Stony Brook University Cancer Center Gets Funding Boost

STONY BROOK, NY — The Stony Brook University Cancer Center received funding to aid in the battle against cancer, the university announced Monday. The New York state budget funding is meant to help the cancer center attain National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center status.

Overall, in the past four budgets, state Assemblyman Steve Englebright has secured more than $2.6 million for the cancer center for funding major research activities, especially the development of cutting edge clinical trials, during a multi-year application process to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

While 71 NCI-designated cancer centers exist in the United States, the closest NCI facility to Long Island residents is based in New York City. The lack of proximity is a burden for the tens of thousands of Long Islanders diagnosed with cancer each year and their loved ones, the university said.

NCI designation would allow Stony Brook Medicine to hire additional researchers and clinical investigators to work in its research laboratories, spurring even more funding for breakthrough discoveries.

"With a population greater than 21 other states, Long Island needs convenient access to top-level research and clinical care rather than having its most vulnerable cancer patients travel prohibitive distances for treatment," said Dr. Yusuf Hannun, Stony Brook University Cancer Center director, via news release. "The Stony Brook Cancer Center has developed outstanding research programs that build on several areas of exceptional strength at Stony Brook University. Receiving an NCI Cancer Center designation will enhance accessibility for Long Island residents and support economic activity in the region through nearly $50 million in available federal research funds. We are grateful to Assemblyman Englebright’s funding of the future of cancer care and research at the Stony Brook Cancer Center."

Stony Brook Cancer Center also assembled an external advisory board of clinical and research cancer experts, including the director of the NCI-designated Roswell Park Cancer Center in Buffalo.

A board review was conducted to determine Stony Brook's readiness to be designated as an NCI. The review found that Stony Brook, out of the other institutions seeking the designation, "has one of the strongest research bases and can demonstrably illustrate that it is making enormous contributions to the oncology field," according to the release provided by Stony Brook Medicine.

Stony Brook receives nearly $25 million in annual external funding for cancer research, primarily through the NCI, other NIH institutes, and the National Science Foundation. These grants support cutting-edge research meant to find a cure for various cancers that affect Long Islanders and beyond.

More than 30 new faculty members have been hired to work at the Stony Brook Cancer Center over the past six years.