Governor Cuomo Attends Stony Brook Medicine MART Groundbreaking

On Wednesday, November, 13 Stony Brook University Hospital broke ground on a new building that has the potential to not only change healthcare for all who live in the Hamptons and Long Island, but that could have a profound effect regarding the treatment of catastrophic human diseases like cancer nationally, if not worldwide.

With almost 200 physicians, administrators and staff on hand to celebrate the start of the new project, Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D., James Simons, Governor Andrew Cuomo, SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, and Kevin S. Law, President & CEO of the Long Island Association and Chair of the Stony Brook Council, unearthed the first shovels full of dirt to get the $194 million Medical and Research Translation Building (MART) project officially underway.

Former Chairman of the SBU Department of Mathematics, President of Euclidean Capital and Founder and Board Chair of Renaissance Technologies, Mr. Simons and his wife Marilyn Simons recently donated an historic $150 million to Stony Brook University of which $50 million will be designated to the MART project. Additionally, the expansion was made possible by Governor Cuomo and the State University of New York under the leadership of Chancellor Zimpher, through a $35 million NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant.

Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. (Photo: Douglas MacKaye Harrington)

“With this groundbreaking, we took an important step forward in Stony Brook University’s goal to develop the MART, a translational research center that will advance both medical innovation and clinical practice,” said President Stanley. “Yet we would not be here today if it were not for the vision and unwavering commitment of two of our greatest champions, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and our generous friends Jim and Marilyn Simons.”

MART at Stony Brook University Hospital, now called Stony Brook Medicine, is designed to enable, foster and encourage scientists and physicians to work side by side to investigate and discover new clinical treatments and invent new medical technology. It is the first facility to break ground in a $423 million expansion project that will advance research and clinical care at Stony Brook Medicine. The expansion is expected to generate about 4,200 project-related and specialized research jobs in the region.

The 245,000 square foot, eight-story MART, scheduled to be completed in 2016, will be located adjacent to the Hospital and Health Sciences Center on the Medicine campus. It will be a home for understanding the basis for human disease, where scientific discovery will be translated into clinical research, and where promising patient results can be turned into FDA-approved healthcare diagnostic and treatment options. As part of its core mission, the MART will be devoted to cancer research and care, including the new home for the Stony Brook University Cancer Center.

Governor Cuomo noted, “The new MART facility will be a premier center of advanced medical research and treatment, provide our students with the experience needed for careers in the medical field, as well as provide Long Island residents with quality cancer care.”

The MART building will house advanced biomedical imaging and biomedical informatics, including a PET/CT scanner. It will also contain 12 new classrooms and a 300-seat auditorium to host conferences, lectures and other events. The outpatient Cancer Center will include multidisciplinary exam space for medical and surgical oncology, infusion center with private and open bays, pediatric hematology and oncology including pediatric infusion, as well as patient amenities and support. The MART will greatly increase the availability of outpatient cancer treatment to the region by doubling Stony Brook Medicine’s present capacity.

Chancellor Zimpher added, “Thanks to the leadership and vision of our Governor, incredible new medical discoveries, cutting edge cancer research, novel new treatments and perhaps someday even a cure will be developed on a Long Island SUNY campus. This is what’s possible on the 21st century college campus in New York; groundbreaking research that brings together the University’s top scientists with their private sector counterparts to develop and bring to market life-changing technologies.”

Former Chairman of the SBU Department of Mathematics, President of Euclidean Capital and Founder and Board Chair of Renaissance Technologies, Mr. Simons and his wife Marilyn Simons recently donated an historic $150 million to Stony Brook University of which $50 million will be designated to the MART project. (Photo: Douglas MacKaye Harrington)