Rep. Zeldin Announces Over $130k in Federal Funding for Stony Brook University Coronavirus Research

Statement

Today, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1), member of the bipartisan Congressional Coronavirus Task Force, announced Stony Brook University has been awarded $132,778 in federal funding through the National Science Foundation for COVID-19 research.

"As one of the first communities hardest-hit by coronavirus, Long Island has led the way in the fight against coronavirus," said Congressman Lee Zeldin. "It's no surprise that Long Island is also leading the cutting-edge research that will help us understand and combat this outbreak across the country."

"Have you wondered why bats can be infected by coronaviruses but seem to hardly manifest any symptoms? Bat noses don't seem like strong candidates to shed light on this situation, but it turns out they can! In both bats and humans, coronaviruses enter into nose or throat cells, but don't elicit such terrible diseases in bats as seen in humans. We are going to find out why," said Professor Liliana Davalos Alvarez, PhD. "Coronaviruses circulate in bat populations, but thanks to their superstar immune system, bats don't seem to get sick or react with the extreme inflammation seen in humans. By examining the genomes of bats and how genes get expressed in bat tissues, we aim to discover how bats avoid illness and massive inflammation."

The National Science Foundation (NSF) received supplemental funding under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act "to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the coronavirus." To date, NSF has issued more than $136 million in COVID-19-related awards, including $74 million in CARES Act funding primarily in the form of Rapid Response Research (RAPID) grants, which enable the agency to quickly process and award research funding that addresses an urgent need, as is the case with COVID-19.

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