NY grant a $10M upgrade for Manhasset's Feinstein Institutes

Cutting edge research in Manhasset that uses bioelectronic medicine to find cures for cancer and autoimmune diseases will be enhanced with a $10 million state grant, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday.

The modernization effort will fund the construction of 10 state-of-the-art research labs at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research and renovation of 16 others, targeting novel therapies to combat cancer, lupus, diabetes and obesity, officials said during a news conference at the Manhasset facility.

Funding for the grant, the first to come from the new $350 million Long Island Investment Fund for transformative economic development projects in Nassau and Suffolk, will also support the hiring of 160 research employees and 23 principal investigators, officials said. The fund is part of the state's 2023 budget.

"This was just inconceivable a few years ago," Hochul said at the news conference, referring to the work at Feinstein. "No one could have imagined that you could help people walk again; to come into a facility after something devastating. To come in a wheelchair and see the path to be able to walk out with the assistance of the work that's being done right here. That is powerful. That is transformative."

The 40,000 square feet of new laboratory space will focus on a combination of bioelectronic medicine — which uses computer technology to modulate electrical activity within the body's nervous systems — along with cancer, neuroscience and autoimmune diseases, said Dr. Kevin Tracey, president and chief executive of the Feinstein Institutes.

"If you know the nerve that controls the disease target, you can build a computer chip to control the signals in the nerve to turn off the disease," said Tracey, adding that construction on the labs will begin in the coming months and be completed within 18 months.

Bioelectric medicine serves as an alternative to drugs or medical procedures, reduces painful side effects and has helped participants regain their ability to move and feel, research officials said.

"Each and every day, scientists and researchers work to find new discoveries, coming up with new treatments and developing new therapies so that we can invest in the future," said Michael Dowling, Northwell Health's president and chief executive. "Because it's all about investment; all about creating better health care, prolonging lives, finding new cures and being entrepreneurial so we can inspire new innovations on a continuing basis."

Funding will also be used to renovate existing labs at Feinstein's Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine, including multiple tissue culture rooms, cold storage rooms, workstations for researchers and a Biosafety Level 3 facility focused on infectious diseases and other complex viruses, such as COVID-19. The Institute of Bioelectic Medicine was constructed, in part, with $30 million in state funding.

Early discoveries emerging from Feinstein's labs, officials said, have opened the door for new treatment options for rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, paralysis and cancer.

In recent years, Long Island has become a full-scale medical research corridor between Feinstein, Brookhaven and Cold Spring national laboratories and Stony Brook University, said Kevin Law, chairman of the board at Empire State Development, which administers the Long Island Investment Fund.

"This corridor is unfolding before our eyes and it's going to pay such huge dividends," Law said. " … now we have this new pot of money to further create this corridor." 

As part of the Investment Fund, the state will hold a $50 million business plan competition to commercialize life science innovation, Hochul said. The five-year competition will be open to Long Island startup businesses, beginning this fall, that work with local universities and research institutions in the fields of life sciences, health technology and medical devices.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.