Governor Hochul Announces Launch of SUNY Brain Institute With $10 Million Investment to Fuel SUNY Excellence in Life-Saving Research

Appropriation from 2025-26 Enacted State Budget Will Fund Research Infrastructure and Shared Equipment at Eligible SUNY Campuses

Multi-Campus Initiative Will Increase Collaboration, Expand SUNY’s Neuroscience Research, and Investigate Topics Including Brain Aging, Stroke, and Mental Health

Governor Kathy Hochul announced a $10 million investment to launch the SUNY Brain Institute; a multi-campus initiative focused on expanding SUNY’s groundbreaking neuroscience research. The SUNY Brain Institute will fund shared equipment and research infrastructure at SUNY institutions with significant capacity in this vital area, including SUNY’s four University Centers, as well as the State University of New York Upstate Medical University, State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University, and other research-intensive campuses.

“SUNY campuses are leading the way on groundbreaking research that saves lives and improves the quality of life for millions of New Yorkers and people around the planet,”

Governor Hochul said. “The SUNY Brain Institute will leverage all of the strengths of our statewide public higher education system by increasing our researchers’ capacity for new discoveries and life-saving treatments. This is a smart, strategic investment in neuroscience research that will improve lives.”

The $10 million investment is made possible by the capital support SUNY received from the 2025-26 enacted state budget. The new SUNY Brain Institute will foster collaborative neuroscience research between SUNY's over 600 active neuroscience faculty researchers to investigate topics such as brain aging, stroke, mental health, neurodegenerative disorders, and neurotechnology.

The funds will be allocated following the solicitation of proposals from eligible SUNY campuses for shared equipment and research infrastructure. Existing neuroscience research across SUNY includes projects on:

• The progression of early Alzheimer’s disease, and the effects of circadian rhythms on learning and memory at the State University of New York at Albany.
• A study at the State University of New York at Binghamton exploring how electrical engineering principles can be used to better understand neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease and Lewy body dementia.
• Work on the development of an Alzheimer’s vaccine at the State University of New York at Buffalo that uses immunotherapy to target key sites of the disease’s two main proteins to train the immune system to recognize and attack the proteins more broadly.
• A study at the State University of New York at Stony Brook published in Nature Communications Medicine showcasing technologies that could be used to treat traumatic brain injuries.
• State University of New York Upstate Medical research on vision restoration and identifying cures for the conditions that cause vision degradation and loss.
• A study at the State University of New York Downstate Health Sciences University which demonstrates how stress resilience skills in adolescence can improve mental health in adulthood.