H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute

Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
Established	1986
Dean	CEO William S. Dalton
Location	Tampa, Florida, USA
Website	insidemoffitt.com

H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute opened on October 26, 1986, on the Tampa campus of the University of South Florida. The current President/CEO is Dr. William S. Dalton.

History

Funding for construction of the initial $70-million facility came primarily from the state’s cigarette tax, while the momentum to create the Center came from a cadre of legislators, physicians, educators and business leaders who envisioned a new dimension of cancer care and research in Florida.

In 1978, H. Lee Moffitt, a Florida State Representative, recognized the need for a comprehensive cancer center within the State of Florida. With the help of the University of South Florida College of Medicine Dean Andor Szentivanyi, Moffitt sought community support and convinced the State Legislature to fund the facility. During the Center’s planning phase, consultants associated with renowned NCI cancer centers were retained to ensure that the finished facility would be as technologically advanced and as efficiently designed as possible.

Groundbreaking ceremonies took place in January 1983. The Center was incorporated in the spring of 1984 and was named for H. Lee Moffitt, then Speaker of the State House of Representatives. The building was dedicated in October 1986 and admitted its first patients that same month.

In 1990, the acquisition of the Research Center building across from the Cancer Center enhanced the recruitment of scientists, clinicians and support staff and expanded Moffitt’s vision beyond the original structure. The Moffitt Research Center became the focal point for basic and translational cancer research with the overriding goal to produce discoveries that could be translated quickly from the bench to the patient’s bedside. The Florida Legislature allocated $12 million for renovation and equipment for this 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m²) structure, and the Moffitt Research Center became fully operational in 1995. In 1999, 48,000 square feet (4,500 m²) of basic research lab space was added to the Moffitt Research Center at a cost of $11 million to house the growing need for additional scientists.

Current Moffitt Leadership: William S. Dalton, Ph.D., M.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Center Director; L. David de la Parte, Esq., Executive Vice President & General Counsel; John Kolosky, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer & President, Hospital Corporation; Alan List, M.D., Executive Vice President & Physician-in-Chief; James Mulé, Ph.D., Executive Vice President/Associate Center Director, Translational Research; W. Jack Pledger, Ph.D., Deputy Director & Executive Vice President/Associate Center Director, Basic Science & National Functional Genomics Center Director; Thomas Sellers, Ph.D., Director, Moffitt Research Institute & Executive Vice President/Associate Center Director, Cancer Prevention and Control; Daniel Sullivan, M.D., Executive Vice President/Associate Center Director, Clinical Investigations; Yvette Tremonti, CPA, Executive Vice President, Strategy and Business Development ^[1]

Expansion

On June 10, 1998, in a ceremonial signing at Moffitt, Florida Governor Lawton Chiles approved a legislative initiative to fund construction of the Moffitt Tower Project, which opened in April 2003, adding more than 350,000 square feet (33,000 m²) of new space. This expansion includes the Vincent A. Stabile Research Building, epinomously named named in recognition of the largest private donation ever made to the Cancer Center. The new construction also includes an expansion of the Moffitt Clinic. In addition to new research laboratories, which nearly double the Cancer Center’s research capabilities, the new facilities include a digital imaging center, and a new infusion center.

In 1991, John Ruckdeschel, M.D., assumed the position of Center Director, President and CEO. Under Ruckdeschel's leadership, Moffitt became an National Cancer Institute (NCI) Comprehensive Cancer Center. In 2006, the NCI renewed Moffitt’s Cancer Center Support Grant for another five years. Currently Moffitt receives more than $50 million annually in peer-reviewed grant monies.

In 2002, Ruckdeschel stepped down, and William Dalton, Ph.D., M.D., became Moffitt's third President, CEO and Center Director.

In 2008, the University of Florida and Shands at UF formed a partnership with Moffitt to develop programs in cancer care, research and prevention ^[2][3][4].

In 2009, the University of South Florida and Moffitt were awarded $6 million in federal grant money to create the Center for Equal Health, a five-year partnership focused on addressing issues of cancer health disparities ^[5][6].

Scientific programs include Molecular Oncology, Drug Discovery, Immunology, Experimental Therapeutics, Computational Biology of Cancer, Health Outcomes and Behavior and Risk Assessment, Detection and Intervention. It also serves as the site for the Bill and Beverly Young National Functional Genomics Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Moffitt Cancer Center is affiliated with the University of South Florida College of Medicine, and provides education to medical students and residency training as well^[7][8].

On June 24, 2011, Moffitt Cancer Center opened the first blood and marrow transplant (BMT) clinic in Puerto Rico^[9].

On July 1, 2011, Moffitt Cancer Center opened a new 40,000-square-foot satellite facility at International Plaza near Tampa International Airport. It offers services including medical oncology, radiology, radiation therapy and infusion. The building replaced Moffitt's former outpatient center at Tampa General Hospital^[10][11].

See also

• Inside Moffitt
• Moffitt Cancer Center, Corporate Site
• Moffitt Cancer Center on Facebook
• Moffitt Cancer Center on Twitter
• Moffitt Cancer Center on YouTube
• Miles For Moffitt
• Center for Equal Health
• University of South Florida College of Medicine
• University of Florida
• University of South Florida

References

1. ^ Moffitt Executive Leadership
2. ^ Moffitt creates partnership with the University of Florida
3. ^ UF announces partnership with Moffitt
4. ^ medialnewstoday.com reference
5. ^ Center for Equal Health
6. ^ USF, Moffitt get grant for minority health center
7. ^ USF Health Affiliated Hospitals
8. ^ Moffitt Training Sites
9. ^ Tampa cancer center opens first bone marrow transplant clinic in Puerto Rico
10. ^ New Moffitt facility near International Plaza means convenience, technology for cancer patients
11. ^ Moffitt Cancer Center project is the Rx for a sluggish economy