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Center for Biotechnology Redesignated by New York State: ‘Unique Time of Change and Growth’

Independently documented economic impact: $1.2 Billion

Jobs created: 1,125

New corporate revenues: $812 Million

Supported additional funding: $238 Million

Center for Biotechnology documented economic impact over recent fifteen-year period

Perhaps it is numbers like these which best illustrate the success CFB has had on the biotechnology industry and economy.

And perhaps they contributed to the redesignation of the CFB as a Center for Advanced Technology for ten years by the New York State Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) as a Center for Advanced Technology (CAT).

The New York State redesignation recognizes the impact of the CFB over 30 years driving innovation toward commercial goals and resulting in accelerated product development cycles “from bench to boardroom to bedside.” It recognizes the key role played by the CFB in facilitating a regional bioscience innovation ecosystem, collaborating with Stony Brook University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The redesignation by New York State validates all of the work we have done over the last 10-year period to create the foundation for exponential growth. We would not have secured the National Institutes of Health REACH award without it, says Clint Rubin, Director of the Center for Biotechnology.”The REACH designation represents an $8.1M investment in technology development, commercialization, and new company formation. Visionary’s like New York State Senator Kenneth La Valle deserve the credit. They recognized thirty years ago that universities represented a largely untapped pool of innovation and economic potential.

Strikingly, it validates and provides the foundation for the new Long Island Bioscience Hub (LIBH), a CFB-led initiative to formally bring these institutions together to foster technology development, commercialization, and new company formation. The LIBH is a bold step made possible by a partnership with the National Institute of Health REACH initiative (Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub). The NIH award places the CFB in the national spotlight along with other elite institutions. (Read more on the NIH REACH award here)

“This redesignation occurs in an interesting and changing environment, where varying elements in the regional, state, and national biotech ecosystem are aligning. There is a confluence of events and issues that are creating a unique opportunity to build the biotech economy in the region and across the State.” Commented Diane Fabel, Director of Operations, CFB. “We have learned a lot about the process of moving academic innovation into the commercial sector over time. And there have been such tremendous scientific advances recently that represent new commercial opportunities and life saving technologies. There is still much to learn and do, and it is an incredibly exciting time to be doing it.

 

 

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Applications are now open for the 12th BioREACH Award Program from the Center for Biotechnology, which provides $50,000 in translational research funding for Stony Brook faculty and postdoctoral researchers to generate the evidence needed to advance promising innovations to the next stage of development.

BioREACH funds milestone-driven studies and welcomes biomedical innovations as well as platforms, tools, computational technologies, and other enabling technologies with the potential to contribute to solutions addressing unmet needs in health.

Application deadline: October 29, 2026, 5:00pm ET

For info sessions, eligibility and deadlines visit our REACH Website and FAQ.

The Center for Biotechnology (CfB) has helped advance some of Stony Brook University’s most impactful biomedical innovations, among them the yeast two-hybrid system, Xiaflex®, ReoPro®, Oracea®, and 3D virtual colonoscopy. The CfB has supported more than 475 faculty-led translational research projects and contributed to 306 license agreements generating $51 million in royalty returns to the University.

Questions? Reach out to our program contacts or sign up for office hours:

Dee Dao, PhD, Associate Director, dee.dao@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 2–3:30 PM | Sign up Here

Zelda Mendelowitz, PhD, Venture Associate, zelda.mendelowitz@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 8–11 AM | Sign up Here

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Established in April 2023, Stony Brook University's Center for Healthy Aging aims to promote healthy aging and extend physical and mental well-being through innovative research solutions. Please join them for our inaugural virtual seminar series.

Dr. Payel Sen, Stadtman Investigator, NIH
Epigenetic mechanisms of tissue aging
September 25th at 11 am
https://stonybrook.zoom.us/j/98037022918?pwd=XT2p35EKbehaazZpb0aLJtOW3a8gE1.1
Meeting ID: 980 3702 2918
Passcode: 426599

As we age, changes in our “epigenome” alter how our genes are regulated, ultimately impacting organ function. Our research focuses on understanding epigenomic changes in different organs. In this presentation, I will focus on skeletal muscle, which makes up 40% of our body weight and plays a key role in metabolism. As we age, our muscles tend to weaken, partly because the stem cells in our muscles that help repair and grow reduce in number and function. In our study, we looked at muscle stem cells from young, old, and geriatric mice and uncovered that as these cells age, they show signs of increased immune activity and start to lose their ability to stay dormant, which is vital for their function. We also identified specific areas of the genome that might be responsible for these changes. By targeting these areas, we could potentially restore the function of these stem cells and help maintain muscle health as we age.

Upcoming Topics & Dates:

  • October 30th, 11 am: Samantha Rossano, PhD, Medical Science Liaison, Life Molecular Imaging, Inc., Brain imaging biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease
  • November 20th, 11 am: Gregorio Valdez, PhD, GLF Translational Associate Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University, Slowing muscle degeneration
  • February 26th, 11 am: Christopher Barrett Bowling, MD, MSPH, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Professor in Population Health Sciences, Senior Fellow of the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University, Geriatricizing chronic disease research
  • March 26th, 11 am: Dr. Frank Lin, MD, PhD, Director of the Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health, Professor of Otolaryngology, Medicine, Mental Health, and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University Team, Baltimore HEARS and the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging
  • April 30th, 11 am: Dennis Selkoe, MD, Vincent and Stella Coates Professor of Neurologic Diseases, Harvard University, Role of soluble oligomers of amyloid beta in synaptic injury

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Pragma Bio, a venture highlighted at the Center for Biotechnology's 2024 Life Sciences Summit this past fall, has signed a $3.1M deal with Syntekabioto to co-develop drug candidates sourced from gut microbiota. Pragma, which mines microbiome-based therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases, will provide the compounds and Syntekabio will handle the algorithmic optimization.

Read more about the Pragma, Syteka and their partnership here: https://www.koreabiomed.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=27024

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The Center for Biotechnology has announced the appointment of Dr. Dee Dao as Associate Director for Business Development and Investment. In her new role, Dr. Dao will serve as the primary contact on issues related to research, technology development and commercialization for the Center for Biotechnology. Additionally, Dr. Dao will foster new collaborative relationships in order to bolster sponsored research agreements and strategic alliances.

Prior to joining the CFB, Dr. Dao served as a Venture Associate for the NYU Innovation Venture Fund, where she focused on investment opportunities in life science and healthcare. Prior to NYU, Dr. Dao was at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research where she contributed to early oncology therapeutic development planning and oversaw intellectual property (IP) strategy to support the clinical development of the Institute’s therapeutics. Before that, Dr. Dao investigated bacterial virulence and immunity to identify new vaccines against Tuberculosis as a postdoctoral fellow in an HHMI laboratory at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Currently, Dr. Dao also serves as a mentor for entrepreneurs participating in the Entrepreneurship Lab, a NYCEDC initiative. Dr. Dao received a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics/Developmental Biology at Columbia University and a B.S. in Chemistry from University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Dao is also an alumnus of the Center for Biotechnology’s Fundamentals of the Bioscience Program in 2010.

“We are thrilled to have Dee join the Center for Biotechnology to lead our technology and business development efforts on behalf of innovators and emerging companies in New York” Diane Fabel, Director of Operations at the Center for Biotechnology said. She continued “Dee brings deep experience working with and funding innovation to her role at the Center which our clients and community will greatly benefit from.”

“I am very happy to join the team at the Center for Biotechnology. I’ve admired the work the Center for Biotechnology has done when it comes to supporting and accelerating the development of biomedical technology in New York State” Dr. Dao said. “I’m looking forward to helping lead the technology and business development efforts of the Center and increase the impact the organization can have on the wealth of innovations in the region”.

Download a PDF of the announcement here.

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Applications are now open for the 12th BioREACH Award Program from the Center for Biotechnology, which provides $50,000 in translational research funding for Stony Brook faculty and postdoctoral researchers to generate the evidence needed to advance promising innovations to the next stage of development.

BioREACH funds milestone-driven studies and welcomes biomedical innovations as well as platforms, tools, computational technologies, and other enabling technologies with the potential to contribute to solutions addressing unmet needs in health.

Application deadline: October 29, 2026, 5:00pm ET

For info sessions, eligibility and deadlines visit our REACH Website and FAQ.

The Center for Biotechnology (CfB) has helped advance some of Stony Brook University’s most impactful biomedical innovations, among them the yeast two-hybrid system, Xiaflex®, ReoPro®, Oracea®, and 3D virtual colonoscopy. The CfB has supported more than 475 faculty-led translational research projects and contributed to 306 license agreements generating $51 million in royalty returns to the University.

Questions? Reach out to our program contacts or sign up for office hours:

Dee Dao, PhD, Associate Director, dee.dao@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 2–3:30 PM | Sign up Here

Zelda Mendelowitz, PhD, Venture Associate, zelda.mendelowitz@stonybrook.edu
Office Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, 8–11 AM | Sign up Here

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Pragma Bio Inks Co-Development Deal with Syntekabio

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