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Long Island BioMentor Initiative Welcomes New Mentors

The Long Island BioMentor Initiative (LIBMI), created and managed by the Center for Biotechnology, is excited to welcome two new mentors, Dr. Annie Rohan, PhD, RN, FAANP, FAAN and Mike Horan, MBA.

Dr. Annie Rohan is currently Dean of the Henry P. Becton School Nursing and Allied Health at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Rohan is a dual-certified Nurse Practitioner whose academic achievements rest on the foundation of a 25-year clinical career caring for critically and chronically ill infants and children, and highest-risk families. To support diversification of the healthcare workforce, she has procured over $10-million in federal funding to support the education of underrepresented and disadvantaged students into the allied health and nursing professions. Dr. Rohan is currently Associate Editor for MCN: The American Journal of Maternal-Child Nursing, and has been honored with Fellowship in both the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) and American Academy of Nursing (FAAN).

Mike Horan, MBA is a Product Development, Engineering, and Operations Executive. He is an accomplished engineering and technology business leader with over 30 years of experience in product development. At Zebra Technologies, he currently serves as the Sr. Director of Global Quality overseeing quality for their product and solutions portfolio, supply chain and QMS. Mike has experience in Strategic & Portfolio Planning, Engineering Leadership, Program Management, Supply Chain, Manufacturing and Operations —all in a global environment. He is a highly motivational leader with experience in building high-performing teams.

The LIBM brings highly qualified volunteer mentors together with motivated, early-stage bioentrepreneurs to provide actionable guidance and support as they advance their business strategy. The initiative was developed in an alliance with MIT’s successful Venture Mentor Service and employs a team mentoring approach which is guided by a statement of principles to ensure confidentiality and a conflict free environment.

To learn more about the program or get involved, visit the LIBMI website or contact Ashley Abid, LIBMI Operations Manger (ashley.abid@stonybrook.edu)

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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

[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] => 3469 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2020-05-05 08:25:54 [post_date_gmt] => 2020-05-05 08:25:54 [post_content] => *This list will be updated as opportunities arise. (Updated 7.21.20)

NIH & NIAD Limited Competition Emergency Awards: Shared PPPE Resources for COVID-19 Related Vaccine and Treatment Clinical Trials and Clinical Studies

The purpose of this public health emergency funding opportunity is to provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to directly support the needs of the NIAID’s vaccine and treatment clinical trials and clinical studies for COVID-19. This program will ensure that adequate protective equipment is available to directly assist in safely carrying out the clinical activities and direct interactions with the patients participating in the trial. Eligibility is limited to recipients conducting COVID-related clinical research and clinical studies supported by NIAID’s emergency appropriation provided by “The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020” and “The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act”. Rolling deadline - details here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-20-256.html#_Section_I._Funding

NIH & NIBIB Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) 

Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx), is a fast-track technology development program that leverages the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Point-of-Care Technology Research Network (POCTRN). RADx is structured to deliver innovative testing strategies to the public as soon as late summer 2020 and is an accelerated and comprehensive multi-pronged effort by NIH to make SARS-CoV-2 testing readily available to every American. The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is urgently soliciting proposals and can provide up to $500M across multiple projects to rapidly produce innovative SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests that will assist the public’s safe return to normal activities. Learn more: https://www.poctrn.org/radx

Pfizer COVID-19 Competitive Grant Program 

Pfizer has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) to provide financial support for organizations producing independent educational programs and quality improvement initiatives designed to combat this evolving crisis. This competitive grant program from Pfizer Global Medical Grants (GMG) involves a publicly posted RFP that provides details regarding a specific area of interest, sets timelines for review and approval, and uses an internal review process to make final grant decisions. For this RFP, organizations are invited to submit an application addressing the gaps in knowledge and practice of COVID-19 management as outlined here.

Mozilla launches COVID-19 Solutions Fund

Mozilla has created a COVID-19 Solutions Fund as part of the Mozilla Open Source Support Program (MOSS). Through this fund, awards of up to $50,000 each will be provided to open source technology projects which are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in some way. As part of the COVID-19 Solutions Fund, applications that are hardware (e.g., an open source ventilator), software (e.g., a platform that connects hospitals with people who have 3D printers who can print parts for that open source ventilator), as well as software that solves for secondary effects of COVID-19 (e.g., a browser plugin that combats COVID related misinformation)will be accepted. More details here. Application here.

NYS COVID-19 Manufacturing Grants for Masks, Ventilators

The COVID-19 Manufacturing Grants, part of the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, are designed to aid existing New York State small to medium-sized manufacturing companies that can meet prevailing FDA requirements and can quickly accelerate production of personal protective equipment and respiratory care equipment that has been depleted due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Full details here. (Deadline April 17, 2020)

NIBIB announces three COVID-19 Notices of Special Interest

Multiple Notices of Special Interest include administrative supplements and emergency competitive revisions funding for current grantees; SBIR/STTR opportunities; and investigator-initiated research opportunities. Current grantees and new applicants are encouraged to apply immediately. More here.

Fast Grants 

Fast Funding for COVID-19 Science. Scientist at academic institutions currently working on a COVID-19 related project and in need of funding are invited to apply for a Fast Grant. Fast Grants are $10k to $500k and decisions are made in under 48 hours. More: fastgrants.org

NIH COVID-Specific Funding Opportunities (Update) 

Multiple Agency NOSI listed here. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases: Partnerships for Countermeasures against Select Pathogens (R01 Clinical Trials Not Allowed) RFA-AI-20-028 Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Funds may be available for administrative supplements to meet increased costs that are within the scope of the approved award. More. Urgent Competitive Revision to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Funds may be available for competitive revisions to meet immediate needs to help address a specific public health crisis in a timely manner. More.

NSF Request for SBIR/STTR Phase I Proposals Addressing COVID-19

Phase I proposals should focus on the development and deployment of new technologies, products, processes, and services with the potential to positively impact the nation’s and world’s ability to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. Areas of research include, but are not limited to: artificial intelligence, digital health, diagnostics, distributed ledger, environmental technologies, medical devices, pharmaceutical technologies, disinfection and sterilization, and filtration and separations. To apply, you must first develop and submit a Project Pitch at https://seedfund.nsf.gov/apply/. Assuming your pitch is approved, you will be invited by NSF to submit a grant application. More information here.

Department of Defense - Newton Award for Transformative Ideas during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This award will be presented to a single investigator or team of up to two investigators that develops a “transformative idea” to resolve challenges, advance frontiers, and set new paradigms in areas of immense potential benefit to DoD and the nation at large. BRO-20-NEWTON (5/5/20 deadline)

COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator

Established by The Gates Foundation and Wellcome, this initiative aims to accelerate and evaluate new and repurposed drugs and biologics to treat patients with COVID-19 in the immediate term, and other viral pathogens in the longer-term. The COVID-19 Therapeutics Accelerator will not be conducting a traditional funding call. To learn more about the funding process, or how to invest in the accelerator, contact epidemics@wellcome.ac.uk 

Small Business Assistance Programs

Stony Brook University Small Business Development Center is available to assist business owners trough the abundance of resources available for your particular business/industry and to avoid the most common mistake of incomplete or inaccurate Economic Injury Disaster Assistance Loan applications. Visit their website for more information.

Stony Brook University CEAS Student Opportunity: COVID-19 Innovation Teams

Stony Brook University's College of Engineering and Applied Sciences' Vertically Integrated Project Program is focusing special attention on the urgent needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn more.

Innovate2Ventilate: The CoVent-19 Challenge

The CoVent-19 Challenge invites engineers, innovators, designers, and makers to produce rapidly deployable designs for mechanical ventilators. Launching on April 1, 2020, the deadline for the open-entry round of competition is May 1, 2020. Round 2 of the challenge is an invitation-only competition with a deadline of June 1, 2020. More: coventchallenge.com

COVID-19 Funding Opportunities - Summary via Stony Brook University Research 

The funding opportunities listed here are posted on the Pivot database, grants.gov, NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts, and nsf.gov. Detailed information on NIH funding opportunities and other guidance related to COVID-19 can be found here. Investigators should check eligibility and obtain any necessary approvals before applying.

Stony Brook University Faculty Funding Opportunity 

Stony Brook University Office of the Vice President for Research, together with the Institute for Engineering-Driven Medicine, announce this special initiative COVID-19 seed funding opportunity. The purpose of this program is to seed research that has a direct connection to the current COVID-19 pandemic.Applications are due April 10. Details about eligibility, award amounts and application process can be found here.

Contacting New York State to offer your COVID-19 Resource: 

Businesses with capabilities relevant to needed medical equipment and supplies email to COVID19supplies@esd.ny.gov. Businesses interested in selling products to the state should contact Simonida Subotic at 646-522-8477 or covid19supplies@exec.ny.gov. Businesses interested in receiving state funding to manufacture PPE products should contact Eric Gertler at 212-803-3100 or COVID19supplies@esd.ny.gov.

Indie Bio Coronavirus Initiative 

Indie Bio is seeking up to 8 startups to receive a minimum of $250,000 each to pursue the development of diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, disinfection, and other solutions addressing the worldwide problem of emerging infectious diseases. More.

BARDA COVID-19 Funding Opportunities

BARDA BAA (no funding limit)  Novel Coronavirus EZ-BAA (solicitations for funding up to $750K)

Research Foundation of SUNY COVID-19 Funding Opportunities 

**NEW**  SUNY Research Seed Grant Program RFP #20-03-COVID & Submission form. Aggregate list of opportunities: https://www.rfsuny.org/about-us/covid-19/covid-19-funding/

Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) Coronavirus Resources

Resource page includes Business Resource Center, Service Provider Directory and Coronoavirus Hub where companies can share what they need and how they can help.

CAD $200K ventilator design challenge for COVID-19 patients

the Challenge is lead by Code Life.ca and the Montreal General Hospital foundations. The designs are due end of March 2020. The details and rules are posted there, and participants can sign up to begin: https://www.agorize.com/en/challenges/code-life-challenge/ OTHER CHALLENGES Business Incubator Association of New York State - Innovate to Ventilate  Hauppauge Industrial Association of Long Island (HIA-LI) Pivot to PPE RESOURCES COVID-19 Open Research Dataset (CORD-19) Ginkgo commits $25M of free access to platform for partner COVID-19 projects   [post_title] => COVID-19 Funding and Resource Opportunities [post_excerpt] => An aggregate list of COVID-19 related funding opportunities and technology and business related resources. This list will be updated as opportunities arise. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => covid-19-resources [to_ping] => [pinged] => https://indiebio.co/indiebio-covid-response/ [post_modified] => 2024-12-03 15:00:20 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-12-03 20:00:20 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=3469 [menu_order] => 71 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 2417 [post_author] => 3 [post_date] => 2016-10-07 13:15:28 [post_date_gmt] => 2016-10-07 13:15:28 [post_content] => Vitatex, a Stony Brook-based biotechnology company located in the Long Island High Technology Incubator, has announced that it was awarded an SBIR Phase I/II Fast Track contract in September 2015 from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) for its Vita-Cap™ CTC Capture and Preservation tubes. A modification to exercise the option for a two-year SBIR Phase II of the contract was executed on June 8, 2016. Vitatex Inc. provides proprietary invasive circulating tumor cell (iCTC) enrichment technology and products to develop revolutionary cancer genetic and cell tests. These "liquid biopsies" focus on next generation sequencing (NGS) detection, gene expression profiling and flow cytometry and have recently been adopted by the clinical laboratory community to characterize cancer cells and/or their RNA/DNA in blood samples non-invasively and serially, and to acquire genetic alternations and drug resistance information, which have the potential to replace tests run on surgical biopsies. Clinical metastasis of solid tumors is linked to blood-borne dissemination of viable tumor cells in the circulation and clinical instrumentation is now available to isolate, enumerate, culture, generate metastatic mouse models and perform molecular analyses on these circulating tumor cells (CTCs). However, CTCs are fragile and tend to degrade within a few days when collected in standard blood collection tubes. "The functional CTC preparation tube is designed to collect, enrich and preserve the viability/functionality of cancer cells in blood all within a closed system" said Wen-Tien Chen, PhD., Chief Scientific Officer of Vitatex. "The goal is to define conditions of Vitatex CTC preparation tubes for capturing and preserving cancer cells in the blood of patients with breast, ovarian and other types for up to 96 hours of transit." Specific terms of the contract were not disclosed. [post_title] => Vitatex Awarded NCI Contract [post_excerpt] => Stony Brook biotech company, Vitatex, has announced it was awarded an NCI Contract for Circulating Tumor Cell (CTC) Capture and Preservation Tubes. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => vitatex-awarded-nci-contract [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2016-12-06 15:12:47 [post_modified_gmt] => 2016-12-06 15:12:47 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/?p=2417 [menu_order] => 164 [post_type] => post [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 422 [post_author] => 4 [post_date] => 2014-10-28 08:40:19 [post_date_gmt] => 2014-10-28 08:40:19 [post_content] => The Life Sciences Summit is an early stage investor and business development conference that highlights innovation. The objective of the event is to connect biotech and academic innovators with the capital and strategic partners they will need to move new discoveries into clinical development. This year's event will take place on October 28-29 at 10 on the Park at Time Warner Center in New York City. Visit www.lifesciencessummit.org for full event details. [post_title] => Life Sciences Summit 2014: October 28-29, NYC [post_excerpt] => An early stage investor and business development conference that highlights innovation. [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => open [ping_status] => open [post_password] => [post_name] => life-sciences-summit-2014-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2015-01-28 17:03:41 [post_modified_gmt] => 2015-01-28 17:03:41 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => http://centerforbiotechnology.org/new/?p=422 [menu_order] => 221 [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

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BioREACH: Translational Research Funding Opportunity

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COVID-19 Funding and Resource Opportunities

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Vitatex Awarded NCI Contract

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Life Sciences Summit 2014: October 28-29, NYC

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