The University of South Florida and Tampa General Hospital received nearly $2 million from the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund to deploy artificial intelligence-driven tools that will eliminate geographic barriers to cervical cancer care in rural Florida communities. The initiative will target four high-volume primary care clinics serving rural areas, where more than 662,000 Florida residents live in non-metropolitan areas with limited access to specialty cancer care.
“This award exemplifies USF Health’s commitment to translating discovery into real-world impact, and we are grateful to the Florida Cancer Innovation Fund for prioritizing projects like this,” said Charles J. Lockwood, executive vice president of USF Health and dean of the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. “By integrating advanced informatics with clinical expertise and community partnership, this initiative will improve health access and ultimately lead to better outcomes for patients across Florida and beyond.”
The project addresses a critical health disparity where lagging screening rates in rural communities often result in late-stage diagnoses of preventable cancers. In some Florida counties, more than half of cervical cancer patients are diagnosed at advanced stages, frequently because they cannot access timely follow-up care after abnormal screening results. Cervical cancer incidence continues to rise in rural communities despite being almost entirely preventable.
“Our Care Coordination Center has already transformed how we deliver care within the hospital,” said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital. “This initiative demonstrates how those same innovations can be extended beyond our walls to strengthen prevention, enable earlier detection and expand access to care for rural communities across Florida.”
Tampa General’s Care Coordination Center serves as the foundation for the initiative, representing a revolutionary platform built in partnership with Palantir that integrates more than 20 AI-driven applications. The system translates real-time data into clinical action across hospital operations, supporting day-to-day functions at one of the nation’s largest healthcare facilities. The AI technology will enable clinicians to identify patients overdue for screening during routine visits and engage them in HPV self-testing.
“We already have the tools to prevent cervical cancer, but too often rural communities lack the systems needed to deliver those tools,” said project lead Dr. Matthew Anderson, professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and associate director of research analytics and shared resources at the TGH Cancer Institute. “This award allows us to create continuity where it has historically been missing, combining advanced technology with human-centered care so that where a woman lives no longer determines her cancer risk.”
The AI-enhanced navigation platform will ensure that abnormal screening results trigger timely follow-up care through automated systems. When abnormal results occur, the AI-driven tools will proactively flag patients requiring diagnostic evaluation and help coordinate access to colposcopy and specialty care, even in counties where those services are not locally available. The project will replace fragmented screening and follow-up processes with a coordinated system that supports patients from detection through diagnosis.
The Florida Cancer Innovation Fund represents an initiative of the Casey DeSantis Cancer Research Program, which prioritizes cutting-edge cancer research and care throughout the state in honor of the First Lady’s personal battle with breast cancer. The First Lady announced a total of $60 million in cancer research funding throughout the state at a ceremony at USF in September 2025, demonstrating the state’s commitment to addressing health disparities through innovative technology solutions.