Ehsan Irajizad, Ph.D.
Department of Biostatistics, Division of VP, Research
About 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.
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Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2018 | University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA, PHD, Computational Biology |
| 2014 | Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, IRN, BS, Industrial Engineering |
| 2014 | Sharif University of Technology, Tehran, IRN, BS, Aerospace Engineering |
Postgraduate Training
| 2019-2021 | Research Fellowship, Biostatistics, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, Division of Basic Science Research, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2022 - Present
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Data Scientist, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2021 - 2022
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- 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.
- 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. PMID: 36648331.
- 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. PMID: 36037307.
- 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, 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.
- 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, 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 2020. PMID: 33333055.
- 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.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Longitudinal Proteomic and Metabolomic Predictors of Pancreatic Cyst Malignant Progression and Early-Stage Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| Title: | BE GONE Trial: Beans to Enrich the Gut of Obese Colorectal Cancer Survivors |
| Funding Source: | American Cancer Society (ACS) |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| Title: | Early Breast Cancer Detection Using a Novel Plasmonic Nano-Aperture Label-Free Imaging (PANORAMA) Technique |
| Funding Source: | BREAST CANCER RESEARCH FOUNDATION |
| Role: | Statistician |
| Title: | Clinical Validation Center for Lung Cancer Early Detection |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Biostatistician |
| Title: | Clinical Validation Center for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NCI |
| Role: | Computational Scientist |