Stony Brook receives $3.5 million gift for new molecular imaging lab

A gift of $3.5 million has been given in a single donation to establish a molecular imaging facility at the State University of New York (SUNY), Stony Brook. Provided by Lalit and Kavita Bahl, the gifted facility will include a cyclotron and be named the Bahl Molecular Imaging Laboratory.

This is not the only donation provided for the laboratory. Lalit Bahl works for molecular imaging firm Renaissance Technologies, which has contributed another $3.5 million for the cause. The Bahl Molecular Imaging Laboratory is just one aspect of a major $423 million overhaul at Stony Brook, including a massive eight-floor and 245,000-square-foot addition under construction called MART.

“Stony Brook has been a notable leader in both discovering and using breakthrough imaging technology for research and clinical purposes,” Lalit Bahl remarked in a press release. “Kavita and I are certain that the cyclotron and molecular imaging offer the promise of important discoveries related to cancer and other diseases.”

The Bahl Laboratory will provide researchers with the means necessary for diagnostic molecular imaging as well as therapeutic molecular medicine with an emphasis on oncology and neurodegenerative disease. Plans for the laboratory include not just a cyclotron, but also a linear accelerator for the production of medical isotopes.

“This gift will make a huge impact on our medical imaging program, clinical capabilities and new department of biomedical informatics,” said Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, senior vice president of health sciences and dean of Stony Brook’s school of medicine. “Our use of cutting-edge molecular imaging in conjunction with computer technology to analyze biological data will be a catalyst toward increasing our abilities to understand disease processes, make earlier diagnoses, and better treat patients.”