Hope Three Ways: Breaking Down Silos in Cancer Research at Moffitt's New Speros Center

2025 Lab Design Conference speaker—Mario Abanto, senior architect at DLR Group | Tsoi Kobus Design

The 2025 Lab Design Conference spotlighted an ambitious project poised to redefine the structure of cancer research: the Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center at Speros. This 250,000-sf facility—central to Moffitt Cancer Center’s new Speros FL campus—represents more than an expansion. It’s a complete rethinking of how interdisciplinary science is conducted.

As Mario Abanto, senior architect at DLR Group | Tsoi Kobus Design, explained in the session, “Hope Three Ways—Integrating Cancer Biology, Drug Discovery, and Bioengineering Research at Moffitt,” the project is guided by a unifying philosophy: “Hope three ways.” The name Speros, derived from the Latin sperare (“to hope”), encapsulates this guiding principle. The project’s goal is to dissolve the silos that have long separated scientific disciplines and, in doing so, accelerate the discovery of new cancer therapies.

Dr. Elsa Flores, associate center director, division of basic science at Moffitt Cancer Center, described the motivation succinctly: for too long, brilliant researchers “have often been operating in distinct silos.” The new facility merges three critical disciplines—cancer biology, drug discovery, and bioengineering—into a “dynamic ecosystem where biologists, chemists and engineers don’t just coexist, but actively collaborate, learn from each other, and co-create innovative solutions.”

The mandate for integration

The design brief called for a new kind of research environment—one that could “combine fundamental cancer biology with drug discovery and bioengineering for collaborative and integrative research in one building.”

2025 Lab Design Conference speaker—Dr. Elsa Flores, associate center director, division of basic science, Moffitt Cancer Center

To deliver on that goal, Lloyd Fisk, principal at RFD, told the Lab Design Conference audience that the team needed to “rethink and redefine a research institution's existing space allocation model to reflect contemporary laboratory design strategies.” The outcome was a modular, metric-based planning system that allocates space according to research type rather than fixed casework or legacy standards.

A cornerstone of this approach is Moffitt’s “Lab-as-a-Service” (LaaS) model. Internal benchmarking revealed that Moffitt dedicates twice as much space to shared cores compared to a typical institution’s 15 percent average. This model supports advanced microscopy, proteomics and metabolomics, and PK/PD facilities—all overseen by specialized technical and scientific directors.

Dr. Flores emphasized that bringing these cores together “is very important so that the faculty can keep up with the evolving technologies.”

Architectural design: a transparent framework

Architecturally, the Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center embodies the principles of transparency, flexibility, and accessibility. A contiguous lab block is wrapped in glass-enclosed collaboration and circulation spaces, visually connecting the work of different disciplines.

Abanto described the linear equipment room (LER) as the “central spine and organizer for the labs,” allowing researchers to access shared equipment without interrupting experiments. This central service corridor enhances operational efficiency and supports modular adaptability.

Infrastructure design was also reimagined for safety and performance. Fisk noted that bulk cryogenic liquid nitrogen and carbon dioxide systems “totally alleviate the need for carbon dioxide cylinders to be taken to tissue culture rooms and taken up onto each floor.” This central utility system—enabled by Moffitt’s unique funding model—reduces risk, improves safety, and simplifies maintenance.

The team also leaned on prefabrication to accelerate construction and ensure precision. Abanto explained that the building’s exterior employs a high-performing wall system featuring “a two-story mega panel” installed as a unit. Prefabricated components such as the “monumental staircase” and “horizontal lab distribution piping” further streamlined the build, setting the stage for completion in summer 2026.

Building community across campuses

2025 Lab Design Conference speaker—Lloyd Fisk, principal, RFD

With Moffitt operating two campuses located 30 minutes apart, maintaining a unified research culture was essential. “One of the challenges is really creating a community,” said Dr. Flores to the Lab Design Conference audience.

The new Collaboration Hub addresses that challenge directly. Designed as the social heart of the building, the multi-story hub is vertically linked by an open communicating staircase—an intentional move away from Moffitt’s traditional enclosed stairwells. The hub features four zones: Connect (informal gathering), Inform (knowledge sharing), Do (team-based collaboration), and Think (quiet focus).

Dr. Flores also advocated for shared tissue culture rooms, drawing from her own postdoctoral experience. While tissue culture “gets a little boring,” she explained, “this setup sparked a lot of new collaboration.”

To promote interdisciplinary partnerships, the building includes an Integration Lab, which will host joint research projects selected through a competitive proposal process. “We’ll vet the proposals and choose projects that will be able to work in that facility,” Dr. Flores said. This space will help bridge research teams between the new Speros campus and Moffitt’s original South Tampa site.

Transparency and public engagement

One of the project’s boldest moves is its openness to the public. The building’s ground-floor lobby features interactive displays designed to help patients, families, and visitors “learn about what Moffitt is researching upstairs.”

Abanto noted that the Core Labs are intentionally visible from the lobby, making collaboration part of the public experience. However, the design balances openness with security. Fisk explained that “the quote, unquote public access to the building is, is the first floor,” with restricted zones secured beyond the Grand Stair landing. The vivarium, for example, is “strategically placed at the most top floor of the building with no public access.”

Dr. Flores underscored that the goal is not to expose every operational detail, but to build trust: “We’re people and we care and we’re working on important problems.”

A new model for translational research

With an efficient 58 percent net-to-gross ratio and 80 percent fit-out on day one to accommodate growth, the Moffitt Discovery and Innovation Center represents a next-generation model for collaborative cancer research.

By breaking down barriers between disciplines, designing spaces that promote chance encounters, and engaging the public in the scientific mission, the Speros campus reflects a new paradigm in translational research—one where hope, science, and design work in concert to drive discovery.

Experience the future of laboratory planning and design at the 25th annual Lab Design Conference, May 11–14, 2026, in Orlando, FL. Connect with experts, explore innovative case studies, and take part in workshops and lab tours that bring design excellence to life. Learn more and register at www.labdesignconference.com.