New York Cures – NY-CURES

Who We Are:
The NY-CURES Coalition

We advocate for sustained, strategic investment in science and medicine that supports people and careers, accelerates innovation, builds shared research infrastructure, and lifts communities across every region of New York.

Our advocacy for EBRI focuses on four core areas:

People. Competitive grants and fellowships that support researchers, trainees, and clinicians, so they can build long-term careers in New York rather than leaving for states with more stable support.

Innovation. Translational hubs that connect universities, hospitals, and industry to accelerate the development of new diagnostics, drugs, and medical devices.

Infrastructure. Shared core facilities and technology centers that give institutions from Buffalo to Long Island the tools needed to compete nationally.

Regional equity. Programs that ensure biomedical investment strengthens communities across the entire state, not just a few zip codes.

Read the EBRI Proposal Here

Sign the Public Petition Here

Shruti Naik

Dusan Bogunovic

Charles Rice

Miriam Merad

Carl Nathan

Brian Brown

Dan Littman

Anthony Ferrante

Impact:
Meet the Voices of NY-CURES

Sergei German

At 53, Sergei German got news no one wants to hear: he had cancer. A proud New Yorker and software engineer, he was suddenly facing a diagnosis with limited treatment options.

“That was hard to accept,” he says. “Being told to just wait and do nothing after hearing you have cancer—it goes against every instinct.”

But Sergei didn’t sit back. He began researching clinical trials himself and found one testing a new kind of immunotherapy, led by Dr. Joshua Brody at a Medical Center in New York State. Immunotherapies like this—born from decades of publicly funded basic research into how immune cells work—have brought new hope to cancer patients like Sergei.

“After that first meeting, I knew I was in the right place,” he says. “It felt like a win-win. If the trial didn’t work, I wouldn’t be worse off. But if it did—I’d gain time. And that’s exactly what happened.”

The treatment worked better than he ever expected. Sergei went into remission for years with minimal side effects. Unlike traditional chemotherapy, the trial left doors open for future options. It gave him nearly a decade of good health before he needed any additional treatment.

Peter Meinke

Dr. Peter Meinke knows what it takes to turn a discovery into a drug. After nearly 30 years at Merck—where he helped discover 13 compounds that entered development, including elbasvir, which was combined with grazoprevir to become the hepatitis C blockbuster Zepatier^TM—he now leads the Sanders Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute (TDI), helping academic scientists bring ideas from lab bench to bedside.

“Anytime a company like Merck starts a new program,” Meinke explains, “it’s almost always predicated on basic research that comes out of academic labs.” The challenge? Many of those discoveries never make it to patients. “These people could make amazing discoveries,” he says, “but they rarely had the time, the resources, the expertise to move from an idea to the clinic.”

TDI was created to fix that gap. One powerful example: surgeons at a great New York State Hospital identified a promising cancer target called ART1. They turned to TDI. “We set up what we called an early-stage pipeline,” Meinke says. “Now, we've given them a clinic-grade antibody and it’s ready for development.”

Sandy Serrano

Sandy Serrano isn’t a scientist—but she’s a vital part of the engine that keeps science running. When she started as an executive assistant in an Immunology Institute in New York State more than a decade ago, she had no idea what she was stepping into.

“I was clueless,” she laughs. “Even the words they used in the lab were foreign to me. I didn’t know science had anything to do with medicine.”

Twelve years later, Sandy is a cornerstone of the Institute. She manages the entire admin team, organizes retreats, welcomes new faculty and trainees, and facilitates research and clinical meetings. Like over 30,000 other biomedical workers in New York, her job depends on publicly funded research. But to Sandy, it’s always been more than a job.

“This work gave me purpose,” she says. “I grew up in Harlem, raised by a single mom. Being part of something bigger—especially something that helps this community—means everything to me.”

Blue Rock

The launch of BlueRock Therapeutics marked a turning point in regenerative medicine. Born out of Dr. Lorenz Studer’s work in a Neuronal Stem Cell laboratory in New York State, the company is now advancing the first allogeneic pluripotent stem cell-derived therapy for Parkinson’s disease.

In 2000, Studer set out to grow dopamine-producing neurons from stem cells—a challenge that once seemed like science fiction. Nearly a decade later, his team published a landmark paper proving it could be done. But the cells weren’t yet ready for patients.

That’s when New York State’s NYSTEM program stepped in with a $14.9 million grant to help bridge the gap between discovery and therapy. “That funding was absolutely critical to making this happen,” says Dr. Mark Tomishima, now Senior VP at BlueRock.

Tomishima began his career in Studer’s lab and has seen the entire journey—from a bold idea in an academic lab to a therapy now in Phase 3 trials. BlueRock’s second program, in ophthalmology, has already dosed its first patient.

I saw what real science looked like—what it meant to care about patients and push discovery forward.

But it did more than give him time—it gave him purpose. Inspired by the experience, Sergei left finance and began using his skills to support research. He joined the New York Genome Center, and later NYU’s Institute for Systems Genetics, helping drive science forward as a software engineer.

“I saw what real science looked like—what it meant to care about patients while pushing discovery forward,” he says. “After that, I couldn’t go back to business as usual.”

Now retired and still in remission, Sergei advocates for clinical trials—not just as a survivor, but as someone who has witnessed how science transforms lives.

That’s why NY-CURES is advocating for patients and scientists like Sergei and for all New Yorkers. Because when we invest in research, we don’t just find cures—we create second chances, launch careers, and build a healthier, stronger future for everyone.

We set up what we called an early-stage pipeline. Now, we've given them a clinic-grade antibody and it’s ready for development.

In just 11 years, TDI has launched over 200 programs—21 licensed, six companies spun out, and three already in clinical trials. It has also helped attract $120 million in outside funding. “It brings a very different rigor to the table,” Meinke says.

But federal support for early-stage biotech is under threat, with proposed cuts as high as 40%. One TDI-backed contraceptive program already had to shut down. “There’s no reason this can’t become a therapeutic,” Meinke says. “Yet it will die on the vine.”

This is where New York has a major opportunity—not just to step in, but to lead. Every federal research dollar returns $2.50 to the economy. In Texas, state-funded research through CPRIT brings back $4 for every $1 spent.

With top talent and institutions already in place, New York is poised to become a global biomedical hub—and with smart investment, it can future-proof its economy for decades to come.

That’s the vision NY-CURES is working toward: bold public support for research that delivers for patients, communities, and the innovation economy.

Every dollar spent on research isn’t just spending—it’s building. And it builds more than medicine. It builds opportunity.

With biomedical research funding at risk, that sense of purpose now feels uncertain. “I’m absolutely worried about my job,” she says. “But not just mine. What about our trainees? The people we support? It’s a domino effect.”

People don’t always see the full picture—research funding powers more than discoveries. It supports a whole ecosystem of staff behind the scenes. “It’s not just scientists getting grants,” Sandy says. “It’s people like me—local New Yorkers with families—who depend on these institutions.”

Her salary, like many others, is covered by “overhead”—the part of research grants that keeps labs safe, equipment working, and staff employed.

Sandy sees the passion of researchers every day. “They’re in the lab on weekends and holidays—not because anyone’s making them, but because they love it,” she says. “That gives me hope.”

“Every dollar spent on research isn’t just spending—it’s building,” Sandy says. “And it builds more than medicine. It builds opportunity.”

That’s why NY-CURES is championing state support—not just for science, but for people like Sandy who make it possible. Stable public research funding creates jobs, lifts communities, and builds the foundation for breakthroughs across New York.

There’s a level of sophistication in New York that can support a trial like this—it’s not for the faint of heart.

These breakthroughs are not just about science—they’re about scale. BlueRock is pioneering how pluripotent stem cells can be turned into a toolkit for treating many diseases. “This gives us the flexibility to pursue any disease where we believe cell therapy can have an impact,” Tomishima says.

New York State remains central to this work, with its unmatched mix of academic medical centers, top clinicians, and clinical trial infrastructure. “There’s a level of sophistication in New York that can support a trial like this—it’s not for the faint of heart,” he says.

Thanks to early public investment, New York helped make this possible. Today, the state has over 75,000 biotech jobs—and companies like BlueRock are showing how smart science policy can create both cures and careers.

That’s why NY-CURES is advocating for a new chapter of investment—supporting bold research, developing talent, and ensuring that New York remains a global leader in biomedical innovation for decades to come.

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Uniting for a Healthier, Stronger, and Affordable New York

Uniting for a Healthier, Stronger, and Affordable New York