Lawrence Carin, PhD, Duke’s Vice President for Research, and Greg Eppink, Leica Microsystems Americas, pose with a special glass plaque created for the new Leica Microsystems Center for Excellence at the Light Microscopy Core Facility/ Duke Cancer Institute Light Microscopy Shared Resource. The plaque now graces the entrance to room 377, Nanaline Duke building. (photo by Colin Huth)
Duke and Leica Microsystems Establish Center of Excellence in Microscopy
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From the Duke Cancer Institute archives. Content may be out of date.
Duke University and Leica Microsystems, Inc., have formally established a Leica Microsystems Center of Excellence at the Duke University Light Microscopy Core Facility/Duke Cancer Institute Light Microscopy Shared Resource.
The collaboration was made official at a signing ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 19, between Lawrence Carin, Ph.D., Duke’s Vice President for Research, and Greg Eppink, Leica Microsystems Americas General Manager of Microscopy, followed by a ribbon-cutting.
The center supports a mission to drive new discoveries and insights from scientific research performed using three new Leica imaging systems — the stimulated emission depletion (STED) super-resolution microscope, the Deep in vivo Explorer (DIVE) multiphoton imaging microscope, and the Leica SP8 confocal. This technology allows researchers to capture images and digital movies of the cellular and molecular processes of life.
“A scientist’s insight is only as good as their tools,” said Carin. “We’re very pleased to have this microscopy center on campus to help our investigators see ever deeper into the mysteries of life.”
Advancing Cancer Science
Director of the Light Microscopy Core Facility, Lisa Cameron, Ph.D., and the microscopy specialists Yasheng Gao, Ph.D., and Benjamin Carlson, Ph.D., who run the day-to-day operations of the core.
Colin S. Duckett, Ph.D., Vice Dean for Basic Science at the Duke School of Medicine, emphasized Duke’s commitment to supporting basic biomedical research.
“The fact that our biologists at Duke have the latest-breaking most cutting-edge equipment is obviously a win for us,” he said, addressing the faculty in attendance. “Our job is to lower the barriers so that you can do some fantastic science.”
Leica will support routine maintenance and upgrades of its imaging systems, while the LMCF will give Leica important feedback on functionality and workflow.
“It’s very exciting to be able to advance into the future of scientific research in collaboration with a top-tier institution like Duke,” said Eppink. “With this agreement, we’re enabling researchers to push beyond the boundaries of what can be visualized and quantified. We look forward to continuing this alliance for years to come.”
Carin recognized the “incredible effort” by LMCF director, Lisa Cameron, PhD, in building this new collaboration and lauded her work running the LMCF since August 2016.
“The Light Microscopy Core is one of the most heavily used cores at Duke, fundamental to research across the university,” remarked Carin. “Your leadership is greatly appreciated.”
Partnership
Christopher Counter, Ph.D., chair of the Duke Cancer Institute Shared Resource Oversight Committee and professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology (facing front), chats with fellow DCI member Scott Soderling, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cell Biology, at the celebratory reception. (photo by Colin Huth)
The LMCF was initially formed from several departmental microscope resources in the Levine Science Research Center. The Department of Biology and the Department of Pharmacology & Cancer Biology teamed up, along with the then Comprehensive Cancer Center's Confocal Microscopy Shared Resource, to hire a director in 2006 to establish and run a cooperative microscope facility for the two departments.
The facility received substantial funding from the Office of the Provost and the Dean of the Medical School in 2007 to purchase new equipment and become a resource for the entire Duke community. The facility remains a Duke Cancer Institute (DCI) Shared Resource.
Cameron thanked the university, DCI, and the School of Medicine for their investment in the continuous expansion of the LMCF and its technologies. She also expressed her appreciation for biologist Daniel P. Kiehart, Ph.D., and cancer biologist and DCI member Daniel Julio Lew, Ph.D., who’ve been LMCF advisors since the facility’s founding and for microscopy specialists Yasheng Gao, Ph.D., and Benjamin Carlson, Ph.D., who’ve been running the day-to-day operations of the facility for years.
Cameron also gave a shout-out to Scott Soderling, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Cell Biology and a member of DCI and the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, for his department’s support in hosting the main LMCF location, Nanaline Duke building.
During a celebratory reception following the ceremony, Cameron, Gao, and Carlson gave informal tours of the new Leica imaging systems to a couple dozen Duke researchers and Duke and Leica officials.
The new Leica imaging systems are housed on campus in room 377 of the Nanaline Duke Building and in room 4229 of the Medical Science Research Building III.
“Leica Microsystems will serve as an excellent partner to help push forward the technology to perform advanced light microscopy imaging on a range of samples that are part of the research going on at Duke University, Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), and the Duke School of Medicine,” said Cameron.
As a centrally funded shared resource, the LMCF’s aim is to offer affordable and efficient access to standard and advanced imaging instrumentation for users of all levels of experience and from any discipline across Duke University and the Duke Medical Center campuses. The LMCF can help with live cells, fixed samples, model organisms, small animals, single-molecule imaging, or at most points in between.
The LMCF houses more than 22 microscope systems and nine image analysis workstations — including Leica, Andor Technologies, Carl Zeiss Imaging, Olympus, General Electric, Hamamatsu, and Molecular Devices — across the core’s four campus locations.
We are pleased to announce that David Tuveson, MD, PhD, will join Duke Health as executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), effective October 31, 2026.Dr. Tuveson, a preeminent cancer biologist, is currently the Roy J. Zuckerberg Professor of Cancer Research and director of the National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He is also the chief scientist for the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.Dr. Tuveson is known for developing the first mouse and organoid models of pancreatic cancer and identifying subtypes of cancer-associated fibroblasts. Since developing the first mouse model of pancreatic cancer in 2002, discoveries by his lab team have revealed the molecular drivers of this disease and have led to promising new treatment options. Their approaches include designing new organoid model systems of disease and developing new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for rapid evaluation in preclinical and clinical settings.In honor of his groundbreaking research, Dr. Tuveson was awarded the Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award, the Luminary Award from the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Lustgarten Foundation, and the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence. In 2022, he was on Clarivate’s list of the most cited researchers. Dr. Tuveson was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was elected to the AACR Board of Directors in 2018, and he served as AACR president from 2021 to 2022.As executive director, Dr. Tuveson will lead the DCI, one of the nation's premier cancer centers and a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. For more than 50 years, the DCI has been at the forefront of cancer research and care, bringing together more than 400 researchers and physicians to advance discoveries and treatments that improve the lives of patients across North Carolina and beyond.We want to again express our profound gratitude to Michael Kastan, MD, PhD, DCI’s inaugural executive director and William and Jane Shingleton Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. Dr. Kastan’s visionary leadership during his 13 years at the helm of DCI helped transform the institute into a national model for cancer programs while expanding research, multidisciplinary care, and community impact.Following Dr. Kastan's service, Erik Sulman, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, assumed leadership of the DCI as interim executive director. We are grateful for Dr. Sulman's steady leadership in guiding DCI through this transition and maintaining momentum across its missions.We are also grateful to the search committee, led by Kathleen Ann Cooney, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine and George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Medicine, whose thoughtful work helped identify an exceptional leader through a national search.We are excited to begin this next chapter for DCI under Dr. Tuveson’s extraordinary research innovation and leadership. Please join us in welcoming him to the Duke Health community.
We are pleased to announce that David Tuveson, MD, PhD, will join Duke Health as executive director of the Duke Cancer Institute (DCI), effective October 31, 2026.Dr. Tuveson, a preeminent cancer biologist, is currently the Roy J. Zuckerberg Professor of Cancer Research and director of the National Cancer Institute-Designated Cancer Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. He is also the chief scientist for the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research.Dr. Tuveson is known for developing the first mouse and organoid models of pancreatic cancer and identifying subtypes of cancer-associated fibroblasts. Since developing the first mouse model of pancreatic cancer in 2002, discoveries by his lab team have revealed the molecular drivers of this disease and have led to promising new treatment options. Their approaches include designing new organoid model systems of disease and developing new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches for rapid evaluation in preclinical and clinical settings.In honor of his groundbreaking research, Dr. Tuveson was awarded the Rita Allen Foundation Scholar Award, the Luminary Award from the Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancers, the Distinguished Scholar Award from the Lustgarten Foundation, and the Hamdan Award for Medical Research Excellence. In 2022, he was on Clarivate’s list of the most cited researchers. Dr. Tuveson was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. He is also a Fellow of the Academy of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), was elected to the AACR Board of Directors in 2018, and he served as AACR president from 2021 to 2022.As executive director, Dr. Tuveson will lead the DCI, one of the nation's premier cancer centers and a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. For more than 50 years, the DCI has been at the forefront of cancer research and care, bringing together more than 400 researchers and physicians to advance discoveries and treatments that improve the lives of patients across North Carolina and beyond.We want to again express our profound gratitude to Michael Kastan, MD, PhD, DCI’s inaugural executive director and William and Jane Shingleton Distinguished Professor of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. Dr. Kastan’s visionary leadership during his 13 years at the helm of DCI helped transform the institute into a national model for cancer programs while expanding research, multidisciplinary care, and community impact.Following Dr. Kastan's service, Erik Sulman, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology, assumed leadership of the DCI as interim executive director. We are grateful for Dr. Sulman's steady leadership in guiding DCI through this transition and maintaining momentum across its missions.We are also grateful to the search committee, led by Kathleen Ann Cooney, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine and George Barth Geller Distinguished Professor of Medicine, whose thoughtful work helped identify an exceptional leader through a national search.We are excited to begin this next chapter for DCI under Dr. Tuveson’s extraordinary research innovation and leadership. Please join us in welcoming him to the Duke Health community.
