project-idea

Cell Cycle Phase–Invasion Window Simulator for Metastasis Research

Invadopodia-mediated invasion is cell cycle phase-dependent and shifts as EMT progresses — meaning the window when a cancer cell is most invasive can be predicted based on its EMT state.

Build an interactive educational and research tool that visualizes the relationship between EMT state, cell cycle phase, and invasion potential — a 'metastasis clock' that researchers can use to reason about when and how to intervene. The tool would let users explore: at a given EMT stage, which cell cycle phase is most invasive? What happens to invasion if FILIP1L is knocked out?

For the research use case, the tool could integrate with public single-cell RNA-seq datasets from breast cancer to let users map their own cell populations onto the EMT-cell cycle grid, identifying which cells in a tumor are most likely to be in the 'invasion-primed' state at any given time.

A simpler patient-facing version could explain the concept of 'invasion timing' in plain language — helping patients understand why cancer cells spread and why disrupting the cell cycle can reduce metastasis, without requiring knowledge of molecular biology.

Who Is This For?

Cancer cell biologists as a research visualization tool; science communicators and patient advocates for the plain-language version.

Skills & Tools Needed

Single-cell RNA-seq analysis (Seurat, Scanpy) for the research mode
Interactive data visualization (D3.js, Plotly, or Observable)
EMT and cell cycle gene scoring (established gene signatures from literature)
Basic web development for the interactive frontend
Science communication writing for the patient-facing layer

Feasibility

medium — The visualization concept is straightforward, but integrating real scRNA-seq data meaningfully requires bioinformatics expertise; a conceptual interactive demo could be built quickly while the data integration layer takes longer.

Inspired by: EMT and cell cycle control invadopodia and metastasis in breast cancer via Filip1L

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