NCSI: Modeling Cancer Cells with Subcellular Organelles

Status	Completed
Mentor Name	Mahsa Dabagh
Mentor's XSEDE Affiliation	Assistant professor
Mentor Has Been in XSEDE Community	3-4 years
Project Title	Modeling Cancer Cells with Subcellular Organelles
Summary	We are developing an in-house code for modeling the cancer cells where nucleus and cytoskeleton will be included. We want to study the cell deformation during adhesion to other dell types or interacting with extracellular matrix.
Job Description	Student will work with a team of students on developing in-house code to model the interaction of cancer cells with the other cells and extracellular matrix. The student is expected to write short Matlab codes and perform required post-processing analysis of the results. The student is expected to participate in regular weekly meetings where challenges and progressions will be discussed in detail. Student is expected to prepare a written report about the project and present it to the mentor at the end of his project. Previous background of the adviser in this regard (one in the PLOS ONE, one in AJP- Heart and Circulatory, and several other journal articles and conference papers) has built a base which will be further developed in this work.
Computational Resources	XSEDE, UWM-HPC center, NSF funded new cluster
Contribution to Community	Our code will have the potential for broadly applicable technology. It can be used to model any multicomponent medium with complex structure. The education and outreach work of this proposal will provide opportunities for underrepresented students to learn about integration of computational modeling in medicine during critical years for forming STEM interest and identity. In addition, to promote participation of female students in graduate studies, research opportunities will be offered from students' sophomore year onwards.
Position Type	Apprentice
Training Plan	It is anticipated that these aims will yield the following outcomes. 1. The student will work with a team of several students who have been working on developing different parts of our code. 2. We are developing a code to simulate dynamic interaction of cancer cells with the components of extracellular matrix. Student will directly work with a graduate student and one other undergraduate on this project. This will enhance the team working and interdisciplinary work atmosphere for students. 3. Student will learn about cancer biology and advanced programming. 4. We plan to write one journal article and one conference paper based on the method developed in this project that will involve the student in preparing these articles as a first experience of scientific publishing.
Student Prerequisites/Conditions/Qualifications	Students with strong interest for coding are encouraged to apply. Familiarity to C++ is preferred.
Duration	Semester
Start Date	01/24/2022
End Date	05/20/2022