State Funding Approval Boosts Moffitt’s Digital Pathology Expansion

Thanks to funding signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on June 30, Moffitt Cancer Center will offer faster and more accurate cancer diagnoses by digitizing pathology workflows. 

Digital pathology will accelerate cancer diagnoses by using high-resolution imaging and will also help more rural and underserved communities. 

“This funding supports our goal of improving patient outcomes and advancing clinical research to enhance the treatments of future patients,” said Ignacio Wistuba, MD, chair of Moffitt’s new Translational Pathology Department. “By combining advanced imaging technology with remote access, we can reduce diagnostic delays and reach more patients across the state.” 

This funding supports our goal of improving patient outcomes and advancing clinical research to enhance the treatments of future patients.

Ignacio Wistuba, MD

DeSantis signed Florida’s $115 billion budget for fiscal year 2025–26, which includes $2 million to support Moffitt’s Digital Pathology project. That funding will assist Wistuba’s department in treating patients based on the predictions uncovered through biomarkers found in tissue, blood and other specimens. 

Wistuba, a surgical and molecular pathologist, is focused on merging the work between clinicians working at the bedside of cancer patients and the researchers working to find new and better treatments. Translating the research to clinical use is the key to more successful outcomes, he says.  

“Translational pathology is using a specimen from a patient with cancer in the context of clinical cancer research and ultimately bringing those discoveries to standard of care treatment,” Wistuba said. “Specimens allow us to investigate using research tools at the molecular level to investigate the potential mechanisms for a patient responding or not responding to therapies.”  

Sen. Darryl Rouson and Rep. Adam Anderson were Moffitt’s senate and house sponsors, respectively, spearheading the funding through the appropriations process. 

The initiative will stretch across the state and strengthen partnerships with other National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers in Florida. By enabling secure digital sharing of de-identified pathology images, the project will enhance collaborative case reviews, second opinions and research across institutions. 

These shared systems promote a more unified statewide response to complex cancer cases, ensuring patients benefit from the combined expertise of multiple cancer centers regardless of where they seek care. 

“This is an opportunity to bring more basic science to the questions while the clinical work is ongoing,” Wistuba said. “My peers will be heading the clinical programs as they treat patients with the standard of care while we work with tissues, specimens, blood or fluids to obtain valuable information in the context of clinical research.”