Stony Brook University Opens First Renovated Flagship Research Lab Quadrant

From left: Eugene Serebryany; Leonard Cheung; Stony Brook Medicine Executive Vice President William Wertheim, MD; Peter Igarashi, MD, Knapp Endowed Dean of the Stony Brook Renaissance School of Medicine; Susan Hedayati, MD, Lina Obeid Chair in Biomedical Sciences and vice dean for research at RSOM; and Diego Restrepo,chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. Photo credit: @alexisraephoto.

Lab will advance biomedical science with New York State Support

Stony Brook University's Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) celebrated the completion of SUNY Flagship 1 Research Lab, the first renovated research space to open under the New York State SUNY Flagship Lab Modernization program. The ribbon-cutting ceremony marks a milestone in a multi-year, $100 million investment to transform research infrastructure across Stony Brook.

The State University of New York at Stony Brook is joined by the State University of New York at Buffalo as New York State's two public flagship institutions, accompanied by a $200 million capital commitment to modernize research buildings, laboratories, and instrumentation at both campuses. Stony Brook's $100 million share has been allocated across three research divisions: Health Sciences Center, RSOM and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

The renovation program is organized into research quadrants, each representing approximately 6,000 square feet of laboratory space with 4,000 square feet of occupiable area. The redesigned spaces feature more open floor plans to foster collaboration, updated systems to reduce energy and water use and modern infrastructure to support next-generation research. Flagship 1 Research Lab is the first of a series of renovations across the Health Sciences Center, with work on the next already underway.

This inaugural Flagship Research Lab houses three research groups from the Department of Physiology and Biophysics within the RSOM, each advancing work that touches on a variety of fields throughout the school, such as neuroscience, cancer, infectious disease, aging and cardiovascular and kidney disease.

Leonard Cheung's laboratory investigates the pituitary gland and its role in thyroid hormone regulation, with a focus on hypothyroidism and on identifying more precise treatment approaches beyond the synthetic hormone therapies currently in wide use. Eugene Serebryany's team studies how changes in protein shape drive conditions such as cataracts and Parkinson's disease, while also developing novel proteins and peptides with potential applications in fighting infection and cancer, drawing on an interdisciplinary approach that spans biology, chemistry, physics and artificial intelligence.

Richard Lin's laboratory rounds out the quadrant with research aimed at improving treatment for lung and pancreatic cancers, two of the most difficult malignancies to manage. Using patient samples collected through the Department of Veterans Affairs from sites across the country, his team examines how specific tumor mutations influence treatment response, work that holds promise for more personalized therapies for New York patients and veterans nationwide.

"The opening of our first Flagship Research Lab marks a major step forward in strengthening Stony Brook's role as a leading public research institution," said Executive Vice President of Stony Brook Medicine William Wertheim, MD. "We are deeply grateful for Governor Kathy Hochul, New York State and SUNY's investment, which is enabling us to modernize our infrastructure in ways that directly support discovery, collaboration and the translation of research into better care for the communities we serve. This initiative reflects a shared commitment to ensuring that our researchers have the cutting-edge environments they need to drive innovation and improve health outcomes across Long Island and beyond."

"Flagship 1 Research Lab represents the kind of state-of-the-art facilities that today's biomedical science demands," said Peter Igarashi, MD, Knapp Endowed Dean of the RSOM. "By bringing together multidisciplinary teams in modern, flexible spaces, we are accelerating discoveries across basic, translational and clinical science. This new lab not only enhances our research capabilities but also strengthens our ability to train the next generation of physicians and basic scientists and deliver innovative, patient-centered solutions."

Stony Brook University Interim Vice President for Research and Innovation Mónica Bugallo said, "Transformative infrastructure of this caliber serves as the vital bridge between groundbreaking biomedical discovery and the life changing care we deliver to patients across Long Island and beyond. Flagship 1 Research Lab strengthens Stony Brook's leadership in biomedical research by providing our researchers and students with state-of-the-art environments that foster collaboration, accelerate discovery, cultivate the next generation of scientific leaders and ultimately shapes the future of patient care."

SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. said, "Through this new laboratory space, made possible by the commitment of Governor Kathy Hochul, the State Legislature, and the SUNY Board of Trustees, the State University of New York at Stony Brook will continue to advance SUNY's research excellence and conduct groundbreaking research that improves the lives, health and safety of all New Yorkers. Congratulations to the State University of New York at Stony Brook on the opening of its new laboratory."

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