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Health September 19, 2017

First-ever ‘health systems marketplace’ comes to LI

By GREGORY ZELLER // The tri-state region’s first “marketplace of health systems” has come to Long Island. New York City-based Brighton Health Plan Solutions – which allows members to shop for and compare health systems in depth, perchance to find the best single plan for each member’s particular needs – has partnered with Long Island Health Network, a network of nine Island-based hospitals and affiliated services. The alliance adds those hospitals and hundreds of specialized…

Biotech September 18, 2017

Startup sails past $1M, considers second employee

By GREGORY ZELLER // A key e-commerce alliance has pushed an innovative skin-care company past $1 million in revenues – and has the biotech’s only full-time employee thinking expansion, in more ways than one. Kantian Skincare, a 2012 startup and the public face of Huntington-based Kantian Sciences Corp., hurtled past the $1 million plateau in July, according to cofounder and President Jon Klein, on the back of the Neutralyze Anti-Acne Solution, the company’s flagship product….

Space September 18, 2017

In space, no one can hear your nervous breakdown

By GREGORY ZELLER // It’s lonely out in space. And the mental health of astronauts embarking on long-term missions to the final frontier is a paramount concern for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which is funding a new clinical trial of an innovative e-mental health tool that could relieve astronomical anxiety, star stress and deep-space depression. The study, led by a Stony Brook University psychiatry professor in conjunction with Australian researchers, officially kicked off…

Law September 15, 2017

Shinnecock Nation taps Sahn Ward enviro experts

By GREGORY ZELLER // The Shinnecock Indian Nation has retained a topflight Long Island law firm to provide advice and legal representation on environmental matters. Uniondale-based Sahn Ward Coschignano PLLC will bolster the Shinnecock nation’s land-use and ecological chops, from a legal perspective, led by partner Miriam Villani. Villani, head of the firm’s Environment, Energy and Resources practice group, will work with the Shinnecock Environmental Department to develop laws and programs that assist the department’s…

Calendar September 15, 2017

Stuff we’re thinking about going to

Sept. 27 Healthcare Capital Forum 8-11 a.m., RXR Center, Melville The Long Island Capital Alliance hosts is Healthcare Capital Forum and networking breakfast. Admission is free for LICA members, event sponsors and their guests. Ticket prices, sponsorship opportunities, registration and more information. Sept. 27 Let’s Imagine: Learning from the Leaders of the Imagine Awards 8-11 a.m., Carlyle at the Palace, Plainview Join the winners of the 2017 Long Island Imagine Awards for an informative breakfast…

News September 14, 2017

Construction employment takes a summer hit

The number of private sector jobs on Long Island increased by 5,600 in the year ending in August, a 0.5 percent increase to 1,157,400 positions. By comparison, the state’s year over year private sector growth rate was 1.8 percent and the nation’s was 1.7 percent. In a separate measure, Long Island’s private sector job count decreased by 9,200 between July and August, compared to an average loss of 1,400. Construction had a surprisingly weak month,…

Clean Energy September 13, 2017

4 more years for SBU clean-energy incubator

By GREGORY ZELLER // CEBIP is back in business. More accurately, the Clean Energy Business Incubator Program – a jewel of Stony Brook University’s commercialization ecosystem – will continue business uninterrupted, thanks to renewed funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority. Although NYSERDA has made no official announcement – and authority spokespeople declined to comment this week – Innovate LI has learned that the state has re-upped its financial support of…

Biotech September 13, 2017

Re-Nuble targets USDA over ‘organic’ certifications

By GREGORY ZELLER // A “waste-to-value” biotech with Long Island roots is taking its food-for-all message to the people – and is taking on the U.S. Department of Agriculture over critical “organic” certifications. Re-Nuble Inc., which operates out of facilities in Brooklyn and Long Island City but remains a “virtual tenant” of Stony Brook University’s Clean Energy Business Incubator Program, is presenting Wednesday at Food Tank Summit NYC, a celebration and exploration of food and…

Education September 12, 2017

Eight Island schools ranked among top U.S. colleges

By GREGORY ZELLER // Long Island has plenty of big brains to drain. That’s according to U.S. News & World Report, which has issued its 2018 Best Colleges survey, a highly regarded rite of September that ranks some 1,800 United States-based colleges and universities based on school and student performance and a host of other critical metrics. As usual, Long Island posted a good-not-great performance on the annual higher-education report card – fairly strong, indicative…

Biotech September 12, 2017

Applied DNA enlists with Army’s bio-warfare defenders

By GREGORY ZELLER // Applied DNA Sciences is in the Army now. Already under U.S. Department of Defense contract on a number of different projects, the Stony Brook-based biotech has entered into a new Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command’s Edgewood Chemical Biological Center. Best known as a developer and distributor of in-house botanical-DNA-based security and authentication protocols, Applied DNA is lending its expertise in a slightly different…

The Debrief September 11, 2017

Debrief: Developing, economically, with Regina Zara

Nice numbers from “Report on Effectiveness of Suffolk County IDA,” a 40-page Industrial Development Agency report card prepared by Suffolk’s Department of Economic Development and Planning: Between 2012 and 2016, the IDA granted $89.8 million in sales-tax exemptions on equipment purchases, plus similar breaks on mortgage and property taxes, to 86 projects, which have collectively generated $775 million in regional economic activity ($212 million spent on goods and services from 2,500 Long Island companies in…

Government September 11, 2017

Patriot Day package: $40M for NY counterterrorism

Statewide counterterrorism programs, including several based on Long Island, are being bolstered by nearly $40 million in federal funds. Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday announced a series of federal funds earmarked for critical efforts already underway between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, designed specifically to secure transit systems and ports. The governor announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency funds on Patriot Day, marking the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks –…

Health September 8, 2017

Opioid epidemic spurs new LI substance-abuse center

In a move aimed at combating what it called “the opioid epidemic sweeping the country,” the Northwell Health system has opened the doors of a new Long Island substance-abuse treatment center. The Garden City Treatment Center, located on Stewart Avenue in the Nassau County village, is managed by Zucker Hillside Hospital, which resides in Glen Oaks, just west of the Queens-Nassau border. But the focus of the 8,000-square-foot center, which officially opened this summer, is…

Health September 7, 2017

Study: Bust the burgers, go nuts for reflux

By GREGORY ZELLER // This just in from the Insult to Injury Department: Victims of acid reflux can defeat the dreaded disorder without choking down a lifetime of pharmaceuticals – simply by eliminating every single tasty thing on Earth, everywhere, forever. The slightly-less-dramatic version: A plant-based “Mediterranean-style diet” can provide the same medical benefits as popular pharmaceutical options for treating laryngopharyngeal reflux. So says the Journal of the American Medical Association, which on Thursday published…

Fashion September 7, 2017

Small steps, all good, for girls in the hood

By GREGORY ZELLER // From the Big Picture file comes Laura Alison Design, the functionally fashionable Huntington startup boasting the trendy “Infinity Collection” and an infinite amount of patience. Well, perhaps not infinite patience. But founder Laurie Russo – a professional hairdresser who cut into entrepreneurism when the unique hooded scarves she handcrafted for her daughters generated sudden and significant interest – is certainly a champion of the long view. Now seven years since she…