The award, to be announced during a visit to New Orleans, is the latest infusion of cash in Biden’s “Cancer Moonshot,” a programme spearheaded by the president and the First Lady that aims to reduce the US cancer death rate by at least half by 2047.

Nearly two million Americans are newly diagnosed with solid tumour cancers each year and surgical removal is often the first step in their treatment, the White House said.

Next-generation microscopes and imaging technology hope to make these surgeries more effective, reducing the need for repeat surgeries and decreasing the damage to healthy tissue, ultimately saving and extending lives, the White House said.

In its first two years, the administration has invested more than US$400 million to fast-track progress on how to prevent, detect, and treat cancer, the White House said.

The eight award recipients include Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Washington, according to the White House.