Moffitt Celebrates Opening of Nikon Center of Excellence
Moffitt Cancer Center has become the first standalone cancer center in the world to open a Nikon Center of Excellence. The center will provide Moffitt researchers with the most advanced imaging technology to help study cancer and develop new treatments.
To celebrate the opening, Moffitt held a ribbon-cutting ceremony, attended by dozens of researchers, team members and Nikon representatives. The event highlighted the impact the new center will have on advancing cancer research and improving patient care.
As the first standalone cancer center in the world to open a Nikon Center of Excellence, Moffitt researchers and clinicians have access to cutting-edge imaging technologies that will assist in lifesaving discoveries and therapies. Together, we are working to engineer cancer's… pic.twitter.com/DNb9xhkIiw
— Moffitt Cancer Center (@MoffittNews) March 4, 2025
Nikon Centers of Excellence are special research hubs that focus on using advanced microscopes to study cells in detail. Moffitt now joins more than 20 centers in North America and nearly 40 worldwide that use Nikon’s imaging technology to advance scientific discoveries.
“We're excited for what we anticipate to be many years of productive collaboration,” said Greg Sawyer, PhD, chair of Moffitt’s Bioengineering Department to the crowd of attendees. “We're thrilled to work with all of you to play a part in helping to engineer cancer's end. You're all doing incredible work, and together, I trust that we'll continue to make strides toward new discoveries better outcomes, and ultimately, a brighter future for cancer patients.”
The new center will allow researchers to use high-tech microscopes to look at cancer cells at a microscopic level in real time. This technology will help scientists understand how cancer grows and reacts to treatments.
“To be the very first to pull this off and bring it to a cancer center I think it really sets us apart,” said Moffitt Center Director and Chief Scientific Officer John Cleveland, PhD. “It’s very exciting work to be able to take videos of what’s happening in real time and see the interactions of cells and how they’re influenced by different drugs.”
Moffitt’s new Nikon Center of Excellence is expected to speed up discoveries in cancer research and treatment, helping doctors find new ways to fight the disease. It’s something that Ted Couch, a member of Moffitt’s National Board of Advisors, was happy to support.
At today’s ribbon cutting for the Nikon Center of Excellence, long-time @MoffittNews supporter Mr. Ted Couch shared inspiring words about #bioengineering and the future of cancer research. We wouldn’t be where we are today without your continued support of Moffitt’s mission—thank… pic.twitter.com/P550PJmAlN
— W. Gregory Sawyer (@ProfGregSawyer) March 4, 2025
“I think that bioengineering is going to make an incredible difference for all of our researchers, and I think they're using it now to a high degree,” Couch said. “It's going to make an incredible difference when we link Nikon Center of Excellence with our recruiting.
I think we're going to have a great opportunity to recruit some real incredible scientists and add to the incredible scientists that we have here now.”
