Back to News & Events

Long Island Biomentoring Initiative Established

November 18, 2016

Program Established to Foster Vibrant Bioscience Cluster in the Region

On Friday, November 18th at the Long Island High Technology Incubator, the Long Island BioMentor Initiative (LIBMI) will be hosting its first full-day mentor training session for the founding mentors of the new initiative. Led by the Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University and Accelerate Long Island, the LIBMI has been established on behalf of the Long Island Bioscience Hub – an NIH-designated Research, Evaluation, and Commercialization Hub. The LIBMI is a platform to bring highly qualified, volunteer mentors together with motivated, early-stage bioentrepreneurs to provide guidance and support as they advance their business strategy.

The LIBMI is based on the successful mentoring model developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Venture Mentoring Service (VMS), and created in collaboration with Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Hofstra University, and the Feinstein Institute at Northwell Health Systems. Through MIT VMS’s team mentoring approach, the LIBMI aims to provide objective and unbiased advice that will help entrepreneurs navigate the challenging landscape that growing bioscience ventures face. Mentors participating in the November 18th training session led by a MIT VMS Co-Director will benefit from curriculum and interactive teachings along with a mentoring session with one of the first entrepreneurs chosen to serve as mentee.

“There is an abundance of innovation on Long Island as well as a growing pool of entrepreneurs looking to create ventures that will take root and grow in the region” said Mark Lesko, Board Member, Accelerate Long Island. Diane Fabel, Director of Operations for the Center for Biotechnology added “Establishing a formal mentoring program, specifically for the bioscience sector, is critical as these companies need diverse support in order for them to thrive.”

The initiative employs the team mentoring approach and brings together experts with great depth and a range of experiences. The members of the founding mentor team include Dr. Linda Amper, Chief People Officer of Clever Devices; Dr. Gian Luca Araldi, founder and principal of US Pharma Services; Kara Cannon, Global Head of Sales & Marketing of Enzo Life Sciences, Inc.; Dr. Anil Dhundale, former Executive Director of the Long Island High Technology Incubator; Dr. Wayne Koff, President and CEO of Human Vaccines Project; Ric Overton, President of Overton Operations Advisors; Jeff Peacock, VP Global Quality Assurance and Regulatory Affairs at Henry Schein, Inc.; Dr. Saied Tousi, Managing Director for NW Advisors; and Edward Travaglianti, Market President of Long Island for TD Bank.

The entire process is guided by a statement of principles to ensure confidentiality and a conflict free environment. The initiative will build upon a suite of services and resources provided by the NIH-designated Research, Evaluation, and Commercialization Hub (LI Bioscience Hub), Accelerate Long Island and the Emerging Technology Fund, the New York State Center for Advanced Technology in Medical Biotechnology.

“It’s important to me to help support the entrepreneurial ecosystem on Long Island” founding mentor Ed Travaglianti stated, “and the team approach expands our capacity, allowing us to mentor more than one entrepreneur.”

Learn more about the Long Island BioMentor Initiative here.

Related Stories

WP_Query Object
(
    [query] => Array
        (
            [post_type] => post
            [posts_per_page] => 3
            [post_status] => publish
            [orderby] => rand
        )

    [query_vars] => Array
        (
            [post_type] => post
            [posts_per_page] => 3
            [post_status] => publish
            [orderby] => rand
            [error] => 
            [m] => 
            [p] => 0
            [post_parent] => 
            [subpost] => 
            [subpost_id] => 
            [attachment] => 
            [attachment_id] => 0
            [name] => 
            [pagename] => 
            [page_id] => 0
            [second] => 
            [minute] => 
            [hour] => 
            [day] => 0
            [monthnum] => 0
            [year] => 0
            [w] => 0
            [category_name] => 
            [tag] => 
            [cat] => 
            [tag_id] => 
            [author] => 
            [author_name] => 
            [feed] => 
            [tb] => 
            [paged] => 0
            [meta_key] => 
            [meta_value] => 
            [preview] => 
            [s] => 
            [sentence] => 
            [title] => 
            [fields] => all
            [menu_order] => 
            [embed] => 
            [category__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [category__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [category__and] => Array
                (
                )

            [post__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [post__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [post_name__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag__and] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag_slug__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [tag_slug__and] => Array
                (
                )

            [post_parent__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [post_parent__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [author__in] => Array
                (
                )

            [author__not_in] => Array
                (
                )

            [search_columns] => Array
                (
                )

            [ignore_sticky_posts] => 
            [suppress_filters] => 
            [cache_results] => 1
            [update_post_term_cache] => 1
            [update_menu_item_cache] => 
            [lazy_load_term_meta] => 1
            [update_post_meta_cache] => 1
            [nopaging] => 
            [comments_per_page] => 50
            [no_found_rows] => 
            [order] => 
        )

    [tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object
        (
            [queries] => Array
                (
                )

            [relation] => AND
            [table_aliases:protected] => Array
                (
                )

            [queried_terms] => Array
                (
                )

            [primary_table] => wp_posts
            [primary_id_column] => ID
        )

    [meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object
        (
            [queries] => Array
                (
                )

            [relation] => 
            [meta_table] => 
            [meta_id_column] => 
            [primary_table] => 
            [primary_id_column] => 
            [table_aliases:protected] => Array
                (
                )

            [clauses:protected] => Array
                (
                )

            [has_or_relation:protected] => 
        )

    [date_query] => 
    [request] => SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS  wp_posts.ID
					 FROM wp_posts 
					 WHERE 1=1  AND wp_posts.post_type = 'post' AND ((wp_posts.post_status = 'publish'))
					 
					 ORDER BY RAND()
					 LIMIT 0, 3
    [posts] => Array
        (
            [0] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 5065
                    [post_author] => 4
                    [post_date] => 2026-09-01 14:03:32
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2026-09-01 18:03:32
                    [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












                    [post_title] => BioREACH: Translational Research Funding Opportunity
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => open
                    [ping_status] => open
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => bioreach-translational-research-funding-opportunity
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2026-09-04 11:55:36
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2026-09-04 15:55:36
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => https://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=5065
                    [menu_order] => 0
                    [post_type] => post
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

            [1] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 4445
                    [post_author] => 4
                    [post_date] => 2024-06-10 15:37:44
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2024-06-10 19:37:44
                    [post_content] => 

Envisagenics, an AI-enabled biotechnology firm specializing in RNA splicing therapeutics, has announced the completion of its Series B funding round. This round included investments from existing supporters Third Kind Venture Capital, Empire State Development, and Red Cell Partners, as well as new strategic investor Bristol Myers Squibb, which has been collaborating with Envisagenics on oncology research since 2022.





Read more about Envisagenics Series B award here. 







                    [post_title] => CFB Client Envisagenics Secures $25 Million Series B Funding to Advance RNA Splicing Therapeutics
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => open
                    [ping_status] => open
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => envisagenics-secures-25-million-series-b-funding-to-advance-rna-splicing-therapeutics
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2025-05-01 12:39:53
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-05-01 16:39:53
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => https://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=4445
                    [menu_order] => 0
                    [post_type] => post
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

            [2] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 2064
                    [post_author] => 3
                    [post_date] => 2015-12-07 20:15:00
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2015-12-07 20:15:00
                    [post_content] => Accelerating Biomedical Discoveries for Commercialization

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – December 7, 2015 - The Center for Biotechnology at Stony Brook University, on behalf of the Long Island Bioscience Hub (LIBH), announced today the recipients of the first technology development grants awarded by the Hub. Thirteen awards totaling $900,000 were granted to applicants from Stony Brook University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and Brookhaven National Laboratory.

The LIBH technology development grants are a multi-tiered funding initiative aimed at collectively contributing to a pipeline of commercially promising biomedical technology in the region. The three funding initiatives include Feasibility, Proof of Concept and Commercialization awards.

Feasibility awards 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 of an existing technology.  Proof of Concept Awards provide targeted, milestone driven support for proof of concept research, development, testing, and analysis of existing intellectual property. The final tier, Commercialization Awards, provide targeted, milestone-driven support for a subset of projects with existing intellectual property where additional investment will clearly advance the technology to a major value inflection point for commercialization.

The grants awarded this cycle will support technologies developed across multiple disciplines including pharmacology, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and microbiology. Among the award recipients were two post-doctoral researchers. Of the thirteen grants awarded, eight were Feasibility awards and five were Proof of Concept Awards. The recipients of this round of awards are:

Feasibility awards

    
	
  • Targeting Pathogenic Viral Infections with First-In-Class Viral Budding Inhibitors - Dr. Carol Carter
    • 
	
  • Development of Small Molecule Inhibitors for PLD6 as Therapeutics for Triple Negative Breast Cancer - Dr. Michael Frohman
    • 
	
  • Novel miR-129 Based Therapeutics for Colon Cancer - Dr. Jingfang Ju
    • 
	
  • Fast Hybrid Approach For Determination of Structure of Therapeutic Protein Complexes - Dr. Dima Kosakov
    • 
	
  • Enhancement of Protein Yields Using Mechanical Signals: Augmenting Biotech Production to Reduce Drug Costs - Dr. Gabriel Pagnotti
    • 
	
  • Non-invasive Acoustic Radiation Force Therapy for OA Induced Pain and Cartilage Regeneration - Dr. Yixian Qin
    • 
	
  • LDL as Biomarker for Childhood Tuberculosis (TB) - Dr. Xinxin Yang
    • 


Proof of Concept awards

    
	
  • A New Standard of Care for Implant Bed Preparation Utilizing an Innovative Drill Bit Technology - Dr. Marcous Abboud
    • 
	
  • Orthovoltage X-Ray Minibeams: Brain Tumor Therapy with Tissue-sparing Incident Beams - Dr. Avraham Dilmanian
    • 
	
  • NEW‐HARP: A Highly Sensitive Avalanche Selenium Detector for Time‐of‐Flight (TOF) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) - Dr. Amirhossein Goldan
    • 
	
  • Azasteroids for Combination Anti-TB Therapy - Dr. Nicole Sampson
    • 
	
  • A Novel Glioblastoma Drug – Oncolytic Virus PV1-Mono-Cre - Dr. Eckard Wimmer
    • 


​“We are excited to see such a robust and diverse portfolio of early stage technologies supported through the LIBH and NIH-REACH consortium,” said Clinton T. Rubin, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Director, Center for Biotechnology. “We are hopeful that this investment by the federal and state government, as well as SBU, CSHL and BNL, will foster and accelerate the translation of these technologies from the bench to the bed side, and help attract further investment from the industrial and financial sectors.”

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.
                    [post_title] => Long Island Bioscience Hub Announces Funded Projects
                    [post_excerpt] => 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => open
                    [ping_status] => open
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => long-island-bioscience-hub-announces-funded-projects
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2016-03-29 20:18:36
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2016-03-29 20:18:36
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=2064
                    [menu_order] => 195
                    [post_type] => post
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

            [3] => WP_Post Object
                (
                    [ID] => 3107
                    [post_author] => 3
                    [post_date] => 2018-12-18 16:28:18
                    [post_date_gmt] => 2018-12-18 16:28:18
                    [post_content] => The Center for Biotechnology will be hosting our annual SBIR/STTR NIH Focused Workshop on January 15-16, 2019.

Did you know that the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) SBIR/STTR programs award over $2.6 billion in high-risk, non-diluted R&D funding annually to qualified small businesses?

Learn more about SBIR/STTR funding at this 1.5-day session focused on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) which will cover program essentials and how to compete for funding. Training will include:
– Current information on the SBIR/STTR programs
– Strategies for targeting your proposal to address the mission and requirements of the NIH
– How to approach each section of your proposal
– Planning your commercialization strategy
– Writing to meet the reviewers’ expectations

Tuesday, January 15, 2019, 8:30am – 4:30pm
Wednesday, January 17, 2019, 8:30am –12:00pm

Location: Long Island High Technology Incubator
Main Conference Room
25 Health Sciences Drive
Stony Brook, NY 11794

Registration Fee: $60 | Space is Limited. Pre-registration is required.
REGISTER ONLINE
                    [post_title] => SBIR/STTR INTENSIVE WORKSHOP: NIH FOCUSED
                    [post_excerpt] => The Center for Biotechnology will be hosting our annual SBIR/STTR NIH Focused Workshop on January 15-16, 2019. 
                    [post_status] => publish
                    [comment_status] => open
                    [ping_status] => open
                    [post_password] => 
                    [post_name] => sbirsttr-intensive-workshop-nih-focused
                    [to_ping] => 
                    [pinged] => 
                    [post_modified] => 2019-01-24 15:35:16
                    [post_modified_gmt] => 2019-01-24 15:35:16
                    [post_content_filtered] => 
                    [post_parent] => 0
                    [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=3107
                    [menu_order] => 107
                    [post_type] => post
                    [post_mime_type] => 
                    [comment_count] => 0
                    [filter] => raw
                )

        )

    [post_count] => 4
    [current_post] => -1
    [before_loop] => 1
    [in_the_loop] => 
    [post] => WP_Post Object
        (
            [ID] => 5065
            [post_author] => 4
            [post_date] => 2026-09-01 14:03:32
            [post_date_gmt] => 2026-09-01 18:03:32
            [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












            [post_title] => BioREACH: Translational Research Funding Opportunity
            [post_excerpt] => 
            [post_status] => publish
            [comment_status] => open
            [ping_status] => open
            [post_password] => 
            [post_name] => bioreach-translational-research-funding-opportunity
            [to_ping] => 
            [pinged] => 
            [post_modified] => 2026-09-04 11:55:36
            [post_modified_gmt] => 2026-09-04 15:55:36
            [post_content_filtered] => 
            [post_parent] => 0
            [guid] => https://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=5065
            [menu_order] => 0
            [post_type] => post
            [post_mime_type] => 
            [comment_count] => 0
            [filter] => raw
        )

    [comment_count] => 0
    [current_comment] => -1
    [found_posts] => 288
    [max_num_pages] => 96
    [max_num_comment_pages] => 0
    [is_single] => 
    [is_preview] => 
    [is_page] => 
    [is_archive] => 
    [is_date] => 
    [is_year] => 
    [is_month] => 
    [is_day] => 
    [is_time] => 
    [is_author] => 
    [is_category] => 
    [is_tag] => 
    [is_tax] => 
    [is_search] => 
    [is_feed] => 
    [is_comment_feed] => 
    [is_trackback] => 
    [is_home] => 1
    [is_privacy_policy] => 
    [is_404] => 
    [is_embed] => 
    [is_paged] => 
    [is_admin] => 
    [is_attachment] => 
    [is_singular] => 
    [is_robots] => 
    [is_favicon] => 
    [is_posts_page] => 
    [is_post_type_archive] => 
    [query_vars_hash:WP_Query:private] => 325c4f9f1aebaa5ec90666fa54175ba0
    [query_vars_changed:WP_Query:private] => 
    [thumbnails_cached] => 
    [allow_query_attachment_by_filename:protected] => 
    [stopwords:WP_Query:private] => 
    [compat_fields:WP_Query:private] => Array
        (
            [0] => query_vars_hash
            [1] => query_vars_changed
        )

    [compat_methods:WP_Query:private] => Array
        (
            [0] => init_query_flags
            [1] => parse_tax_query
        )

    [query_cache_key:WP_Query:private] => 
)

BioREACH: Translational Research Funding Opportunity

September 1, 2026

More Information

CFB Client Envisagenics Secures $25 Million Series B Funding to Advance RNA Splicing Therapeutics

June 10, 2024

More Information

Long Island Bioscience Hub Announces Funded Projects

December 7, 2015

More Information

SBIR/STTR INTENSIVE WORKSHOP: NIH FOCUSED

December 18, 2018

More Information