Moffitt Showcases Leadership in Cancer Engineering on National Stage
Moffitt Cancer Center took a prominent role at the 2025 Biomedical Engineering Society Annual Meeting in San Diego on Friday. Greg Sawyer, PhD, chair of Moffitt’s Bioengineering Department, delivered a plenary presentation on Cancer Engineering, marking the first time bioengineering at Moffitt has been featured on the national plenary stage.
“This is a first for bioengineering at Moffitt being featured in this way,” Sawyer said. “It’s a unique opportunity to showcase the role cancer engineering is playing on the national stage and how it’s shaping the future of cancer research.”
Thrilled to see @MoffittNews well represented during the #BMES25 poster session! Proud of the work our team presented which highlights our dedication to the prevention and cure of cancer. pic.twitter.com/GeD9hLJh40
— W. Gregory Sawyer (@ProfGregSawyer) October 9, 2025
A New Framework for Cancer Research
Greg Sawyer, PhD
In his presentation, Sawyer outlined how cancer engineering integrates 12 diverse scientific and engineering disciplines from imaging, nanomaterials and robotics to thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, mathematics and biofabrication to address the complexity of cancer. This holistic approach can provide exciting solutions toward solving challenges related to tumor heterogeneity, microenvironmental complexity, treatment toxicity and the limitations of current preclinical models.
“Cancer engineering isn’t just a subfield of bioengineering. It’s bigger,” Sawyer explained. “It brings together many different fields in a coordinated way. We’re seeing societies across disciplines try to figure out how they can contribute to cancer research.”
This growing field seeks to accelerate both mechanistic understanding and translational progress by leveraging advanced quantitative methods, precision measurement tools and dynamic modeling.
National Visibility and Institutional Leadership
John Cleveland, PhD
Moffitt leadership sees the plenary invitation as a milestone for both the cancer center and the broader field of engineering in oncology.
“Dr. Sawyer’s presentation reflects years of cross-disciplinary work that has positioned Moffitt as a national leader in integrating new approaches into cancer science,” said John Cleveland, PhD, center director and chief scientific officer at Moffitt. “Moffitt views cancer engineering as a critical new platform to help us accelerate our mission and improve the outcomes for our patients. It will literally transform all that we do, from early detection, the use of microtumor platforms to inform therapy, the development of imaging technologies to evaluate the response to anticancer drugs in real time, and the production and delivery of therapeutic agents.”
Expanding the Conversation
Cancer engineering continues to gain momentum as the National Institutes of Health and other national partners launch new initiatives to promote nonanimal model systems, organoid platforms and advanced engineering applications in oncology. Moffitt’s role in shaping this conversation was evident at the annual meeting, where Sawyer’s plenary drew attention from scientists and engineers across the country who are developing innovative tools to understand and treat cancer.
For Sawyer, the opportunity to represent Moffitt’s growing bioengineering program is as much about the future as it is about the science itself.
“This was a special opportunity to share cancer engineering and all of the science that I am so passionate about with the biomedical engineering community — the researchers and particularly all of the young researchers who are just beginning their careers,” Sawyer said. “It’s inspiring to see how much energy and creativity is being directed toward solving the most challenging problems in cancer.”
