2017

Governor Andrew Cuomo awarded a $2 million grant in June to support Stony Brook University efforts to improve water quality in New York State by restoring shellfish to Shinnecock Bay. In response to deteriorating environmental conditions in Shinnecock Bay on Long Island, faculty at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) founded the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program (ShiRP) to build back this vital ecosystem. Cuomo visited SoMAS at the Southampton campus to talk with Chris Gobler about the Stony Brook professor’s research on Brown Tides. An estimated 30 million to 50 million clams are needed to fight brown tide in the bay. Joining Cuomo on the boat that day were Gobler, Assemblyman Fred Thiele, County Executive Steve Bellone, and Assemblyman Steve Englebright.

The discovery in Kenya of a remarkably complete 13 million-year-old fossil ape skull reveals what the common ancestor of all living apes and humans may have looked like. The find, announced in the scientific journal Nature on August 10, 2017, was uncovered by an international team led by Isaiah Nengo of the Stony Brook University-affiliated Turkana Basin Institute , Stony Brook University and De Anza College. It is the best-preserved fossil of its kind ever found, giving researchers an extraordinary glimpse into the early stages of ape evolution.

Surgeons at Stony Brook Children’s Hospital performed the first known surgery of its kind on 3-month-old triplets whose skulls fused prematurely. Hunter, Jackson and Kaden Howard, the first triplets on record born with a rare birth defect that causes an abnormally shaped head, underwent laparoscopic surgery at the hospital in Spring 2017. First-time parents Michael and Amy Howard of Center Moriches, NY, found out shortly after the birth that their triplets had the congenital premature fusion. In the operation, David A. Chesler, MD, PhD, assistant professor of Neurological Surgery and Pediatrics at Stony Brook University School of Medicine, repaired their skulls. The groundbreaking surgery was a total success.

Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. headlined the annual Stars of Stony Brook Gala in April 2017, helping the University to raise money for the Stony Brook Cancer Center, a rising powerhouse for cancer research and clinical care. Honoree Biden, whose family’s personal struggles with cancer have been well chronicled and who led the Cancer Moonshot initiative of the White House, spoke emotionally to a sold-out audience about how research is demystifying cancer and giving science new hope in the battle to end the disease. More than $4.8 million was raised to support cancer research.  Since 2000, the event has raised more than $50 million for scholarships and programs of academic and research ​ excellence across campus.

S tony Brook Hospital became the first in the New York metropolitan area to implant a new commercially available retinal device — a “bionic eye” — to provide artificial vision for patients with retinitis pigmentosa. The device was first implanted in October by Stony Brook University School of Medicine retinal surgeon Khurram Chaudhary, MD, and gave 67-year-old Linda Kirk, of Port Jefferson, NY, the ability to see the world around her for the first time in a half-century.

A Stony Brook Medicine team of 23 volunteers traveled to Puerto Rico in November 2017 as part of a New York State medical relief team providing care for thousands in need after Hurricane Maria devastated the island. Twenty-three Stony Brook staff members, including doctors, nurses, a pharmacist, paramedics, nurse practitioners and nursing assistants, spent more than two weeks treating victims. The volunteers responded after Puerto Rico requested medical help under an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) Mission Order Authorization Request.

A study from the world’s leading lemur expert paints a grim picture for the future of the critically endangered Greater Bamboo Lemur and presents more proof of the impact of climate change on biological diversity. Stony Brook Distinguished Service Professor Patricia Wright , Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences, co-wrote the study, titled Feeding Ecology and Morphology Make a Bamboo Specialist Vulnerable to Climate Change. According to the findings, human disturbance of tropical rainforests in Madagascar, including wildfires, burning and timber exploitation, has led to reduced rainfall and a longer dry season, which is pushing the Greater Bamboo Lemur to the brink of extinction.

Following a highly competitive nationwide selection process, Stony Brook University senior Lydia Senatus ’18 was awarded the 2018 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship , which supports extraordinary individuals seeking to pursue a career in the U.S. Foreign Service. The award is funded by the U.S. Department of State and managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University. Lydia, a Brooklyn, NY, native, plans to pursue a master’s degree in international relations upon graduation to fulfill her dream of becoming a U.S. diplomat .

Actor and philanthropist Michael J. Fox and Stony Brook University graduate and Shutterstock founder Jonathan Oringer received honorary doctoral degrees at the 2017 commencement ceremony at Stony Brook University. In receiving a Doctor of Fine Arts degree, Fox was recognized for a career of international acclaim and his dedication to charitable endeavors best exemplified by the founding of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. Serial entrepreneur Oringer ’96 received a Doctor of Science degree for his contributions to the tech industry as a pioneering programmer and CEO of Shutterstock, a global technology company that disrupted the image licensing industry.