Eight joint teams from Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory have been awarded a total of $317,000 to support new research collaborations as part of the annual SBU-BNL Seed Grant Program.

The SBU-BNL Seed Grant program — now in its 23rd year — is an annual competition fostering collaborative efforts between scientists at Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory. Its mission is to provide key opportunities for developing synergistic activities that can grow research programs aligned with the strategic plans of both institutions. The program is an avenue to launch research that will advance investigators into a position to pursue new external funding.

The subject of proposals can be any scientific topic that is of joint interest to SBU and BNL and should be innovative and exploratory and in line with the seeding character of the program. The awards are made using funds provided by Stony Brook University President Maurie McInnis ($250,000) and the Office of Brookhaven Affairs ($67,000), and the total of $317,000 is the highest ever.

A record number of eight proposals were designated for funding, between $25,000 and $45,000, and included proposals from various disciplines across campus and the School of Medicine. In past years, a number of successful proposals have led to millions of dollars in external funding and advancements in the scientific community.

This year’s successful principal investigators (PI) and their research projects included:

Zhaozheng Yin (PI, Biomedical Informatics and Computer Science) and Xianghui Xiao (Co-PI, NSLS II): Annotation-efficient Deep Learning for High-throughput Biological Discovery

Haibin Ling (PI, Computer Science) and Qun Liu (Co-PI, NSLS II/Biology): DeepCryo: Heterogeneous Electron Microscopy Analysis using Deep Learning

Klaus Dehmelt (PI, Physics and Astronomy) and Takao Sakaguchi (Co-PI, Physics): A novel readout system for particle detectors based on Si-pixel readout chips

Markus Seeliger (PI, Pharacological Science/Chemistry) and Alexi Soares (Co-PI, NSLS II/Life Sciences/Biomedical Tech): LI-XRA:Lead Identification through High Throughput X-ray Crystallography

Jacob Houghton (PI, Radiology) and Vanessa Sanders (Co-PI, Collider Accelerator/MIRP): iRGD-Mediated Enhancement of Targeted α-Particle Therapy for Pancreatic Cancer

Klaus Mueller (PI, Computer Science) and Xianghui Xiao (Co-PI, NSLS II): Semantic Fusion and Visualization of Multi-Channel Multi-Modality Volume Data for Material Science Research

Dimitris Assanis (PI, Mechanical Engineering) and Rebecca Trojanowski (Co-PI, Energy Conversion Group, Interdisciplinary Science Department): Large Eddy Simulations for Superior, Computatoinally Optimized Oxidation using Biomass (LESS CO₂ using Biomass)

Shanshan Yao (PI, Mechanical Engineering) and Esther Tsai (Co-PI, Center for Functional Nanomaterials): Multiscale Design and Characterization of Soft–Rigid Interfaces for Hybrid Skin-Like Wearable Electronics and Soft Robotics

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