Ehsan Irajizad, Ph.D.
Department of Biostatistics, Division of Division of Discovery Science
About Dr. Ehsan Irajizad
My research focus is on 1) the application of machine learning approaches and artificial intelligence to large data matrices to identify and establish biomarkers for early detection and risk assessment of cancer, and 2) the development of novel methodologies and algorithms that can be applied to mass spectrometry data to discover novel features, improve detection accuracy and reduce false discovery rate.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Assistant Professor, Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Research Interests
1) Development of biomarker models for early detection and risk assessment of cancer: Through collaboration with Dr. Hanash, I have been directly involved in the development of biomarker panels that offer potential utility for early detection and risk assessment of cancer. These efforts have resulted in 4 Intellectual Properties (IPs) filing. My involvement in these projects range from study design, to biomarker discovery and biomarker panel modeling that includes common approaches such as logistic regression as well as advanced machine learning algorithms. Seminal findings of these works to-date include identification of risk markers for pancreatic cancer, metabolite markers for breast cancer progression, markers for risk assessment of ovarian cancer, and markers for aggressive prostate cancer which were published in high impact journals including Gastroenterology, The Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Nature Communications, and Cancers where I was the analytical author/co-author in these studies. In addition, I am a co-first author for a recently accepted manuscript in Journal of Clinical Oncologythat establishes the utility of a 4-marker protein panel in combination with the smoking model for risk assessment of lung cancer. In addition to these efforts, I have been heavily involved in writing statistical support for several grant applications including two funded grants and 5 pending applications. Funded grants aim to identify biomarkers for distinguishing high-grade versus low-grand IPMN cyst in pancreatic cancer and biomarkers for nodule risk determination in lung cancer.
2) General Framework for Clinicians to Generate Reliable, Reproducible, and Transparent Results:I am an active collaborator with Dr. Bin Yu (Departments of Statistics, Berkeley University) and Dr. Ziding Feng (Departments of Statistics, Fred Hutch) as part of the Veridical Data Science project. The aim of this project is to develop a general framework for clinicians and researchers to generate reliable, reproducible and transparent results in data science. The three primary components of this framework are predictability, computability and stability (PCS). My specific involvement is towards the development of a work flow, following aforementioned components, that can be readily applied by clinicians and researchers for translating and disseminating data findings to the larger scientific community.
3) Pipeline to Reduce False Discovery Rate in Mass Spectrometry Data:Mass spectrometry is a powerful approach for comprehensive assessment of proteins and metabolomics. A single mass spectrometry analysis on a biological sample (e.g. plasma) can create millions of spectra. Annotation of these spectra typically involves searching the produced spectra against an established database; however, these are prone to false-positives. Thus, novel pipelines to reduce the false discovery rate in mass spectrometry-derived data is a necessity. In collaboration with Dr. Hanash group, I have developed a novel method that implement false discovery correction concept into the mass spectrometry searching pipelines and it calculates the minimum number of matching id’sneeded per protein to have a correct estimate of biological features. The corresponding method paper is under preparation.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2018 | University of Houston, Houston, Texas, US, Computational Biology, Ph.D |
| 2014 | Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, IR, Industrial Engineering, BS |
| 2014 | Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, IR, Aerospace Engineering, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2019-2021 | Research Fellowship, Biostatistics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
President of Postdoctoral Association, Biostatistics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2019 - 2020
Other Professional Positions
Data Scientist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2021 - 2022
Intramural Institutional Committee Activities
Biostatistician, Institutional Review Board, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2025 - Present
Extramural Institutional Committee Activities
Biostatistical Advisor, Scientific Review Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - 2023
Biostatistical Reviewer, Scientific Review Committee 3, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2022 - Present
Data Science Member, Electronic Lab Notebook, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2019 - 2019
Selected Presentations & Talks
National Presentations
- Association between plasma diacetylspermine and tumor spermine synthase with outcome in triple negative breast cancer. Conference. Association between plasma diacetylspermine and tumor spermine synthase with outcome in triple negative breast cancer, US.
- A Bayesian confidence metric for proteomic investigations of mixed human and mouse specimens. Conference. A Bayesian confidence metric for proteomic investigations of mixed human and mouse specimens, US.
- Beans to Enrich the Gut microbiome vs. Obesity's Negative Effects: First results from the BE GONE Trial in high-risk colorectal patients. Conference. Beans to Enrich the Gut microbiome vs. Obesity's Negative Effects: First results from the BE GONE Trial in high-risk colorectal patients, US.
Grant & Contract Support
| Date: | 2026 - 2029 |
| Title: | FIRE-AML: A Longitudinal, Machine Learning-Based Framework of Inflammation Driving Relapse and Early Mortality in AML |
| Funding Source: | CPRIT |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | RP260327 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2029 |
| Title: | Blood-based metabolite biomarkers for individualized risk assessment of breast and ovarian cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2025 - 2027 |
| Title: | Circulating microbial- and host-derived metabolite signatures for 5-year risk prediction of colorectal cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH |
| Role: | PI |
| Date: | 2025 - 2030 |
| Title: | Regulation of Mitochondrial Respiration in Diabetic Kidney Disease |
| Funding Source: | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | R01DK142664 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2030 |
| Title: | Deregulation of Sulfatide Synthesis in the Development and Progression of Pancreatic Cancer Precursor Lesions |
| Funding Source: | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | GRANT14165937 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2027 |
| Title: | Citrullinated Peptides as Breast Cancer Vaccine |
| Funding Source: | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | GRANT14155844 |
| Date: | 2025 - 2029 |
| Title: | Molecular Mechanisms of Dietary Immune Modulation and Intestinal Hyperpermeability |
| Funding Source: | CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH INST OF TX |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | #TBA |
| Date: | 2025 - 2029 |
| Title: | Blood based biomarkers to guide clinical decision making with indeterminate pulmonary nodules |
| Funding Source: | CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH INST OF TX |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | #TBA |
| Date: | 2025 - 2028 |
| Title: | RP250217 A Blood-Based Metabolite Panel for Individualized Risk Assessment of Breast Cancer |
| Funding Source: | CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH INST OF TX |
| Role: | PD/PI |
| ID: | #TBA |
| Date: | 2025 - 2028 |
| Title: | Deregulation of Sulfatide Synthesis in the Development and Progression of Pancreatic Cancer Precursor Lesions |
| Funding Source: | CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH INST OF TX |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | RP250058 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2027 |
| Title: | Validation of blood-based biomarkers for risk assessment of lung cancer among individuals with no smoking history in the PLCO Cohort |
| Funding Source: | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
| Role: | PD/PI |
| ID: | 1U01CA295902-01 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2029 |
| Title: | A Blood-Based Metabolite Panel for Individualized Risk Assessment of Breast Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
| Role: | PD/PI |
| ID: | PA-20-185 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2026 |
| Title: | Citrullinated Peptides as Breast Cancer Vaccine |
| Funding Source: | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
| Role: | Biostatician |
| ID: | 1R21CA290277-01 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2028 |
| Title: | Pediatric Bone Sarcoma (PBS) centric target and immune therapy discovery |
| Funding Source: | CANCER PREVENTION RESEARCH INST OF TX |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | RP240440 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2026 |
| Title: | An ethical, equitable, and explainable (3E) multimodal AI algorithm to assess the risk of harboring and developing breast cancer |
| Funding Source: | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH |
| Role: | PD/PI |
| ID: | OTA0000055103 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2029 |
| Title: | Deregulation of Sulfatide Synthesis in the Development and Progression of Pancreatic Cancer Precursor Lesions |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | 1R01CA278948-01A1 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2029 |
| Title: | Integrated quantitative imaging, metabolomics, and pathomics to discern early local and systemic effects of pancreatic cancer subtypes for risk assessment and early detection |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R01CA281899-01A1 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2029 |
| Title: | Applying artificial intelligence to blood-based protein biomarker profiles for risk assessment and early detection of colorectal cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | 1 R01 CA288644-01 |
| Date: | 2024 - 2025 |
| Title: | Application of artificial intelligence to circulating protein biomarkers for early detection of ovarian cancer |
| Funding Source: | The Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation for Ovarian Cancer Research |
| Role: | PI |
| ID: | #tba |
| Date: | 2023 - 2025 |
| Title: | Mobile symptom assessment for cervical cancer patients in Zambia |
| Funding Source: | The Fund for Innovation in Cancer Informatics (ICI) |
| Role: | Co-PI |
| ID: | #TBA |
| Date: | 2023 - 2024 |
| Title: | Early Breast Cancer Detection Using a Novel Plasmonic Nano-Aperture Label-Free Imaging (PANORAMA) Technique |
| Funding Source: | BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
| Role: | Statistician |
| ID: | 2023BCRF00AAP0000248236 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2025 |
| Title: | A Blood-Based Metabolite Panel for Individualized Risk Assessment of Breast Cancer |
| Funding Source: | BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | 1068424 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Blood-Based Biomarkers for Personalized Risk Assessment of Breast and Ovarian Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | U01CA282216 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2026 |
| Title: | LC220417 Improving lung cancer screening through blood-based biomarkers |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense (DOD) |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | LC220417 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2024 |
| Title: | Proteomics Operational Moonshot |
| Funding Source: | UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Moon Shots |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | N/A |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | A composite biomarker and radiomic score for risk stratification of indeterminate pulmonary nodules |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R01CA281896-01 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Kynureninase and NRF2 activation in lung cancer leads to tumoral immunosuppression and poorer outcome |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R01CA266507-01A1 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Integrated quantitative imaging, metabolomics, and pathomics to discern early local and systemic effects of pancreatic cancer subtypes for risk assessment and early detection |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R01CA281899-01 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2025 |
| Title: | Omic biomarkers for enriching trial design in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome after hematopoietic cell transplant |
| Funding Source: | Stanford University |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | FP17926 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Repurposing Glucosylceramide Synthase to Promote Mitochondrial Lethality and Potentiate an Anti-Tumor Immune Response in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | 1R37CA269611-01A1 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Deregulation of Sulfatide Synthesis in the Development and Progression of Pancreatic Cancer Precursor Lesions |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | 1R01CA278948-01 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Blood based biomarkers to complement and expand low-dose CT screening for lung cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R01CA269518-01A1 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2028 |
| Title: | Metabolite Based Biomarkers for Risk Assessment of Breast and Ovarian Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1U2CCA271866-01A1 |
| Date: | 2023 - 2027 |
| Title: | Blood based biomarkers to complement and expand low-dose CT screening for lung cancer |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | RP230201 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Personalized ovarian cancer risk assessment based on biomarker profile |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1U01CA276138-01 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Repurposing glucosylceramide synthase to promote mitochondrial lethality and potentiate an anti-tumor immune response in triple-negative breast cancer |
| Funding Source: | Department of Defense (DOD) |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | #TBA |
| Date: | 2022 - 2024 |
| Title: | A multi-analyte blood-based biomarker panel for early detection of ovarian cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R21CA277335-01 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2024 |
| Title: | Early Breast Cancer Detection Using a Novel Plasmonic Nano-Aperture Label-Free Imaging (PANORAMA) Technique |
| Funding Source: | BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
| Role: | Statistician |
| ID: | BCF-22-189 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Clinical Validation Center for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Computational Scientist |
| ID: | 2U01CA200468-06 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2027 |
| Title: | Clinical Validation Center for Lung Cancer Early Detection |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | 1U01CA271888-01 |
| Date: | 2022 - 2023 |
| Title: | Lung Expanding Reach Moonshot |
| Funding Source: | UT MD Anderson Cancer Center Moon Shot Program |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| ID: | 710499-30-124993-21 |
| Date: | 2021 - 2022 |
| Title: | Lung Moonshot |
| Funding Source: | MDA Moonshot Program |
| Role: | Statistician |
| ID: | 710499-80-123136-21 |
| Date: | 2021 - 2022 |
| Title: | BCL-Microbiome Moonshot |
| Funding Source: | MDA Moonshot Program |
| Role: | Statistician |
| ID: | 710499-30-123963-21 |
| Date: | 2021 - 2026 |
| Title: | Longitudinal Proteomic and Metabolomic Predictors of Pancreatic Cyst Malignant Progression and Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | 5U01CA239522-02 |
| Date: | 2020 - 2022 |
| Title: | Identifying Actionable Signatures of Duodenopancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Progression in MEN1 |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Co-I |
| ID: | 1R21CA252426-01 |
| Date: | 2019 - 2022 |
| Title: | McKee Early Career Investigator in Pancreatic Cancer Research |
| Funding Source: | UT MD Anderson Cancer Center Moon Shot Program |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | 710550-80-122400-19 |
| Date: | 2017 - 2023 |
| Title: | BE GONE Trial: Beans to Enrich the Gut of Obese Colorectal Cancer Survivors |
| Funding Source: | American Cancer Society (ACS) |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| ID: | FP00000361 |
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Katayama H, Fahrmann JF, Olsen C, Irajizad E, Cai Y, Hsiao F, Dennison JB, Perrier ND, Hanash SM. Blood-Based Immunoglobulin-Bound Neoantigen Signatures Associated with MEN Type 1-Related Duodenopancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Progression. J Am Coll Surg 242(4):834-842, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41562477.
- Irajizad E, Fahrmann JF, Wu R, Rudsari H, Dennison JB, Ostrin E, Ajani J, Hanash S. Association of blood levels of forever plastics with lung cancer mortality among ever smokers in the Prostate Lung Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) cohort study. Clin Cancer Res, 2026. e-Pub 2026. PMID: 41779007.
- Chen Y, Dou R, Hong MJ, Xu H, Vykoukal J, Leon-Letelier RA, Cai Y, Park S, Irajizad E, Hsiao FC, Dennison JB, Ostrin EJ, Fahrmann JF, Katayama H, Hanash SM. Lung adenocarcinoma surfaceome remodeling with EGFR inhibitors uncovers placental alkaline phosphatase as a target for combination therapy. Cell Rep Med 6(12):102513, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41406940.
- Vykoukal J, Chen Y, Zuo M, Ballaro R, Hong MJ, Krishna H, Rodriquez-Perera DB, Katayama H, Irajizad E, Wu R, Leon-Letelier RA, Dennison JB, Gutierrez AM, Paulucci-Holthauzen A, Thompson TC, Rusling L, Cai Y, Hsiao FC, Park S, Arun B, Hanash S, Fahrmann JF. Vesicle-mediated mitochondrial clearance presents an actionable metabolic vulnerability in triple-negative breast cancer. Cell Rep Med 6(12):102478, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41406946.
- Fahrmann JF, Irajizad E, Rudsari H, Vykoukal J, Toumazis I, Khorami-Sarvestani S, Ansari S, Yang J, Kettner N, Dennison JB, Ostrin E, Hanash S. Validation of a blood test for multi-cancer risk stratification in a lung cancer screening cohort. medRxiv, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41332848.
- Song, L, Rudsari, HK, Fahrmann, JF, Vykoukal, JV, Hanash, S, Long, JP, Do, K, Irajizad, E. Rank-based learning. Briefings in bioinformatics 26(6), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41705520.
- Chen, Y, Ballaro, R, Sans, M, Thege, F, Zuo, M, Dou, R, Min, J, Yip-Schneider, MT, Zhang, J, Wu, R, Irajizad, E, Makino, Y, Rajapakshe, K, Rudsari, HK, Hurd, MW, Leon Letelier, R, Katayama, H, Ostrin, EJ, Vykoukal, JV, Dennison, JB, Do, K, Hanash, S, Wolff, RA, Guerrero, PA, Kim, M, Schmidt, CM, Maitra, A, Fahrmann, JF. Long-chain sulfatide enrichment is an actionable metabolic vulnerability in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN)-associated pancreatic cancers. Gut 74(10):1638-1652, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40268349.
- Khoshfekr Rudsari H, Khorami-Sarvestani S, Fahrmann JF, Long JP, Hanash S, Do KA, Irajizad E. SMAGS-LASSO: A Novel Feature Selection Method for Sensitivity Maximization in Early Cancer Detection. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40996315.
- Zhu H, Asiaee A, Azinfar L, Li J, Liang H, Irajizad E, Do KA, Long JP. AUPRC: a metric for evaluating the performance of in-silico perturbation methods in identifying differentially expressed genes. Brief Bioinform 26(5), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40889115.
- Curtis SD, Panda S, Li A, Xu H, Bai Y, Ogihara I, O'Reilly E, Wang Y, Dobbyn L, Popoli M, Ptak J, Nehme N, Silliman N, Tie J, Gibbs P, Ho-Pham LT, Tran BNH, Tran TS, Nguyen TV, Irajizad E, Goggins M, Wolfgang CL, Wang TL, Shih IM, Fader A, Lennon AM, Hruban RH, Bettegowda C, Gilbert L, Kinzler KW, Papadopoulos N, Vogelstein B, Vogelstein JT, Douville C. Minimizing and quantifying uncertainty in AI-informed decisions: Applications in medicine. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 122(34):e2424203122, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40833408.
- Liu, C, Mosley, A, Irajizad, E, Yip-Schneider, MT, Wu, H, Smith-Kinnaman, WR, Tran, T, Long, JP, Do, K, Fahrmann, JF, Dewitt, J, Hanash, S, Schmidt, CM, Zhang, J. Cyst fluid proteins stratify malignant risk of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas. Cancer Letters 624, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40300662.
- Kugler E, Dasdemir E, Bataller A, Wang B, DiNardo CD, Daver N, Yilmaz M, Short NJ, Borthakur G, Kadia TM, Sasaki K, Hammond D, Bazinet A, Irajizad E, Thakral B, Pierce S, Reville P, Ravandi F, Abbas HA. Mutation dynamics from diagnosis to relapse in acute myeloid leukemia with chromosomal 7 deletions. Leuk Lymphoma 66(7):1221-1233, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40164144.
- Leon Letelier, R, Chen, Y, Dou, R, Irajizad, E, Yip-Schneider, MT, Wu, R, Ejaz, R, Rudsari, HK, Li, Y, Spencer, R, Ballaro, R, Vykoukal, JV, Hurd, MW, Dennison, JB, Do, K, Maitra, A, Zhang, J, Hanash, S, Schmidt, CM, Fahrmann, JF. Integrated Metabolomics and Spatial Transcriptomics of Cystic Pancreatic Cancer Precursors Reveals Dysregulated Polyamine Metabolism as a Biomarker of Progression. Clinical Cancer Research 31(12):2454-2465, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40184234.
- Gendarme, S, Irajizad, E, Long, JP, Fahrmann, JF, Dennison, JB, Ghasemi, SM, Dou, R, Volk, R, Meza, R, Toumazis, I, Canoui-Poitrine, F, Hanash, S, Ostrin, EJ. Impact of Comorbidities on the Mortality Benefits of Lung Cancer Screening. Journal of Thoracic Oncology 20(5):565-576, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39798695.
- Ballaro, R, Wasylishen, A, Pieterman, CR, Olsen, C, Irajizad, E, Wu, R, Katayama, H, Liu, H, Cai, Y, Leon Letelier, R, Dennison, JB, Waguespack, SG, Do, K, Agarwal, SK, Walter, MF, Welch, JM, Weinstein, LS, Blau, J, Jha, S, Nilubol, N, Vriens, MR, Van Leeuwaarde, RS, Van Treijen, MJ, Valk, GD, Perrier, ND, Hanash, S, Fahrmann, JF. Elevated levels of circulating microbial-associated uremic toxins are associated with metastatic duodenopancreatic neuroendocrine tumors in patients with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1. Cancer Letters 614, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39924079.
- Zhu H, Asiaee A, Azinfar L, Li J, Liang H, Irajizad E, Do KA, Long JP. AUC-PR is a More Informative Metric for Assessing the Biological Relevance of In Silico Cellular Perturbation Prediction Models. bioRxiv, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40161693.
- Ghasemi, SM, Gu, C, Fahrmann, JF, Hanash, S, Do, K, Long, JP, Irajizad, E. A Novel Sensitivity Maximization at a Given Specificity Method for Binary Classifications. Cancer Prevention Research 18(3):117-123, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39618306.
- Fahrmann, JF, Yip-Schneider, MT, Vykoukal, JV, Spencer, R, Dennison, JB, Do, K, Long, JP, Maitra, A, Zhang, J, Schmidt, CM, Hanash, S, Irajizad, E. Lead time trajectory of blood-based protein biomarkers for detection of pancreatic cancer based on repeat testing. Cancer Letters 612, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 39793753.
- Gu, C, Ghasemi, SM, Cai, Y, Fahrmann, JF, Long, JP, Katayama, H, Wu, C, Vykoukal, JV, Dennison, JB, Hanash, S, Do, K, Irajizad, E. Grape-Pi. Bioinformatics Advances 5(1), 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 40406669.
- Gregg, JR, Newcomb, LF, Wu, R, Dennison, JB, Davis, JW, Pettaway, CA, Pisters, L, Ward, JF, Chapin, BF, Chery, LJ, Urkmez, A, Fang, A, Higgason, N, Troncoso, P, Daniel-MacDougall, CR, Logothetis, CJ, Thompson, TC, Hahn, AW, Liu, M, Zheng, Y, Lin, DW, Hanash, SM, Irajizad, E, Fahrmann, JF. Validation of a prognostic blood-based sphingolipid panel for men with localized prostate cancer followed on active surveillance. Biomarker Research 12(1), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39522029.
- Irajizad E, Fahrmann JF, Toumazis I, Vykoukal J, Dennison JB, Shen Y, Do KA, Ostrin EJ, Feng Z, Hanash S. Biomarker trajectory for earlier detection of lung cancer. EBioMedicine 108:105377, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39353277.
- Ishizawa S, Niu J, Tammemagi MC, Irajizad E, Shen Y, Lu KH, Meyer LA, Toumazis I. Estimating sojourn time and sensitivity of screening for ovarian cancer using a Bayesian framework. J Natl Cancer Inst, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39038822.
- Song, L, Irajizad, E, Rundle, A, Sesso, HD, Gaziano, JM, Vykoukal, JV, Do, K, Dennison, JB, Ostrin, EJ, Fahrmann, JF, Perera, F, Hanash, S. Validation of a Blood-Based Protein Biomarker Panel for a Risk Assessment of Lethal Lung Cancer in the Physicians’ Health Study. Cancers 16(11), 2024. e-Pub 2024.
- Song L, Irajizad E, Rundle A, Sesso HD, Gaziano JM, Vykoukal JV, Do KA, Dennison JB, Ostrin EJ, Fahrmann JF, Perera F, Hanash S. Validation of a Blood-Based Protein Biomarker Panel for a Risk Assessment of Lethal Lung Cancer in the Physicians' Health Study. Cancers (Basel) 16(11), 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38893188.
- Ghasem SM, Fahrmann JF, Hanash S, Do KA, Long JP, Irajizad E. A novel method to guide biomarker combinations to optimize the sensitivity. bioRxiv, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38659773.
- Leon-Letelier RA, Chen Y, Ballaro R, Irajizad E, Do KA, Maitra A, Zhang J, Schmidt CM, Fahrmann JF. A Blood-based Metabolite Signature for Personalized Risk Assessment of Pancreatic Cancer. J Cancer Immunol (Wilmington) 6(4):148-153, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 39713022.
- Ben-Ami R, Wang QL, Zhang J, Supplee JG, Fahrmann JF, Lehmann-Werman R, Brais LK, Nowak J, Yuan C, Loftus M, Babic A, Irajizad E, Davidi T, Zick A, Hubert A, Neiman D, Piyanzin S, Gal-Rosenberg O, Horn A, Shemer R, Glaser B, Boos N, Jajoo K, Lee L, Clancy TE, Rubinson DA, Ng K, Chabot JA, Kastrinos F, Kluger M, Aguirre AJ, Jänne PA, Bardeesy N, Stanger B, O'Hara MH, Till J, Maitra A, Carpenter EL, Bullock AJ, Genkinger J, Hanash SM, Paweletz CP, Dor Y, Wolpin BM. Protein biomarkers and alternatively methylated cell-free DNA detect early stage pancreatic cancer. Gut. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38123998.
- Zhang X, Irajizad E, Hoffman KL, Fahrmann JF, Li F, Seo YD, Browman GJ, Dennison JB, Vykoukal J, Luna PN, Siu W, Wu R, Murage E, Ajami NJ, McQuade JL, Wargo JA, Long JP, Do KA, Lampe JW, Basen-Engquist KM, Okhuysen PC, Kopetz S, Hanash SM, Petrosino JF, Scheet P, Daniel CR. Modulating a prebiotic food source influences inflammation and immune-regulating gut microbes and metabolites: insights from the BE GONE trial. EBioMedicine 98:104873, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38040541.
- Irajizad E, Kenney A, Tang T, Vykoukal J, Wu R, Murage E, Dennison JB, Sans M, Long JP, Loftus M, Chabot JA, Kluger MD, Kastrinos F, Brais L, Babic A, Jajoo K, Lee LS, Clancy TE, Ng K, Bullock A, Genkinger JM, Maitra A, Do KA, Yu B, Wolpin BM, Hanash S, Fahrmann JF. A blood-based metabolomic signature predictive of risk for pancreatic cancer. Cell Rep Med 4(9):101194, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37729870.
- Sans M, Chen Y, Thege FI, Dou R, Min J, Yip-Schneider M, Zhang J, Wu R, Irajizad E, Makino Y, Rajapakshe KI, Hurd MW, Leon-Letelier RA, Vykoukal J, Dennison JB, Do KA, Wolff RA, Guerrero PA, Kim MP, Schmidt CM, Maitra A, Hanash S, Fahrmann JF. Integrated spatial transcriptomics and lipidomics of precursor lesions of pancreatic cancer identifies enrichment of long chain sulfatide biosynthesis as an early metabolic alteration. bioRxiv, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37645752.
- Irajizad E, Fahrmann JF, Marsh T, Vykoukal J, Dennison JB, Long JP, Do KA, Feng Z, Hanash S, Ostrin EJ. Mortality Benefit of a Blood-Based Biomarker Panel for Lung Cancer on the Basis of the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cohort. J Clin Oncol:JCO2202424. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37379494.
- Fahrmann JF, Wasylishen AR, Pieterman CRC, Irajizad E, Vykoukal J, Wu R, Dennison JB, Peterson CB, Zhao H, Do KA, Halperin DM, Agarwal SK, Blau JE, Jha S, Rivero JD, Nilubol N, Walter MF, Welch JM, Weinstein LS, Vriens MR, van Leeuwaarde RS, van Treijen MJC, Valk GD, Perrier ND, Hanash SM, Katayama H. Blood-based proteomic signatures associated with MEN1-related Duodenopancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Progression. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37307230.
- Ostrin EJ, Rider NL, Alousi AM, Irajizad E, Li L, Peng Q, Kim ST, Bashoura L, Arain MH, Noor LZ, Patel N, Mehta R, Popat UR, Hosing C, Jenq RR, Rondon G, Hanash SM, Paczesny S, Shpall EJ, Champlin RE, Dickey BF, Sheshadri A. A Nasal Inflammatory Cytokine Signature Is Associated with Early Graft-versus-Host Disease of the Lung after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: Proof of Concept. Immunohorizons 7(6):421-430, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37289498.
- León-Letelier RA, Abdel Sater AH, Chen Y, Park S, Wu R, Irajizad E, Dennison JB, Katayama H, Vykoukal JV, Hanash S, Ostrin EJ, Fahrmann JF. Kynureninase Upregulation Is a Prominent Feature of NFR2-Activated Cancers and Is Associated with Tumor Immunosuppression and Poor Prognosis. Cancers (Basel) 15(3), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36765792.
- Huang L, Long JP, Irajizad E, Doecke JD, Do KA, Ha MJ. A unified mediation analysis framework for integrative cancer proteogenomics with clinical outcomes. Bioinformatics 39(1), 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 36648331.
- Fahrmann JF, Saini NY, Chia-Chi C, Irajizad E, Strati P, Nair R, Fayad LE, Ahmed S, Lee HJ, Iyer S, Steiner R, Vykoukal J, Wu R, Dennison JB, Nastoupil L, Jain P, Wang M, Green M, Westin J, Blumenberg V, Davila M, Champlin R, Shpall EJ, Kebriaei P, Flowers CR, Jain M, Jenq R, Stein-Thoeringer CK, Subklewe M, Neelapu SS, Hanash S. A polyamine-centric, blood-based metabolite panel predictive of poor response to CAR-T cell therapy in large B cell lymphoma. Cell Rep Med 3(11):100720, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36384092.
- Irajizad E, Han CY, Celestino J, Wu R, Murage E, Spencer R, Dennison JB, Vykoukal J, Long JP, Do KA, Drescher C, Lu K, Lu Z, Bast RC, Hanash S, Fahrmann JF. A Blood-Based Metabolite Panel for Distinguishing Ovarian Cancer from Benign Pelvic Masses. Clin Cancer Res 28(21):4669-4676, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36037307.
- Timofeeva, N, Jain, N, Irajizad, E, Aslan, B, Katayama, H, Cai, Y, Ayres, M, Iles, LR, Vykoukal, JV, Dennison, JB, Hanash, S, Wierda, WG, Gandhi, VV. CLL-532 Changes in Proteome of CLL (Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia) Lymphocytes During Investigator-Initiated Trial of Ibrutinib Alone and in Combination With Venetoclax in Treatment-Naïve Patients With CLL. Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma and Leukemia 22:S283, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36163901.
- Park S, Sater AHA, Fahrmann JF, Irajizad E, Cai Y, Katayama H, Vykoukal J, Kobayashi M, Dennison JB, Garcia-Manero G, Mullighan CG, Gu Z, Konopleva M, Hanash S. Novel UHRF1-MYC Axis in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Cancers (Basel) 14(17), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36077796.
- Irajizad E, Fahrmann JF, Long JP, Vykoukal J, Kobayashi M, Capello M, Yu CY, Cai Y, Hsiao FC, Patel N, Park S, Peng Q, Dennison JB, Kato T, Tai MC, Taguchi A, Kadara H, Wistuba II, Katayama H, Do KA, Hanash SM, Ostrin EJ. A Comprehensive Search of Non-Canonical Proteins in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Their Impact on the Immune Response. Int J Mol Sci 23(16), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36012199.
- Fahrmann JF, Tanaka I, Irajizad E, Mao X, Dennison JB, Murage E, Casabar J, Mayo J, Peng Q, Celiktas M, Vykoukal JV, Park S, Taguchi A, Delgado O, Tripathi SC, Katayama H, Soto LMS, Rodriguez-Canales J, Behrens C, Wistuba I, Hanash S, Ostrin EJ. Mutational Activation of the NRF2 Pathway Upregulates Kynureninase Resulting in Tumor Immunosuppression and Poor Outcome in Lung Adenocarcinoma. Cancers (Basel) 14(10), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35626147.
- Fahrmann JF, Marsh T, Irajizad E, Patel N, Murage E, Vykoukal J, Dennison JB, Do KA, Ostrin E, Spitz MR, Lam S, Shete S, Meza R, Tammemägi MC, Feng Z, Hanash SM. Blood-Based Biomarker Panel for Personalized Lung Cancer Risk Assessment. J Clin Oncol 40(8):876-883, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34995129.
- Chen Y, Capello M, Rios Perez MV, Vykoukal JV, Roife D, Kang Y, Prakash LR, Katayama H, Irajizad E, Fleury A, Ferri-Borgogno S, Baluya DL, Dennison JB, Do KA, Fiehn O, Maitra A, Wang H, Chiao PJ, Katz MHG, Fleming JB, Hanash SM, Fahrmann JF. CES2 sustains HNF4α expression to promote pancreatic adenocarcinoma progression through an epoxide hydrolase-dependent regulatory loop. Mol Metab 56:101426, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 34971802.
- Irajizad E, Wu R, Vykoukal J, Murage E, Spencer R, Dennison JB, Moulder S, Ravenberg E, Lim B, Litton J, Tripathym D, Valero V, Damodaran S, Rauch GM, Adrada B, Candelaria R, White JB, Brewster A, Arun B, Long JP, Do KA, Hanash S, Fahrmann JF. Application of Artificial Intelligence to Plasma Metabolomics Profiles to Predict Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. Front Artif Intell 5:876100, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36034598.
- Fahrmann JF, Wasylishen AR, Pieterman CRC, Irajizad E, Vykoukal J, Murage E, Wu R, Dennison JB, Krishna H, Peterson CB, Lozano G, Zhao H, Do KA, Halperin DM, Agarwal SK, Blau JE, Del Rivero J, Nilubol N, Walter MF, Welch JM, Weinstein LS, Vriens MR, van Leeuwaarde RS, van Treijen MJC, Valk GD, Perrier ND, Hanash SM. A Blood-based Polyamine Signature Associated With MEN1 Duodenopancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumor Progression. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 106(12):e4969-e4980, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34318891.
- Fahrmann JF, Katayama H, Irajizad E, Chakraborty A, Kato T, Mao X, Park S, Murage E, Rusling L, Yu CY, Cai Y, Hsiao FC, Dennison JB, Tran H, Ostrin E, Wilson DO, Yuan JM, Vykoukal J, Hanash S. Plasma Based Protein Signatures Associated with Small Cell Lung Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 13(16), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34439128.
- Katayama H, Kobayashi M, Irajizad E, Sevillarno A, Patel N, Mao X, Rusling L, Vykoukal J, Cai Y, Hsiao F, Yu CY, Long J, Liu J, Esteva F, Fahrmann J, Hanash S. Protein citrullination as a source of cancer neoantigens. J Immunother Cancer 9(6), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34112737.
- Fahrmann JF, Schmidt CM, Mao X, Irajizad E, Loftus M, Zhang J, Patel N, Vykoukal J, Dennison JB, Long JP, Do KA, Zhang J, Chabot JA, Kluger MD, Kastrinos F, Brais L, Babic A, Jajoo K, Lee LS, Clancy TE, Ng K, Bullock A, Genkinger J, Yip-Schneider MT, Maitra A, Wolpin BM, Hanash S. Lead-Time Trajectory of CA19-9 as an Anchor Marker for Pancreatic Cancer Early Detection. Gastroenterology 160(4):1373-1383.e6, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33333055.
- Fahrmann JF, Irajizad E, Kobayashi M, Vykoukal J, Dennison JB, Murage E, Wu R, Long JP, Do KA, Celestino J, Lu KH, Lu Z, Bast RC, Hanash S. A MYC-Driven Plasma Polyamine Signature for Early Detection of Ovarian Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 13(4), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33671595.
- Capello M, Fahrmann JF, Rios Perez MV, Vykoukal JV, Irajizad E, Tripathi SC, Roife D, Bantis LE, Kang Y, Kundnani DL, Xu H, Prakash LR, Long JP, Katayama H, Fleury A, Ferri-Borgogno S, Baluya DL, Dennison JB, Aguilar-Bonavides C, Casabar JP, Celiktas M, Do KA, Fiehn O, Maitra A, Wang H, Feng Z, Chiao PJ, Katz MH, Fleming JB, Hanash SM. CES2 Expression in Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Is Predictive of Response to Irinotecan and Is Associated With Type 2 Diabetes. JCO Precis Oncol 4:426-436, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 35050739.
- Vykoukal J, Fahrmann JF, Gregg JR, Tang Z, Basourakos S, Irajizad E, Park S, Yang G, Creighton CJ, Fleury A, Mayo J, Paulucci-Holthauzen A, Dennison JB, Murage E, Peterson CB, Davis JW, Kim J, Hanash S, Thompson TC. Caveolin-1-mediated sphingolipid oncometabolism underlies a metabolic vulnerability of prostate cancer. Nat Commun 11(1):4279, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32855410.
- Fahrmann JF, Vykoukal J, Fleury A, Tripathi S, Dennison JB, Murage E, Wang P, Yu CY, Capello M, Creighton CJ, Do KA, Long JP, Irajizad E, Peterson C, Katayama H, Disis ML, Arun B, Hanash S. Association Between Plasma Diacetylspermine and Tumor Spermine Synthase With Outcome in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 112(6):607-616, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 31503278.
- Fahrmann JF, Mao X, Irajizad E, Katayama H, Capello M, Tanaka I, Kato T, Wistuba II, Maitra A, Ostrin EJ, Hanash SM, Vykoukal J. Plasma-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Convey Protein Signatures that Reflect Pathophysiology in Lung and Pancreatic Adenocarcinomas. Cancers (Basel) 12(5), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32370304.
- Kobayashi M, Katayama H, Irajizad E, Vykoukal JV, Fahrmann JF, Kundnani DL, Yu CY, Cai Y, Hsiao FC, Yang WL, Lu Z, Celestino J, Long JP, Do KA, Lu KH, Ladd JJ, Urban N, Bast RC, Hanash SM. Proteome Profiling Uncovers an Autoimmune Response Signature That Reflects Ovarian Cancer Pathogenesis. Cancers (Basel) 12(2), 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32092936.
- Irajizad E, Ramachandran R, Agrawal A. Geometric instability catalyzes mitochondrial fission. Mol Biol Cell 30(1):160-168, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 30379601.
- Irajizad E, Agrawal A. Vesicle adhesion reveals novel universal relationships for biophysical characterization. Biomech Model Mechanobiol 17(1):103-109, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 28825147.
- Irajizad E, Walani N, Veatch SL, Liu AP, Agrawal A. Clathrin polymerization exhibits high mechano-geometric sensitivity. Soft Matter 13(7):1455-1462, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28124714.
Review Articles
- Rudsari, HK, Tseng, B, Zhu, H, Song, L, Gu, C, Roy, A, Irajizad, E, Butner, JD, Long, JP, Do, K. Digital twins in healthcare. Frontiers in Digital Health 7, 2025. e-Pub 2025. PMID: 41341463.
- León-Letelier RA, Dou R, Vykoukal J, Yip-Schneider MT, Maitra A, Irajizad E, Wu R, Dennison JB, Do KA, Zhang J, Schmidt CM, Hanash S, Fahrmann JF. Contributions of the Microbiome-Derived Metabolome for Risk Assessment and Prognostication of Pancreatic Cancer. Clin Chem 70(1):102-115, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38175578.
Editorials
- Irajizad E, Hanash S. Breast cancer risk assessment: current challenges and the emerging role of blood-based protein biomarkers. J Natl Cancer Inst, 2025. PMID: 40901722.
Letters to the Editor
- Fahrmann JF, Ghasemi SM, Han CY, Wu R, Dennison JB, Vykoukal J, Celestino J, Lu K, Lu Z, Drescher C, Do KA, Hanash S, Bast RC, Irajizad E. A metabolite-based liquid biopsy for detection of ovarian cancer. Biomark Res 12: 91, 2024.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified July 22, 2026