Stony Brook University Opens First Renovated Flagship Research Lab Quadrant, Advancing Biomedical Science with New York State Support

STONY BROOK, NY, July 2, 2026 - Stony Brook'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.

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.

Leaders and faculty celebrate the opening of the new research laboratory during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. From left are Eugene Serebryany, PhD; Leonard Cheung, PhD; William Wertheim, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President; Peter Igarashi, MD, Dean of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School; Susan Hedayati, MD, MS, Vice Dean for Research; and Diego Restrepo, PhD, Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.
Credit: @alexisraephoto

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. Dr. 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. Dr. 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.

Dr. 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 William Wertheim, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President, Stony Brook Medicine. "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."

Interim Vice President for Research & Innovation at Stony Brook University 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."

About Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University:

Established in 1971, the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University is a public medical school in Stony Brook, New York. Part of Stony Brook University, a flagship campus of the State University of New York (SUNY) and a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), it is ranked No. 1 in NIH funding among New York's public medical schools. The School comprises eight basic science and 17 clinical departments that provide preclinical and clinical education for medical students while training residents and fellows. RSOM is part of Stony Brook Medicine, the University's medical enterprise, which encompasses Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook Children's Hospital, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, the Long Island State Veterans Home, and more than 200 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. As one of five Health Sciences schools at Stony Brook University, the School of Medicine trains over 500 medical students and more than 750 medical residents and fellows. Faculty research includes National Institutes of Health-sponsored programs in neurological diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, biomedical imaging, regenerative medicine, infectious diseases, and many other fields. Its clinical enterprise is among the largest and highest-quality academic healthcare systems on Long Island, delivering world-class care through more than 41,000 inpatient and 1.77 million outpatient visits. To learn more, visit renaissance.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

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