The State University of New York and the Research Foundation for SUNY (RF) will provide funding for five research projects affiliated with Stony Brook University and other SUNY campuses that focus on the causes, treatments and cures for neurological-based diseases and disorders. The funding will be provided through the SUNY Brain Network of Excellence, which was created to maximize interdisciplinary and collaborative neuroscience research across SUNY campuses and facilitate partnerships with academia, industry and the community.
The five research projects include:
$147,000 to explore the relationship between glaucoma and waste removal system dysfunction around the optic nerve and eye (shared with Downstate Medical Center and University of Rochester Medical Center).
$85,000 to develop novel approaches to determine the environmental risk factors and genetic components that lead to myopia or nearsightedness (shared with SUNY Optometry and Upstate Medical Center).
$106,500 to implement new technology for high-resolution recording and visualization of brain activity associated with urinary tract function (shared with University at Albany).
$46,000 to illuminate the brain mechanisms responsible for generating purposeful eye movements in naturalistic environments (shared with SUNY Optometry).
$80,400 to rely on images of the anatomy and function of the brain to detect rare genetic disorders that affect the central nervous system in infants (shared with University at Buffalo and Jacobs Neurological Institute).
More information about these projects is available online.
The RF awarded a total of $800,000 to eight projects engaging students and faculty on seven SUNY campuses and their partners in the private sector.
“On SUNY campuses across the state, our students and faculty are making major medical breakthroughs, discovering with each new venture a more effective way to understand, diagnose or treat diseases that affect brain and eye function in people of all ages,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Congratulations to all of the project partners supported by this first round of funding.”
Timothy Killeen, president of the RF and SUNY vice chancellor for research, said, “SUNY Brain advances the frontiers of neuroscience research by integrating current investments in neurosciences, neuroclinical services and analytic sciences at multiple SUNY campuses. The range of projects funded showcases the diversity of expertise across SUNY that is applied everyday to resolve neurological-based health problems.”
SUNY Brain is one of five SUNY Networks of Excellence established within the last year to increase research collaborations and spur commercialization activities between SUNY and industry partners in core research areas. The others are SUNY 4E (Energy, Environment, Education, Economics), SUNY Health, SUNY Materials and Advanced Manufacturing, and SUNY Arts and Humanities.
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