an experiment where he compared ZnPP with the damage from other metabolic products.

“ZnPP is several times more toxic than all the other things combined,” which is what makes them believe that ZnPP might be responsible for the damage, he said.

Proof of principle

For the purpose of the grant, Liu said the scientists were focusing on gathering more concrete evidence to support their theory. The researchers are also testing a few of the protein kinase inhibitors to demonstrate that they work.

In their preliminary studies, they chose several inhibitors based on whether the drug penetrates the blood brain barrier and that have a relatively high affinity for ferrochelatase.

“This opens the door for a new phase of the study,” Liu said. “Can we find the best drug that provides the best outcomes? We are not there yet.”

Removing zinc is not an option, as it is a part of 2 percent of the proteome, Liu said. Taking it out would “screw up the entire biological, physiological system,” he added.

Liu speculates that any future drug treatment would involve a relatively small dose at a specific time, although he recognized that any drug could have side effects.

In an uncertain funding climate in which the government is freezing some grants, Liu hopes that the financial support will continue through the duration of the grant.

“Our hope is that at the end of this grant, we can demonstrate” the mechanism of action for ZnPP and can find a reliable inhibitor, he said. “The next step would be to go to a clinical trial with an FDA-approved drug, and that would be fantastic.”

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Stony Brook Biomedical Engineer Gábor Balázsi, PhD. Photo by Lynn Spinnato

Gábor Balázsi, PhD, the Henry Laufer Professor of Physical and Quantitative Biology in the Laufer Center at Stony Brook University, has been named a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE).

Balázsi took part in a formal induction ceremony in Arlington, Virginia, on March 31, for AIMBE’s 2025 Class of College Fellows, which includes 171 leading international scientists.

AIMBE Fellows are among the most distinguished medical and biological engineers. Fellows include four Nobel Prize laureates and 27 Presidential Medal of Science and/or Technology and Innovation awardees. Additionally, 233 Fellows have been inducted to the National Academy of Engineering, 120 into to the National Academy of Medicine, and 51 inducted to the National Academy of Sciences.

Balázsi, also a Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and an affiliate member of the Stony Brook University Cancer Center, was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the AIMBE College of Fellows “for pioneering contributions to apply engineering principles to design protein-level tuning synthetic gene circuits, and to identify mechanisms for their evolution.”

A professor and researcher at Stony Brook since 2014, Balázsi’s work centers on developing and evolving synthetic gene circuits. The core of the research is to enable a predictive, quantitative understanding and control of biological processes such as cellular decision-making and the survival and evolution of cell populations, such as in metastatic progression and chemoresistance in cancer.

His findings have led to published papers in approximately 50 journals, including Nature Communications, Nature Chemical Biology, PNAS, Cell, and Cell Chemical Biology.

The East Setauket resident is a member of the American Physical Society, the American Association for Cancer Research and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. 

AIMBE’s College of Fellows is comprised of almost 3,000 individuals who have made significant contributions to the medical and biological engineering community in academia, industry, government, and education that have transformed the world. Most AIMBE Fellows are from the United States but many hail from all over the word and represent more than 30 countries.

 

 

 

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This bar graph shows the various forms of violence victimization over a 24-hour period as reported in more than 12,000 mobile phone surveys of almost 500 adolescent boys. Credit: Rachel Kidman

By Daniel Dunaief

Rachel Kidman

Researchers have long connected exposure to violence, particularly at a younger age, to expressions of violence as people age.

In a recent study of boys between the ages of 15 and 19 years old published in the journal PLOS One, lead author Rachel Kidman, Core Faculty in the Program in Public Health and Associate Professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine in the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, however, has made a connection between various types of violence adolescent boys witnessed or were subjected to and violence within 24 hours towards intimate partners.

“Those boys who experience violence that day are much more likely to act out and engage in intimate partner violence against their girlfriend or boyfriend,” said Kidman. 

Adolescent boys are getting “trapped in a cycle” in which they experience and then perpetuate violence, Kidman said.

In parts of Africa, in particular, intimate partner violence could be particularly dangerous as the rate of HIV infection — the virus that causes AIDS — is higher.

This study, which was conducted with 498 adolescents living in Soweto, South Africa who responded to cell phone surveys from November of 2020 to June of 2022, expands the understanding of the development of abuse and violence.

Amy Hammock, Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University, who has collaborated on research with Kidman but was not a part of this paper, lauded the work for its “strong design” which relies on surveys that measure violence within 24 hours. The surveys allow for “more accuracy in reporting” than a typical question about violence within the last year.

“Many of the boys in the sample experienced significant violence, both at the community level and the interpersonal level,” Hammock explained.

Previous evidence indicates that men who experienced or witnessed childhood trauma or domestic violence between their parents perpetrate intimate partner violence at higher rates.

“We don’t have a lot of evidence of what happens during the teenage years,” said Kidman. “This could be setting the course for relationships in the future.”

Adolescents could be responding to triggers and may not know how to cope with their own emotions, which leads to their own violent actions.

Working with boys

Public health programs typically focus on ways to protect people in relationships, often women, against violence, by encouraging them to take self-defense classes and to recognize the signs of an abusive relationship. Many of these approaches place the onus on the victim, which seems too narrow, Kidman said. As a next step, “we can work with boys, acknowledge the trauma.”

By exploring the link between physical, verbal and sexual violence perpetrated against adolescent boys, researchers are taking a first step towards developing methods that might help boys cope with their own emotions without lashing out at their partners.

“We need to learn more to design the right intervention,” Kidman explained.

Breaking the cycle

The real-time mobile phone surveys revealed a sharp increase in the odds of intimate partner violence (IPV) when teenage boys were victims of violence within 24 hours, particularly sexual violence. Credit: Rachel Kidman

Kidman chose to work with adolescents in this area of South Africa in part because she had forged connections with researchers in the area in previous studies and in part because of the high levels of HIV and violence for an underserved population.

She feels it’s important to understand the epidemics of violence in low and middle income countries.

“The area we work in has a history of apartheid and racial and economic segregation and a long history of violence and a high rate of HIV,” Kidman said.

To be sure, ideally, these adolescents wouldn’t experience any violence. Many of the adolescents who participated in this study experienced intimate partner violence directed against them as well, which could be initiated by a girlfriend or be used by a girlfriend in self defense.

“Some of this may be in the context of bi-directional violence in the relationship,” said Kidman.

Participants in this study could ask to speak with a counselor. Kidman appreciates the adolescents who shared personal and painful details their lives.

“These are not easy topics to talk about and they get a lot of credit for being so open,” she said. “This gives us insights into how we can help.”

Meaningful semester abroad

The direction Kidman’s research has taken springs from research she did during her undergraduate training at Swarthmore College, particularly during a semester abroad in Zimbabwe. She was interested in the social dimensions of HIV. During her master’s degree at the Harvard School of Public Health, she studied the survival and education of orphaned children.

As she conducted that research, Kidman considered the many adversities affecting children, including violence, child abuse, neglect, and living with someone who has substance abuse problems, among others. The current project is exploring how these experiences during childhood and adolescence, including child abuse, verbal violence and bullying, affect youth and their behavior towards intimate partners.

Indeed, when youth with HIV experience violence, they sometimes don’t take their medications, which increases the health risks to themselves and their partners.

Role models

Born and raised in Portland, Maine, Kidman received considerable support for her broader interests in the world from her parents Joan and Bruce Kidman.

“When I announced that I was going to Zimbabwe for the semester, they were absolutely on board,” said Kidman.

Indeed, both of her parents, who met in college, worked together for the Peace Corps in Micronesia after they graduated. When she was in college, Kidman was eager to learn about a different culture.

Kidman and her husband Sean Clouston, Professor in the Department of Family, Population and Preventive Medicine in the Renaissance School of Medicine at SBU, live in Stony Brook with their 10 and 12-year old children Riley and Quinn.

As for her work, Kidman suggested numerous questions remain. She urged further studies that could assist with preventing violence and supporting those people who can be victims and perpetrators.

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University Athletics

Stony Brook men’s lacrosse outlasted No. 12 Fairfield, 17-16, on March 29 at LaValle Stadium, handing the NCAA’s last remaining unbeaten team its first loss of the season. Kian McCoy paced the offense with a career-high six points (three goals, three assists) while Jamison MacLachlan made a season-best 20 saves in cage.

The high-scoring contest featured a 10-goal first half, seeing Stony Brook take an early 5-1 lead.

The Seawolves led 6-4 after the opening 15 minutes of action. Six different Seawolves scored a goal in the frame.

Fairfield trailed by four goals early on but scored three of the final four goals of the quarter to trim the deficit to two goals.

A five-goal scoring run that spanned the final three-plus minutes of the first quarter and the first six minutes of the second stanza gave Fairfield its first lead of the afternoon, 7-6.

Brendan Marino snapped Stony Brook’s nearly 15-minute scoring drought with his second of the afternoon to even the score at 7-7. McCoy followed with his second of the contest to put the Seawolves back in front.

The Stags tallied a pair of goals to back ahead by one before Richie DeChiaro scored in the final minute to even the contest at 9-all heading into the intermission.

The lead continued changing hands in the second half. McCoy completed his hat trick to break the ice in the second half and put Stony Brook in front 10-9.

Fairfield notched back-to-back goals to make it 11-10 in favor of the nationally-ranked visitors.

The two sides entered the fourth quarter all even at 13 after Tanner Williams found the back of the net to complete the scoring in the third quarter.

Carson Boyle netted a man-up goal and Collin Williamson padded the Seawolves lead to two goals with one of his own early in the fourth.

Fairfield responded with two more tallies to tie it again, 15-15. MacLachlan held strong in net, stopping a pair of Fairfield shots and keeping it even as the contest entered the final five minutes.

MacLachlan caused a turnover with less than three minutes to play, intercepting a pass to the X. Stony Brook gained possession, cleared and called timeout to set the offense.

Ray O’Brien scored the go-ahead goal, unassisted, sneaking a shot inside, with help from the post, with 2:17 to play.

Robbie Smith won the ensuing face-off, leading to a Caleb Yeung unassisted goal to push the lead to two goals with 1:06 to play.

Smith won the next face-off as well, but Fairfield forced a turnover and scored with 20 seconds to play.

After a Fairfield timeout, the Stags went early on the face-off, giving what proved to be the final possession of the contest to Stony Brook. The Seawolves ran the clock out on their second ranked win of the season, and first in league play.

“I’m so proud of the guys, they played so hard. These last four weeks, we’ve practiced so hard and we’re in these one-goal games. It comes down to play here or there, and we talked all week about finishing. We broke every huddle with ‘finish’ the entire week and every huddle in game today and our guys just made one more play and that was the key,” head coach Anthony Gilardi said postgame.

Up next, the team hits the road to face Delaware on Saturday, April 5. The Seawolves and Blue Hens are set for a noon start in Newark with the contest streaming live on FloCollege.

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Professor Michael Bender. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University’s Gordon T. Taylor, Katherine B. Aubrecht, and Michael A. Bender were recently named 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellows.

The AAAS Fellows program was first established in 1874. To be considered as a Fellow, AAAS members must be nominated by the Steering Committee of their respective sections by three Fellows or the CEO of AAAS. Nominations are reviewed by the AAAS Council, which then votes on the nominations. To become an AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor.

“This year’s class of Fellows are the embodiment of scientific excellence and service to our communities,” said Sudip S. Parikh, Ph.D., AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “At a time when the future of the scientific enterprise in the U.S. and around the world is uncertain, their work demonstrates the value of sustained investment in science and engineering.”

“I warmly congratulate our newest AAAS fellows for this well-deserved and impressive recognition of their work and its importance to society,” said Carl W. Lejuez, executive vice president and provost. “We are proud that over the years about a dozen of our current faculty have been named AAAS fellows in a broad range of fields, including political science, psychology, creative writing and math and of course marine science and chemistry. Honors like these underscore our flagship status and Stony Brook’s value to our region and our nation.”

As AAAS Fellows, Taylor, Aubrecht, and Bender join a class of 471 scientists, engineers, and innovators. Together, they make up the ranks of distinguished scientists, engineers, and innovators who have been recognized for their contributions in the areas of academia, research, and science communications. Notable AAAS Fellows include Maria Mitchell, Steven Chu, Ellen Ochoa, Irwin M. Jacobs, Alan Alda, Mae Jemison, and Ayanna Howard.

Taylor, Aubrecht, and Bender will be recognized for their achievements at the Fellows Forum on June 7, an event held during the AAAS Annual Meeting, where they will be presented with a certificate and a blue and gold rosette.

Gordon T. Taylor

Professor Gordon Taylor. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Gordon T. Taylor is a professor in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. He also serves as head of SoMAS’ Marine Sciences Division and as director of the NAno-Raman Molecular Imaging Laboratory (NARMIL). His alma mater is University of Southern California, where he earned his PhD in 1983.

“I am truly honored and humbled by this recognition,” said Professor Taylor. “I am indebted to all my talented, hard-working students and colleagues who were so instrumental in the achievement of my scientific goals. My sincere gratitude to AAAS for this acknowledgement. It means a great deal to me to join the ranks of AAAS Fellows.”

Professor Taylor is being honored for his distinguished contributions to furthering understanding of microbial mediation of marine biogeochemical processes, ecological interactions among microorganisms in marine food webs, and technical advances in Raman microspectrophotometry.

Katherine B. Aubrecht

Professor Katherine B. Aubrecht. Photo Courtesy of Finishing Touch Photo

Katherine B. Aubrecht is an associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences department of Chemistry and in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences division of Sustainability Studies. Her alma mater is Cornell University, where she earned her PhD in 1999.

“The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) works to advance science for the benefit of all by focusing on research, education, engagement with the public, and the use of science to inform policy,” said Professor Aubrecht. “I am grateful to be nominated and elected as an AAAS Fellow. I am also grateful for the opportunities at SBU for cross-disciplinary discussions and collaborations.”

Professor Aubrecht is being honored for her contributions to advancing chemistry education by incorporating green chemistry, sustainability, and systems thinking to foster more connected and relevant teaching and learning. She has worked with the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute and Committee on Environment and Sustainability to further these objectives.

Michael A. Bender

Professor Michael Bender. Photo by John Griffin/Stony Brook University

Michael A. Bender is the John L. Hennessy Chaired Professor of Computer Science in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Department of Computer Science, where he runs the computer science honors program. He has won several awards, including an R&D 100 Award, a Test-of-Time Award, a Distinguished Paper Award, two Best Paper Awards, and five awards for graduate and undergraduate teaching. His alma mater is Harvard University, where he earned a PhD in 1998. Bender has also held Visiting Scientist positions at both MIT and Kings College London, and is a co-founder of the software company Tokutek, which was acquired by Percona in 2015.

“I am deeply honored to be recognized as an AAAS Fellow,” said Professor Bender. “I’m especially grateful for the collaborative efforts of many brilliant students, colleagues, and industry partners who have contributed to advancing our field.”

Professor Bender is being honored for his distinguished contributions to the foundations of data structures and their applications.

 

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Shelley Germana. Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University

By Daniel Dunaief

Performance on tests, essays and presentations can often reflect as much, if not more, about what’s going on with a student outside the classroom as it does during a course.

A sociologist by training who earned her PhD from Rutgers, Shelley Germana, Senior Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education at Stony Brook University, recognized the impact and importance of health, family life, and financial strains when she taught a class of conditionally admitted students to Rutgers University.

“It’s the first time I realized [student performance] was largely about the non-academic stuff,” said Germana. “I was teaching as if it was just about academics, give them theory, give them concepts, break down the information for them. It wasn’t about that.”

Instead, mental health and social challenges, among others, affected how well they did in class.

That realization changed her career path from a plan to become an educator into one in which she dedicates herself to student success.

Indeed, fast forward to today, and Germana helped create the Summer Academic Resilience Program Stony Brook for students in 2024 who were struggling academically after their first year.

The five credit summer course, which was offered as part of a pilot program for 30 students, was given at no cost to the students. While living on campus and having access to dining facilities, the students not only received classroom support, but also had wrap around services.

This includes accessibility support, mental health aid, and employment. Students took a three-credit general education course and a two-credit academic success course for five weeks.

The students in this course had grade point averages that were close to or below 2.0, which could have led to a suspension.

The effort on the part of the students and the school paid dividends, with four students still below 2.0 in the fall and the remainder above that threshold. At the same time, 11 students earned a grade point average above a 3.0 this past fall.

“What this demonstrates is that this degree of structured, holistic support can be really transformative,” said Germana.

The university is preparing for the 2025 summer session and is hoping to increase the number of student participants to 50.

Embracing a bigger role

Provost Carl Lejuez applauded the work Germana has done with this pilot program and her overall efforts on behalf of student success.

Germana “was in the number two role for undergraduate education for many years and everyone was really aware of how hard she worked and how talented and strategic and student focused she was,” said Lejuez. “I was really excited about the possibility of her being in that role and it has worked out in every way I thought it would.”

Indeed, in academic year 2024-2025, Stony Brook had record enrollment, while the university has also managed to increase student retention to around 90 percent.

“That’s because of the holistic approach she takes,” said Lejuez.

Germana credits a number of other parts of the university for the increasing percentage of students who return for their second year of classes.

“Everybody has a hand in student success and retention, from student affairs to faculty,” said Germana. “It’s all part of the package.”

Germana added that student advisors have had a positive influence on success as well.

In a recent Boyer Commission report that looks ahead to 2030, the commission has specific recommendations for advising, including lowering case loads. This enables advisors to meet regularly with students.

The commission also urges advisors to move beyond academic support and into areas like the transition from high school to college.

“The recommended case loads were lower than what we had at Stony Brook,” said Germana. The administration, from the president to Lejuez supported the university’s investments in academic advisors.

Germana and Vice President for Student Affairs Rich Gatteau run a working group that meet regularly to discuss holistic success and have advocated for greater support for advisors.

Two years ago, Stony Brook invested about a million dollars in adding academic advisors.

The university plans to make a similar type of investment again this year.

“What I love about [Germana] is that she understands traditions and best practices and is always working with people to be innovative and think about new ways to do it.”

Flipping the script

Germana suggested that institutions of higher learning have sometimes approached struggling students by suggesting they have a learning deficit.

While she does not dismiss the fact that some students have preparation issues, she prefers to focus on the assets they bring to the classroom, despite the challenges they face in their lives.

“We should not be underestimating what the students bring” to the classroom, Germana said.

“They are clearly capable or they would not have been admitted,” said Germana.

Like some students at Stony Brook, Germana, who is a native of southern New Jersey, is the first member of her family to attend college.

Higher education is a “transformative experience” that has enriched her life.

She added that the college experience and the opportunities that follow are empowering. 

Stony Brook can and should be a “place where they’re going to grow and transform and become citizens of the world,” Germana added.

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Stony Brook University will hold its 7th annual Giving Day on March 26.

Day Dedicated to Philanthropic Giving from Inside and Outside the University Community

On Wednesday, March 26, Stony Brook University is hosting its seventh annual Giving Day. This 24-hour crowdfunding event brings together alumni, friends, patients, parents, faculty, staff and students to support causes close to their hearts in an effort to help Stony Brook “Be Unstoppable.”

More than 130 different academic units, clubs, athletic teams, clinical departments, student enrichment programs, and other initiatives across the Stony Brook community will be positively impacted on Giving Day. A series of special matching gifts and participation challenges will multiply the impact of individuals’ donations. To inspire participation, all gifts made will be tracked in real-time on givingday.stonybrook.edu.

The university looks to surpass previous years’ results, with a goal of 3,500 unique gifts. Last year, Giving Day generated $1.6 million from 3,800 gifts. Donations have totaled $3.8 million dollars since the inaugural Giving Day in 2019. Every year, about 20% of gifts come from first-time donors.

“Giving Day is an exciting opportunity for the Stony Brook community to step forward and support the university in a big way. Every year, I am inspired by our community’s engagement, not just by their generous philanthropic contributions but also by the motivation behind their philanthropy,” said Scott Barrett, interim vice president for advancement.

“It’s remarkable to see how many people are driven by the positive impact they can make for our current students and faculty — and, frankly, for generations to come. I look forward to celebrating that impact again this year,” he said.

For those seeking to make social media postings regarding Giving Day, the hashtags for this year’s Giving Day are #SBUGivingDay and #BeUnstoppable.

For more information, visit givingday.stonybrook.edu.

 

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Photo courtesy of Stony Brook University Athletics

Stony Brook softball lost to the University of Delaware, 2-1, on March 16 in Newark, Del. The Seawolves moved to 2-4 in CAA play, suffering a sweep at the hands of the Blue Hens.

Delaware struck first in the opening frame, but scored just once and stranded the bases loaded. Crimson Rice allowed a two-out single that scored a run, then after an error and a walk, she produced a ground ball to escape an early jam.

Madelyn Stepski led off the second inning with a triple, scoring later in the inning when Emma Scheitinger drove her in.

Stony Brook was poised to tack on more in the third inning, but Delaware turned to Billie Kerwood for the third straight day. Kerwood stymied the Seawolves’ offense for the third time in as many days.

Entering with runners on the corners and nobody out, Kerwood walked Naiah Ackerman on four pitches to dig a deeper hole. The Seawolves couldn’t capitalize however, as a ground ball forced out the lead runner at the plate and the next two hitters were punched out by Kerwood to leave the bases juiced.

Kerwood kept Stony Brook’s offense at bay, striking out nine of the next 12 hitters she faced and giving her offense a chance to take a lead.

The Blue Hens would gain an advantage in the scoring column in the bottom of the sixth after a lead-off double and a single through the middle.

Gabrielle Maday, who re-entered to replace Rice after the double, recorded all three outs in the sixth inning and limited the damage to just the one run.

Kyra McFarland and Ackerman both hit safely with Stony Brook down to its final out in the contest, but Kerwood notched her 11th strikeout to strand the tying and go-ahead runs on base and secure the sweep.

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SUNY Distinguished Professor Rowan Ricardo Phillips. Photo by Sue Kw0n

Stony Brook University Distinguished Professor Rowan Ricardo Phillips, from the College of Arts and Sciences Department of English, was recently recognized by the American Academy of Arts as a 2025 Arts and Letters Award winner.

“Art is its own reward,” said Professor Phillips. “But, even with that said, I feel honored to be in such fine company.”

The American Academy of Arts and Letters is an honor society of artists, architects, composers, and writers who foster and sustain interest in the arts. The Arts and Letters Award, established in 1941, was established to encourage creative work in the arts. The award is $10,000, granted annually to four architects, five artists, eight writers, and four composers.

“My sincere congratulations to Rowan Ricardo Phillips for yet another highly prestigious honor,” said David Wrobel, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This has been an exciting year of recognition for Rowan’s creative work. His book, Silver, recently made the longlist for both the National Book Award and for the Laurel Prize. Now, Rowan has been selected as one of eight writers across all genres to receive the Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. We are so proud that Rowan is part of our intellectual and creative community. He is a brilliant ambassador for the Humanities at Stony Brook.”

“This is a significant honor from a very prestigious arts organization,” said Benedict Robinson, professor and chair of the Department of English. “The membership of the American Academy of Arts and Letters reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of all the arts in the contemporary U.S., and the list of honorees being recognized this year includes some of the most significant contributors to contemporary art and culture. It’s a tremendous honor for the Department of English and for Stony Brook University as a whole. We’re extremely lucky to have Professor Phillips as a colleague and teacher.”

Phillips was recently longlisted for the National Book Award and the Laurel Prize for his book, Silver. Phillips’ poem “The First and Final Poem Is the Sun” also was included in Best American Poetry 2024.

Phillips earned his doctorate in English Literature from Brown University in 2003. He is recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the Nicolás Guillén Outstanding Book Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports writing, a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the PEN/Joyce Osterweil Award for Poetry, a Whiting Award, and the GLCA New Writers Award. He has also been a finalist for the National Book Award for his poetry collection, Heaven, the Griffin International Poetry Prize, the NAACP Award for Outstanding Work in Poetry, and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize.

 

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Marci Lobel. Photo from SBU

The U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board have selected Stony Brook University Distinguished Teaching Professor Marci Lobel, PhD, from the Department of Psychology, as the recipient of a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Award for 2025-2026. She was awarded this recognition for her expertise in stress, coping, and their effects on health, particularly reproductive health. Her studies have established the harmful impact of stress on pregnant women and their offspring and identified factors that elevate or alleviate stress.

Professor Lobel will spend part of the next academic year beginning January 2026 at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic, where she will conduct research on stress in pregnant Czech women and teach a unique course in the Psychology of Women’s Health that she introduced at Stony Brook.  This class  is now a model for courses at numerous other universities.

“We’re thrilled that Dr. Lobel has received this award,” said Joanne Davila, distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences. “She’s so well deserving of it. It’s an important opportunity both for her and for her colleagues in the Czech Republic.”

In her teaching, Professor Lobel focuses on women’s unique health experiences and differences between men and women in disease symptoms, treatment, diagnosis, and outcome. These topics, Professor Lobel notes, are critical areas of understanding for healthcare professionals, scientists, and others concerned about women’s health.

“Our research and other studies confirm that high stress during pregnancy increases risk for low birthweight and preterm birth, which are major contributors to poor health and development in infants, children, and adults,” said Professor Lobel. “Yet stress in Czech pregnant women has received little attention. Identifying stress prenatally facilitates prevention and interventions to improve health outcomes for women and children. Masaryk University is an ideal place to expand knowledge about women’s health. The course that I will teach and my research to investigate stress in pregnant Czech women will fill important gaps in the study and treatment of women’s health in the Czech Republic. I am eager to learn about the mental and physical health of Czech women and share innovations between the US and the Czech Republic to promote the health and well-being of women, children, and their families in both countries. I expect to gain new perspectives for my research and teaching from this exciting Fulbright experience.”

Professor Lobel has been an award-winning faculty member in Stony Brook’s Department of Psychology for 35 years and she holds a joint appointment in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Medicine at Stony Brook Medicine. She received her undergraduate degree from Harvard University and her PhD from the University of California, Los Angeles.

“My sincere congratulations to Distinguished Professor Marci Lobel on this wonderful news,” said David Wrobel, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The prestigious Fulbright program is a fantastic opportunity for Professor Lobel to continue the important work she is doing to expand knowledge of women’s health. I could not be more pleased that Professor Lobel will be a cultural and intellectual ambassador for the US, CAS and Stony Brook University.”

Research from the Stress and Reproduction Laboratory (STAR Lab) that she directs addresses critical public health issues, including the impact of discrimination on racial disparities in birth outcomes, pandemic-related prenatal stress effects, and psychosocial aspects of infertility and assisted reproductive technologies. Professor Lobel has authored more than 300 scientific articles and presentations and she collaborates in multiple international research projects. She is a recipient of national and university awards for her research, teaching, mentoring, and service. Professor Lobel also conducts research on mentoring and leads workshops on teaching and mentoring.

Fulbright Distinguished Scholar awards are viewed as the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program. These awards are presented to scholars who have substantial experience in their discipline or area of expertise. Distinguished Scholars are expected to actively engage host institutions in a spirit of promoting mutual understanding and sharing knowledge.

 

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