Dr. Yusuf Hannun and his team at Stony Brook Medicine Cancer Center have been awarded a competitive $11 million NIH Program Project Grant to advance groundbreaking research on sphingolipids in cancer biology and therapy.

This is a major milestone for the institution and a testament to the team’s innovative work in understanding how lipids drive cancer development and how that knowledge can lead to new treatments, especially for breast and liver cancer—the two leading causes of death both locally and nationwide.

Dr. Hannun’s legacy continues to shape the future of cancer research at SBCC, and this award reflects the growing global impact of our work with promising life science companies.

Center for Biotechnology Announces Redesignation as New York State Center for Advanced Technology

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The Redesignation brings $10 million in funding to drive innovation, company formation, and economic growth.

The Center for Biotechnology (CFB) has announced its re-designated as a Center for Advanced Technology (CAT) by Empire State Development‘s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR), a recognition that comes with $1 million in annual funding over the next ten years. The $10 million commitment underscores the CFB’s leadership in accelerating life science innovation, supporting early-stage technology development, and fueling economic growth through start-up formation and industry partnerships.

“The Center for Biotechnology has served as a critical bridge between academic research and commercial success,” said Dr. Clinton Rubin, Director of the Center for Biotechnology. “This re-designation ensures we can continue to expand our impact, helping innovators bring breakthrough technology to market and strengthening New York’s position as a leader in the bioscience industry.”

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “NYSTAR’s Centers for Advanced Technology are vital to our strategic efforts to grow New York’s economy and the state’s greater innovation ecosystem. By investing in the industries of tomorrow, New Yorkers benefit today through dynamic partnerships that help to create new jobs, generate more revenues, and encourage more companies to establish a footprint in communities all throughout the state.”

The Center for Biotechnology is located on the campus of Stony Brook University (SBU), the flagship research institution within the prestigious State University of New York (SUNY) system. Stony Brook University is recognized as a national and global leader in life sciences research, biomedical innovation, and clinical care. Situated on Long Island, New York, Stony Brook has built a formidable reputation as a hub for cutting-edge scientific discovery and translational medicine. The Center for Biotechnology builds upon these strengths by providing cutting-edge programming and competitive financial support to advance biomedical innovation and emerging company growth.

“We are excited to build upon the successful foundation of strong entrepreneurial networks, infrastructure, and programming that we have built over the last four decades” said Dr. Diane Fabel, Chief Operating Officer at the Center for Biotechnology. “The impacts we have had during our last designation period include over $1B in total economic impact with more than 1000 jobs created, and driving more than $315M in follow-on funding. We are excited to see those numbers continue to grow when we celebrate fifty years of hard work at the end of this redesignation period”.

As part of the New York State CAT program, the CFB will continue to work with emerging and established companies across the state to de-risk early-stage technologies, advance both technology and company value, foster public-private collaboration, and provide critical infrastructure for the region’s growing life science ecosystem. Additionally, the CFB team will continue its efforts to develop a life sciences workforce to support the region’s bio-innovation economy with a specific emphasis on sectors deemed important to the NYS economy.

Dowload the full press release here.

Applications Open: New York State Commercialization Competition 

FuzeHub will host its ninth New York State Commercialization Competition on October 29–30 during the 2025 NYS Innovation Summit in Rochester, NY.

Startups will compete for a share of $410,000 in funding—including awards of $150K, $100K, and $80K—to advance the commercialization of their innovative products or technologies.

Eligibility:
– Companies are required to have an existing tangible prototype
– Applicants must be available to pitch in person October 29-30, 2025 in Rochester, NY.
– Applicants must propose to fund activities to improve upon an existing tangible prototype and/or their “go-to-market” strategy.
– Company must reside and operate in New York State, and at least one founder must reside in NYS.
– Company must be pre-revenue.
– Company must be pre-seed.
– Company must be registered with Dun & Bradstreet, and have an eligible North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code specific to manufacturing identified in their D&B profile.

Learn more an apply: https://fuzehub.com/commercialization-competition

NYSTAR-supported AI Advancements Make Strides in Fight Against Cancer

Envisagenics, supported by the Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University, is a pioneering biotech company that has been applying AI to drug target discovery for over a decade. In drug development, targets are molecular structures (often proteins) where drugs bind to exert their therapeutic effects. For cancer, an ideal target is a cell-surface protein found exclusively on tumor cells but not in healthy tissues.

Fuzehub recently profiled the work Envisagenics is doing on their blog – read the full post here: https://fuzehub.com/manufacturing-blog/nystar-supported-ai-advancements-make-strides-in-fight-against-cancer/

NIH-SBIR Proposal Development Training

Our partners at BBC Entrepreneurial Training and Consulting are hosting a three-part proposal development workshop starting May 13th. If your company is targeting the September submission deadline, it’s best to start the proposal development process now!

During this workshop, BBC experts will provide important information about SBIR/STTR funding and how to craft a competitive SBIR/STTR proposal that meets the unique requirements of the NIH. In addition to up-to-date information on the SBIR/STTR programs.

Expect to learn:
– Registration process necessary for submission
– Strategies for targeting your proposal to meet the reviewers’ expectations.
– How to approach each section of the proposal
– Common pitfalls and how to avoid them, and more.

Agenda: All sessions are held 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. (EST)

May 13, 2025
SBIR/STTR Overview and NIH Program Essentials
An overview of the SBIR/STTR program and review of NIH SBIR/STTR Program Essentials

May 14, 2025
NIH Proposal Prep – Part 1
Detailed explanation of the major components of the Research Plan with strategies and review criteria

May 15, 2025
NIH Proposal Prep – Part 2
Continuation of NIH proposal prep, including Biosketches, Facilities, Budgets

Learn more and register here: https://bbcetc.com/event/nih-proposal-development-training-may-25/