Twelve graduate students from Stony Brook University have been awarded the 2025 SUNY Graduate Research Empowering and Accelerating Talent (GREAT) Award. These students are among 38 within the SUNY system recognized for their innovative research and distinctions in national fellowship achievements.
Now in its fourth year, the SUNY GREAT Award grants $7,500 in flexible funding from the SUNY Office of Research and Economic Development. This financial support is designed for graduate students honored by prestigious federal organizations such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, and the U.S. Department of Defense.
Celia Marshik, dean of The Graduate School and vice provost for Graduate and Professional Education, expressed pride in the university’s students: "Graduate student research is at the core of our mission as an AAU institution. Our fellowship applicants compete for some of the most prestigious awards in the country, and we are so proud to see SUNY acknowledge their effort, intelligence, and dedication to their chosen field."
Ashley Staples, director of External Fellowships and Scholarly Development, added, "The SUNY GREAT awards are an amazing recognition of the hard work it takes fellowship applicants to put together applications for competitive, merit-based awards and then achieve public status in those competitions."
SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. highlighted the importance of these recognitions, stating, "SUNY is a nationwide leader when it comes to cutting-edge research in fields from healthcare to emerging technologies, and these awardees are stellar examples of what our students are capable of achieving."
The research topics this year include AI for environmental resilience, the science of taste, gravitational waves, and antibiotic resistance. Among those honored across the SUNY system, nearly 60 percent are women, about 30 percent hail from historically underrepresented groups in science and academia, and over a third are the first in their families to attend college.
The Stony Brook awardees are:
- Adebayo Braimah, Computer Science: Focuses on the transparency and trustworthiness of AI systems through model explainability.
- Santiago Espinosa de los Reyes, Medical Scientist Training Program; Genetics: Investigates vulnerabilities in lung cancer related to KEAP1 gene mutations.
- Brandon Feole, Marine and Atmospheric Sciences: Studies disease resistance in the eastern oyster.
- Allison George, Neurobiology and Behavior; Neuroscience: Examines how sensory cues influence taste expectations.
- Ivy Huang, Physics and Astronomy: Analyzes ultrafast molecular dynamics in biological and chemical processes.
- Nicole Khusid, Physics and Astronomy: Researches gravitational waves and tests aspects of Einstein’s theory of general relativity.
- Benjamin Levine, Physics and Astronomy: Works toward improving cosmic data precision for studies of dark matter and energy.
- Ian Outhwaite, Pharmacological Sciences; Biochemistry and Structural Biology: Researches drug resistance mechanisms in cancer.
- Isabel Sakarin, Microbiology and Immunology: Investigates cell envelope fluidity as it pertains to antibiotic resistance.
- Logan Swanson, Linguistics: Develops algorithms for language acquisition, focusing on efficiency and accessibility.
- Jadyn Trayvick, Psychology (Clinical): Explores early neural markers for psychiatric disorder risk through brain imaging.
- Amy Wang, Social and Health Psychology: Studies public perception of research applicability, aiming to bridge health disparities.