For Release:          Immediate – January 7, 2016

Contact:                 Jerry Gretzinger, Vice President of Strategic Communications and Public Relations ­

(518) 956-7359 | jgretzinger@sunypoly.edu

SUNY Poly and Sitrin Health Care Announce New Jointly Funded Position Will Advance Academic and Research Opportunities in Neuropsychology

Innovative partnership creates new faculty position serving students and residents

Utica, NY – SUNY Polytechnic Institute today announced the launch of a new partnership with Sitrin Health Care and the creation of a full-time research and teaching position in Neuropsychology.  The faculty position will be jointly funded and located at both SUNY Poly’s Utica site and Sitrin Health Care Center in New Hartford, NY and will teach cutting-edge courses in Neuropsychology at SUNY Poly while leading new clinical research efforts at Sitrin Health Care.

“Today we embark on a truly innovative collaboration with Sitrin Health Care to advance academic and research opportunities in Neuropsychology.  By co-funding this cross-institutional position, we provide a critical connection between current healthcare practices and challenges, the new frontiers of neuropsychological research, and the training of future healthcare providers,” said Dr. Robert Geer, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at SUNY Poly.  “SUNY Poly is delighted to be partnering with Sitrin on this exciting initiative and looks forward to the benefits it will provide for both students and residents.”

“Sitrin and SUNY Poly have collaborated on initiatives resulting in groundbreaking research in residential long-term care and veteran medical rehabilitation,” said Christa Serafin, Sitrin President and CEO. “We are honored to continue our relationship with SUNY Poly to expand the studies of neuropsychology, which will immeasurably enhance Sitrin’s treatment plan for persons with Huntington’s disease and ALS.”

Established as a full time, salaried SUNY Poly academic position, the joint Neuropsychology faculty will be physically located at both institutions with specific responsibilities to be performed at each. At Sitrin Health Care Center these will include conducting neuropsychological resident assessments and providing and assisting in the development of new treatments.  At SUNY Poly, the joint faculty will leverage their research experience at Sitrin to teach Neuropsychology courses in the Community and Behavioral Health department and help lead an expansion of SUNY Poly’s overall educational program in the discipline of Neuropsychology.

“This new partnership between SUNY Poly and Sitrin is a perfect example of leveraging SUNY Poly’s academic enterprise to benefit our community while advancing cutting-edge faculty scholarship,” said Dr. William Durgin, Provost for SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

“Having one of our faculty members working in the neuropsychological clinical environment at Sitrin offers our students fantastic opportunities in the classroom,” said Dr. Robert Yeh, Dean for SUNY Poly’s College of Health Sciences and Management.

SUNY Poly’s new courses in Neuropsychology will be available through its Community and Behavioral Health program, which is interdisciplinary in nature and focuses on the sociological and psychological factors associated with physical, mental, and social health. The degree is designed to meet the needs of students with interests in the health-related fields of medicine, dentistry, nursing, community health, health psychology, medical social work, and rehabilitation counseling. This program allows students to customize a program of study from electives in both psychology and sociology to meet their academic and career goals.

The Sitrin Health Care Center is dedicated to providing compassionate, professional care and continues to seek innovative solutions to meet the medical, social, behavioral, recreational, and support needs of those it serves.  In early 2016, Sitrin will open Upstate New York’s first and only Neurodegenerative Disease Specialty Program. Sitrin NeuroCare, a 32-bed long-term care program, will employ a multi-disciplinary approach to care for residents with Huntington’s disease and ALS, two terminal diseases for which there are currently no cure.  The Visiting Professor’s duties at Sitrin will be conducted primarily within the NeuroCare program.

A search committee comprised of representatives from both SUNY Poly and Sitrin will work together to select an appropriate candidate for the position.  All SUNY Poly employment opportunities can be found online at https://sunypoly.interviewexchange.com/static/clients/511SPM1/index.jsp.

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SUNY Polytechnic Institute. SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem, formed from the merger of the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and SUNY Institute of Technology. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nanobioscience and nanoeconomics programs at its Albany location and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica/Rome location. Thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts more than $43 billion in high-tech investments, over 300 corporate partners, and maintains a statewide footprint. The 1.3 million-square-foot Albany NanoTech megaplex is home to more than 4,000 scientists, researchers, engineers, students, faculty, and staff, in addition to Tech Valley High School. SUNY Poly operates the Smart Cities Technology Innovation Center (SCiTI) at Kiernan Plaza in Albany, the Solar Energy Development Center in Halfmoon, the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology (CMOST) in Troy, the Central New York Hub for Emerging Nano Industries in Syracuse, the Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center (STC) in Canandaigua, and the Photovoltaic Manufacturing and Technology Development Facility in Rochester where SUNY Poly also leads the American Institute for Manufacturing Integrated Photonics. SUNY Poly founded and manages the Computer Chip Commercialization Center (Quad-C) at its Utica location and also manages the $500 million New York Power Electronics Manufacturing Consortium, with nodes in Albany and Rochester, as well as the Buffalo High-Tech Manufacturing Innovation Hub at RiverBend, Buffalo Information Technologies Innovation and Commercialization Hub, and Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub. For information visit www.sunycnse.com and www.sunypoly.edu.