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CFB Announces New Bioentrepreneur & Executive-In-Residence

March 5, 2020

The Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University has announced the appointment of Dr. Mario R. Mendoza as Executive-In-Residence, and Dr. William Mann as its newest BioEntrepreneur-In-Residence (BEIR). Drs. Mendoza and Mann have extensive bioscience industry experience affording them unique perspectives in their respective roles in residence at the Center for Biotechnology (CFB). Each will work with the CFB and the Long Island Bioscience Hub (LIBH), a collaboration between Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the Feinstein Institute at Northwell Health. Dr. Mann will identify commercially promising academic technologies that have the potential to support company formation while Dr. Mendoza will serve in an advisory capacity for bioscience startup companies in the hub.

Dr. Mario R Mendoza is a clinical anesthesiologist (practiced at the NIH) and currently a healthcare and pharmaceutical industry medical/medical affairs consultant with over 13 years of combined experience in patient clinical care, clinical development, R&D, medical affairs (Abbott, Pfizer and Centrexion Therapeutics), and FDA medical devices regulation. Dr. Mendoza earned his BS degree in chemistry from SUNY College at Old Westbury, and a MS in organic chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned his M.D. from the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine and then completed an FDA Commissioner’s Fellowship Program and stayed on at FDA as a Medical Officer/Medical Consultant.

Dr. William R. Mann is Principal of Lodestar Biopharma Solutions LLC, which assists clients in the development of R&D strategies for regulatory and commercial success, business development, and M&A. Previously, he was President and CEO at Helsinn Therapeutics (US), where he transformed the sixteen employee R&D start-up into a profitable commercial company with a team of over one hundred. At Sapphire Therapeutics, Dr. Mann facilitated an investor exit through M&A while managing the company’s lead clinical development program. He also held leadership positions at Novartis in R&D and business development. Dr. Mann holds a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and an MBA from Rutgers University.
“We are excited to have Mario and Bill join us at the Center for Biotechnology. Their extensive and varied industry experiences are wonderful assets to our program. The further expansion of our BEIR Program allows us to continue to advance our agenda, fueling the developing bioscience industry in the region” Diane Fabel, Director of Operations at the Center for Biotechnology said.

“I’m thrilled to become an Executive-in-Residence for the Center for Biotechnology.” stated Dr. Mendoza “I’m greatly looking forward to getting involved with biotech industry innovators collaborating with the organization. I believe the bioscience community in the region is robust and the support and partnership with organizations like the Center for Biotechnology are critical in driving innovation in the biotech space, and in getting innovative patient-centric products to market for the benefit of the patient and healthcare provider communities.”

“The work of the Center for Biotechnology is incredibly important to the bioscience community in the region, and I’m eager to be joining the organization.” Dr. Mann stated. “The innovation potential within the region is immense, and I look forward to the collaborative opportunities that lie ahead.”

Dr. Mann will work to identify a technology or technologies from within LIBH partner institutions that will create the foundation for licensing and company formation. He will have the support of the Center for Biotechnology business and technology development staff, as well as the support of external industry advisors to develop successful commercialization strategies. Ultimately, the goal is to help the company position itself for SBIR/STTR grant opportunities, as well as Angel and VC investment. In his role as Executive-in-Residence, Dr. Mendoza will offer invaluable support to the CFB client company portfolio by providing guidance and expertise in diverse areas including, but not limited to, product development, intellectual property strategy, regulatory affairs, capital formation, medical affairs and reimbursement.

The addition of Drs. Mendoza and Mann marks ten entrepreneurs and two executives-in-residence working with the Center for Biotechnology under their BIER program. Collectively, the Center for Biotechnology BEIRS have launched twelve new companies since the program’s inception in 2013.

View PDF announcement. 

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                    [post_content] => 

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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                    [post_content] => Accelerating the development of biomedical technologies

The Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University, on behalf of the Long Island Bioscience Hub (LIBH), has announced the recipients of the second round of funded projects under the Hub’s technology development and commercialization initiative. Funding for ten projects totaling $600,000 was awarded to applicants from the Hub’s partner institutions. Partner institutions include Stony Brook University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and the Feinstein Institute at Northwell Health Systems.

The technology development awards made available by the LIBH are specifically aimed at growing a pipeline of commercially promising biomedical technologies that can be out-licensed for further development or serve as the foundation for new company formations in the region. There are two tiers of funding, each with the goal of accelerating technology development to reach a critical development inflection point. Feasibility awards ($50,000) are designed to rapidly test the feasibility of new ideas in a “fail-fast-or-proceed” format, or to add value to existing intellectual property leading to new market applications. Proof-of-Concept Awards ($100,000) provide targeted, milestone driven support for further development, testing, and analysis of existing intellectual property.

A wide range of disciplines are represented in the project awards this cycle including biomedical engineering, chemistry, biochemistry, psychiatry, molecular genetics and microbiology, and pathology and dermatology.  Eight Feasibility awards and two Proof of Concepts awards have been funded this cycle. The recipients of this round of awards are:

Feasibility Awards

Therapeutic for Clostridium difficile antibiotic-associated diarrheal disease – Dr. James Bliska

Device for rapid, simple and highly parallel single-cell processing – Dr. Eric Brouzes

Developing a small molecule drug to treat systemic C. albicans infections – Dr. Nick Carpino

Next generation hedgehog inhibitor for invasive basal cell carcinoma – Dr. Jiang Chen

A Novel Strategy for Recombinant AAV Vector Production for Gene Therapy – Dr. Patrick Hearing

A tandem-integration-based multi-barcode method for high-throughput combinatorial screening – Dr. Sasha Levy

Novel CAIX Targeted Combination Inhibitor/PET tracer to treat patients with solid tumors – Dr. Peter Smith-Jones

Substrate-Assisted Tethered Inhibitors of LigA to Treat MDR Gonorrhea – Dr. Peter Tonge

Proof of Concept Awards

fMRI Dynamic Phantom for Improved Detection of Resting-State Brain Networks - Dr. Lilianne Mujica-Parodi

Development of SMASH technology as a next-gen sequencing diagnostic for congenital heart disease - Dr. Michael Ronemus

​“The announcement of this second cycle of awards from the Long Island Bioscience Hub under the NIH-REACH program is exemplary of the increasing commercially relevant research taking place in the region” said Clinton T. Rubin, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Director, Center for Biotechnology. “Coupled with the recent expansion of the Hub to include the Feinstein Institute and the announcement of our third “request for proposals,” the LIBH is steadily working toward its goal of accelerating the translation of these technologies from the bench to the bed side.”

The main goal of the LIBH is to foster the development of therapeutics, preventatives, diagnostics, devices and research tools emerging from LIBH partner institutions that address diseases within the NIH’s mission.

Download a PDF of the press release here.

 

 
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                    [post_content] => Date: May 9, 10, 11, 2018
Accepting Applications: December 15, 2017 – Seating will be limited.

Unlocking the power of female leaders for a competitive and innovative future in STEM

Occupations in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics are expected to continue to outpace non-STEM jobs over the next decade. Yet while women make up more than half of all workers with post-secondary degrees, only slightly more than a quarter of them are in core STEM fields. The Women in STEM Leadership Program encourages and equips women at all stages of their careers with the skills necessary to advance as productive and valuable employees in their chosen STEM fields.

Call 1-631-216-7518 or fill out the form below for detailed program information: Learn more & apply 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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BioREACH: Translational Research Funding Opportunity

September 1, 2026

More Information

Long Island Bioscience Hub Announces Next Funded Projects

May 5, 2016

More Information

Traverse Biosciences to collaborate with SUNY Upstate Medical University

July 14, 2016

More Information

Women in STEM Leadership Program

December 1, 2017

More Information