University of Florida Health Cancer Center
Florida's newest NCI-designated centre (2023), with a pioneering proton institute in Jacksonville and personalised mRNA vaccine work in brain tumours.
UF Health Cancer Center received NCI designation in 2023 and covers north-central Florida from Gainesville. The UF Health Proton Therapy Institute in Jacksonville, opened in 2006, was among the first US proton centres and has treated large numbers of paediatric and prostate patients. Duane Mitchell and Elias Sayour's neuro-oncology immunotherapy programme developed RNA-loaded dendritic cell vaccines and, in 2024, reported a personalised mRNA-lipid particle vaccine that rapidly reprogrammed the immune response in glioblastoma patients. The centre also hosts a large paediatric oncology programme and rural community outreach.
- Proton therapy (Jacksonville)
- Brain tumour immunotherapy and mRNA vaccines
- Paediatric oncology