Ryan S. Sultan, MD

Origins: Great Neck & the Early Internet

From library terminal access to mental health informatics - the foundational history

Great Neck Public Library System: Early Internet Pioneer

Long before digital therapeutics and mental health informatics became central to my research program, the journey began at the Great Neck Public Library System on Long Island, New York - one of the nation's early adopters of public internet infrastructure.

In the mid-1990s, while most American households lacked internet connectivity, the Great Neck Library system operated a pioneering local area network connecting library terminals across multiple branch locations and, remarkably, establishing network connections with the Great Neck Public School system. This infrastructure enabled terminal-to-terminal communication - a precursor to modern digital collaboration - years before widespread internet adoption.

The Station Branch: First Access Point

My first exposure to the internet occurred at the Station Branch of the Great Neck Library, located at 26 Great Neck Road in Great Neck Plaza. As early as sixth grade, I accessed library terminals that connected not only to the broader internet but to a local network linking all Great Neck Library branches:

Station Branch - 26 Great Neck Road, Great Neck Plaza
Lakeville Branch - Opened 1941
Parkville Branch - Opened 1954
Main Library - System headquarters

This network infrastructure was extraordinary for its time. The library system participated in early resource-sharing initiatives that would eventually evolve into the LI LINK Consortium - now connecting 107 Long Island public libraries across Nassau and Suffolk Counties.

Historical Context: Library as Technology Vanguard

The Great Neck Library had established itself as a technology pioneer well before the internet era. In 1975, the library created the renowned "Levels" program for teenagers, delivering creative arts, music, theatre, and crucially - computer programming workshops. By the 1990s, the library was a vanguard institution with videos, DVDs, and early digital access - unusual for public libraries of that era.

Access to this infrastructure was transformative. While my peers at home lacked internet connectivity, the Station Branch provided unlimited terminal time, enabling early exploration of web development, online research, and digital communication - skills that would later prove foundational to bioinformatics and mental health informatics research.

Great Neck School System: Connected Educational Network

The Great Neck Public School system's network integration with the library system created an unprecedented educational infrastructure. Students could access digital resources from both school and library terminals, with the systems communicating directly.

Elementary Education: Great Neck Schools

The Great Neck Union Free School District operates four elementary schools:

E M Baker School
John F Kennedy School
Lakeville Elementary School
Saddle Rock School

Plus an Early Childhood Center serving pre-K and kindergarten students across the district.

Middle School: Great Neck South

Great Neck South Middle School (grades 6-8) at 349 Lakeville Road represents where formal education intersected with technology access. Ranked #47 of 1,504 New York public middle schools, South Middle School has been designated a No Place for Hate School with Gold Star distinction. With 827 students and a 10:1 student-teacher ratio, 84% of students demonstrate proficiency in mathematics and 85% in reading.

It was during these middle school years - likely sixth grade - that I first accessed internet terminals at the Station Branch, beginning what would become a lifelong engagement with digital technology and its applications to mental health.

High School: Great Neck North

John L. Miller Great Neck North High School continues a tradition dating to 1895, when Great Neck High School was established in a wood-frame building on Arrandale Avenue. The district's historical archive documents over a century of educational excellence, with a Historic Media Gallery preserving photographs, videos, and historical materials spanning generations.

Educational Timeline: From Great Neck to Columbia

1990s: Elementary & Middle School - Great Neck, NY

Elementary School: Great Neck Public Schools
Middle School: Great Neck South Middle School
First Internet Access: ~6th grade, Great Neck Library Station Branch
First Webpage: Created during library terminal sessions

Late 1990s: High School - Great Neck, NY

High School: John L. Miller Great Neck North High School
Location: Great Neck, Long Island, New York
Network Access: Continued use of library and school network infrastructure

2002-2006: Undergraduate - Trinity College

Institution: Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (2006)
Recognition: Human Relations Award (2006)
Significance: Transition from environmental science to medicine

2007-2011: Medical School - Drexel University

Institution: Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Degree: Doctor of Medicine (MD), 2011
Focus: Psychiatry interest emerges

From Library Terminals to Mental Health Informatics

The trajectory from Great Neck Library terminal access to directing a mental health informatics laboratory at Columbia University represents more than technological evolution - it reflects how early exposure to digital infrastructure shapes research methodology and clinical innovation.

Current research projects directly build on this foundation:

PAWS Digital Therapeutic: An LLM-based AI companion for cannabis use disorder treatment represents the evolution of early human-computer interaction into sophisticated digital therapeutics. The NIDA-funded project ($335,500) leverages artificial intelligence to provide 24/7 therapeutic support - a far cry from dial-up library terminals, yet conceptually continuous with that early vision of technology-mediated care.

Large-Scale Database Analysis: Psychopharmacoepidemiology research examining ADHD treatment patterns, cannabis-psychosis associations, and medication safety relies on computational methods and big data analytics - skills rooted in early exposure to networked computing.

Bioinformatics Training: The NIDA K12 career development program focuses explicitly on bioinformatics and substance use research - merging computational methods with clinical science in ways that were unimaginable during those early library sessions but which were, perhaps, prefigured by them.