Stony Brook University News

SBU Collaborative Study of New HIV Drug Shows Significant Viral Load Reduction For Patients Resistant To Therapy

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:02:48 PST

A study led by Roy T. Steigbigel, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Pathology, Microbiology and Pharmacological Sciences at Stony Brook University Medical Center, and colleagues worldwide demonstrated that raltegravir, a new medication to treat HIV infection, combined with other anti-HIV medications, provided superior suppression of HIV-1 in patients with highly resistant virus compared to placebo used with other anti-HIV medications.

Analysis Of Hudson River Fish By SBU Research Team Shows Strong Drop In Mercury

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:52:44 PST

Jeffrey S. Levinton, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University and the senior author of the study done with Sharon T. Pochron, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University, found that mercury in common Hudson River fish including striped bass, yellow perch, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass and carp, has declined strongly over the past three decades.

Discovery Of A Lyme Disease Bug Clone May Explain Disease Spread

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:31:45 PST

Benjamin Luft, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Stony Brook University Medical Center, and colleagues discovered that a certain clone of Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochete that causes Lyme disease, appears to be the most common strain causing Lyme disease in North America and Europe, and may account for the increase in cases for the past 20 years.

SBUMC Researchers Link Low Level Urinary Cadmium Concentrations To Osteoporosis In U.S. Women

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 15:40:50 PST

Researchers from Stony Brook University Medical Center have found that women in the United States who have urinary cadmium levels that are below the U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration safety standard are at risk for osteoporosis.

SBUMC Conducts Trial Of Novel Treatment For Patients With Severe Crohn's Disease

Fri, 30 May 2008 12:23:12 PST

Many patients with Crohn’s disease develop advancing disease and no longer respond to therapy. To help patients refractory to treatment, Stony Brook University Medical Center is conducting a clinical trial that infuses cells derived from adult bone marrow into patients to induce disease remission.

SBU Researchers First To Create A "Molecular Snapshot" Of A Virulence Factor On The Bacterial Surface

Thu, 29 May 2008 16:33:15 PST

David G. Thanassi, Ph.D., and co-investigators from Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Washington University, and University College in London, are the first to capture a view of proteins during translocation across the bacterial outer membrane.

New Stony Brook University Endowment Benefits College Of Engineering And Applied Sciences

Thu, 29 May 2008 10:14:14 PST

The College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) at Stony Brook University received a $500,000 endowment from Long Island business leader and philanthropist, Dr. Leo Guthart. The Leo Guthart Endowed Fund for Excellence in Engineering and Applied Sciences will fund scholarship awards for students as well as support innovative faculty teaching and research programs in CEAS beginning in the fall semester of 2009.

Frey Family Foundation Establishes $1.5M Endowed Chair In Quantitative Finance At Stony Brook University

Mon, 12 May 2008 15:03:09 PST

– Robert J. and Kathryn B. Frey, on behalf of the Frey Family Foundation, announced today a gift of $1.5 million for establishment of the “Frey Family Endowed Chair in Quantitative Finance” in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS) at Stony Brook University.

SBUMC Researcher: More Than 25 Percent Of Americans Experience Pain, Based On Novel Community- Based Diary-Survey

Fri, 02 May 2008 09:45:22 PST

Based on a random survey of nearly 4,000 respondents in the United States, Arthur A. Stone, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University, and Alan Krueger, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Economics and the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, report than more than 25 percent of American men and women experience daily pain.

Researchers Determine Early Humans From East Africa Were Equipped To Dine On Hard Foods But Preferred A Softer Fare

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 10:19:01 PST

Careful analysis of microscopic abrasions on the teeth of early human relatives by researchers at Stony Brook University, the University of Arkansas, and Johns Hopkins University show that although it was equipped with thick enamel, large jaws and powerful chewing muscles, this ancient species may not have eaten the nuts, seeds or roots their anatomy suggests. Instead, the tooth wear suggests a diet that consisted mainly of softer foods, as reported in next week’s Public Library of Science One.

Researchers Including SBU MacArthur Genius, Pat Wright, Develop Map Protecting Rare Species Living in Biodiversity Hot Spot in Madagascar

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:52:25 PST

An international team of researchers, including Dr. Patricia Wright, the world-renowned anthropologist and conservationist from Stony Brook University, Long Island, NY, has developed a remarkable new road map for finding and protecting the best remaining holdouts for thousands of rare species that live only in Madagascar, considered one of the most significant biodiversity hot spots in the world.

A New Artificial Material Shows the Pathway To Improved Electronics Reported in April 10 Issue Of Nature

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:25:58 PST

STONY BROOK, NY, April 15, 2008 - In the 10 April issue of Nature, a new artificial material is revealed that marks the beginning of a revolution in the development of materials for electronic applications. The discovery results from a collaboration between the theory group of Professor Philippe Ghosez (University of Liège, Belgium) and the experimental group of Professor Jean-Marc Triscone (University of Geneva, Switzerland). One of the lead researchers on this project, Matthew Dawber, who recently joined the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stony Brook University, will be at the forefront of the continued effort to make and understand these revolutionary artificial materials in his new lab.

Cavities In Children Reduced More Than 60 Percent by New Experimental Chewable MInt Invented by SBU Dentist

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 16:11:56 PST

Ortek Therapeutics, Inc., and Stony Brook University announced today that new data published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Clinical Dentistry demonstrate the effects of a new chewable mint in preventing cavities in children. This investigational product, called BasicMints™, contains CaviStat®, an innovative, fluoride-free, cavity-fighting complex. CaviStat is designed to mimic the profound cavity fighting benefits of saliva, by neutralizing harmful plaque acids and simultaneously promoting the remineralization of the tooth structure. The results show the children who were administered BasicMints had 62 percent fewer cavities in their molars after one year compared to children in the placebo group.

Stony Brook University Researcher Achieves Breakthroughs In Mid-Infrared Diode Lasers

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:07:20 PST

Stony Brook University’s NYSTAR-designated Center for Advanced Sensor Technology today announced the achievement of record-breaking output performance by new electrically pumped semiconductor lasers emitting in the mid-infrared spectral region.

SMUMC Tests Experimental Vaccine To Prevent MRSA And Related Infections Post Open-Heart Surgery

Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:35:03 PST

Open-heart surgery patients are at risk of developing various types of infections post-surgery. Staphylococcal aureus, bacteria frequently resistance to antibiotics, specifically MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus), is one cause of infection. Stony Brook University Medical Center is conducting a clinical trial of an experimental vaccine designed to prevent S. aureus bacteremia and/or deep sternal wound infections following cardiothoracic surgery.

Upright Walking Began 6 Million Years Ago

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:18:29 PST

A shape comparison of the most complete fossil femur (thigh bone) of one of the earliest known pre-humans, or hominins, with the femora of living apes, modern humans and other fossils, indicates the earliest form of bipedalism occurred at least six million years ago and persisted for at least four million years. William Jungers, Ph.D., of Stony Brook University, and Brian Richmond, Ph.D., of George Washington University, say their finding indicates that the fossil belongs to very early human ancestors, and that upright walking is one of the first human characteristics to appear in our lineage, right after the split between human and chimpanzee lineages.

SBU Geneticist Is First to Connect A Gene Central to the Formation of Neurons to Autism Spectrum Disorder

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:50:30 PST

Eli Hatchwell, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Stony Brook University Medical Center, and colleagues have found that a disruption of the Contactin 4 gene on chromosome 3 may be linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD). What causes ASD, a developmental disorder of the central nervous system, is largely unknown. Dr. Hatchwell’s finding suggests that mutations affecting Contactin 4 may be relevant to ASD pathogenesis, and thus a potential biomarker for some individuals with the disorder. Details of the study are reported in the early online edition of the Journal of Medical Genetics.

SBU Study Shows Glaucoma Associated With Increased Risk of Cardiovascular Death In Black Patients

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 14:00:09 PST

In a population of African origin, persons with diagnosed and treated glaucoma appeared to have an increased risk of death from cardiovascular causes, according to a study by Suh-Yuh Wu, and colleagues in the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Ophthalmology at Stony Brook University, the University of the West Indies, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The study results are published in the March issue of Archives of Ophthalmology.

SBU Researchers Discover A Family Of Liver Cancer Genes; The Finding Could Lead To More Effective Therapies

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:00:56 PST

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Stony Brook University Medical Center has identified a family of genes linked to the development of liver cancer.

SBU Researcher Discovers 'Giant Frog From Hell' -- Fossil Evidence Of South America/Madagascar Link

Tue, 19 Feb 2008 16:55:40 PST

A team of researchers, led by Stony Brook University paleontologist David Krause, Ph.D., has discovered in Madagascar the remains of what may be the largest frog ever to exist. Moreover, the 16-inch, 10-pound ancient frog, scientifically named Beelzebufo, or devil frog, links a group of frogs that lived 65 to 70 million years ago to some types living today in South America.