Stony Brook Researchers Secure Seed Funding from SUNY TAF

Dr. Gurtej Singh, Research Associate Professor of Surgery at the Renaissance School of Medicine, was awarded seed funding through the SUNY Technology Accelerator Fund (TAF) to advance DEVA — a vascularized, shelf-stable skin substitute for advanced wound care. This bio-printed, multilayered construct integrates embedded vascular networks and antimicrobial features to enhance healing for chronic and hard-to-treat wounds — with the potential to shorten healing timelines and improve patient outcomes.

Additionally, Dr. Anurag Purwar, associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Stony Brook’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, was one of four SUNY Mission TAF awardees for his research, MotionGen — An AI Platform for Intelligent Mechanism Design in Robotics. Purwar is launching an enterprise version of MotionGen, a cloud-based AI platform that automates the robot mechanism design, reducing costs and improving quality through enhanced visualization and intelligent synthesis tools.

The SUNY TAF supports early-stage innovations with strong commercial potential, helping faculty move technologies from the lab toward real-world impact. This funding — part of a competitive award portfolio — underscores how translational research at Stony Brook continues to bridge discovery science and high-impact biotechnology solutions. Read more about these innovators and the TAF awards on SBU News.

NYS Governor Hochul Announces $300M Investment in SUNY at Stony Brook’s Quantum Research and Innovation Hub

New York State is making a major investment in the future of technology with a $300 million commitment to Stony Brook University to establish a first-of-its-kind Quantum Research and Innovation Hub. Building on Stony Brook’s leadership as home to the nation’s largest quantum network, the new hub will advance research and education in quantum communication, computing, and networking—critical components for developing a faster, smarter, and more secure internet. The 150,000-square-foot facility, expected to open in 2029, will bring together a new Quantum Institute, a hybrid Quantum Data Center, and a Quantum Education Consortium to integrate research, computing, and workforce development.

This investment is part of a broader push by New York State to strengthen its position as a global leader in emerging technologies. By expanding research capacity and cultivating top talent, the hub aims to accelerate breakthroughs that address complex societal challenges while driving economic growth across the region. With strong support from state leadership and continued funding for higher education, Stony Brook is poised to become a premier global center for quantum science and technology.

Read more about the investment, it’s impact and Stony Brook’s role as a leader in the field on Stony Brook News here.

SBU Cancer Center Team Receives $11M NIH Grant

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