{"entity":{"id":"idea-moon-open-cancer-cell-state-model","kind":"idea","name":"An open model of every cancer cell state, built from perturbation atlases","aka":[],"tldr":"Map every state a cancer cell can be in, and how drugs and the surrounding tissue move it between states, into an open computational model anyone can query and improve.","summary":"Single-cell and spatial atlases (Human Tumor Atlas Network, Human Cell Atlas) describe cell states; perturbation screens and foundation models trained on them begin to predict responses. The proposal is a coordinated, openly licensed effort to generate perturbation-response single-cell data across hundreds of models and patient samples, train and release a foundation model of cancer cell state transitions, and benchmark it prospectively against drug response in organoids and trials, with the data, weights and benchmarks all public.","asOf":"2026-09-08","links":[{"label":"Human Tumor Atlas Network","url":"https://humantumoratlas.org/"},{"label":"Human Cell Atlas","url":"https://www.humancellatlas.org/"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"cancers":[],"sections":[],"technologies":["single-cell-spatial","crispr-screens","organoids","pathology-foundation-model"],"targets":[],"drugs":[],"companies":["10x-genomics"],"institutions":["broad-institute"],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":["b-tumor-heterogeneity","b-preclinical-models","b-reproducibility"],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"hypothesis":"An open cell-state model predicts drug response and resistance transitions in held-out patient samples better than existing biomarkers and shortens target and combination discovery cycles measurably.","rationale":"Heterogeneity and plasticity defeat single-marker approaches; only a model of states and transitions captures them. Open weights and benchmarks avoid the reproducibility failures of closed models.","test":"Release version one with prospective benchmark on organoid response; then a biomarker-defined trial in which model-predicted responders are enriched and outcomes compared with standard selection.","maturity":"preclinical-evidence","actor":"research","cost":"large","horizonYears":6},"route":"/ideas/idea-moon-open-cancer-cell-state-model/","neighbours":{"technology":[{"id":"crispr-screens","kind":"technology","name":"CRISPR functional genomics","route":"/technologies/crispr-screens/"},{"id":"pathology-foundation-model","kind":"technology","name":"Pathology & radiology foundation models","route":"/technologies/pathology-foundation-model/"},{"id":"organoids","kind":"technology","name":"Patient-derived organoids","route":"/technologies/organoids/"},{"id":"single-cell-spatial","kind":"technology","name":"Single-cell & spatial profiling","route":"/technologies/single-cell-spatial/"}],"company":[{"id":"10x-genomics","kind":"company","name":"10x Genomics","route":"/companies/10x-genomics/"}],"institution":[{"id":"broad-institute","kind":"institution","name":"Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard","route":"/institutions/broad-institute/"}],"bottleneck":[{"id":"b-preclinical-models","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Lab models that fail to predict what happens in patients","route":"/bottlenecks/b-preclinical-models/"},{"id":"b-reproducibility","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Preclinical results do not reproduce","route":"/bottlenecks/b-reproducibility/"},{"id":"b-tumor-heterogeneity","kind":"bottleneck","name":"Tumour heterogeneity and clonal evolution","route":"/bottlenecks/b-tumor-heterogeneity/"}]}}