Elias Orouji, University of Toronto

Research

Epigenomics Chromatin Architecture Melanoma Metastasis Chromatin State Colorectal Cancer Histone Modifications Patient-Derived Organoids

Latest papers

Chromatin accessibility landscapes define stromal cell identities across tissues.
Communications biology · 2026 · senior author
Benchmarking peak calling methods for CUT&RUN.
Bioinformatics (Oxford, England) · 2025 · senior author
Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cells in Colorectal Cancer: Pioneering New Avenues in Solid Tumor Immunotherapy.
Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology · 2025 · senior author

All 11 publications

Latest funding

Epigenetic Drivers in Metastatic Melanoma and Chromatin Loop-Specific Targeting Strategies
CIHR · 2023 · Nominated PI
$784,126
3D genome architecture modulates genetic risk in prostate cancer
CIHR · 2021 · Co-investigator
$1,032,750
Mapping epigenomic makeup in colorectal cancer patient models to identify novel therapeutic options
CIHR · 2020 · Nominated PI
$814,726

All 3 grants and awards

11 publications.

01

Chromatin accessibility landscapes define stromal cell identities across tissues.

Nooranikhojasteh A, Tavallaee G, Khuu N, Shen SY, Ouladan S, Raman A, Orouji E

Communications biology2026Senior author

DOI: 10.1038/s42003-026-09720-w PMID: 41735542

02

Benchmarking peak calling methods for CUT&RUN.

Nooranikhojasteh A, Tavallaee G, Orouji E

Bioinformatics (Oxford, England)2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btaf375 PMID: 40569178

03

Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cells in Colorectal Cancer: Pioneering New Avenues in Solid Tumor Immunotherapy.

Ouladan S, Orouji E

Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1200/jco-24-02081 PMID: 39805063

04

Mapping the 3D genome architecture.

Tavallaee G, Orouji E

Computational and structural biotechnology journal2025Senior author

DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2024.12.018 PMID: 39816913

05

Beyond traditional subtyping: a multilayered genomic perspective on colorectal cancer.

Ouladan S, Orouji E

Gut2024Senior author

DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2024-332325 PMID: 38749670

06

MYC reshapes CTCF-mediated chromatin architecture in prostate cancer.

Wei Z, Wang S, Xu Y, Wang W, Soares F, Ahmed M, Su P, Wang T, Orouji E, Xu X, Zeng Y, Chen S, Liu X, Jia T, Liu Z, Du L, Wang Y, Chen S, Wang C, He HH, Guo H

Nature communications2023

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37544-3 PMID: 36997534

07

Computational methods to explore chromatin state dynamics.

Orouji E, Raman AT

Briefings in bioinformatics2022First author

DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbac439 PMID: 36208178

08

A primary hierarchically organized patient-derived model enables in depth interrogation of stemness driven by the coding and non-coding genome.

Boutzen H, Madani Tonekaboni SA, Chan-Seng-Yue M, Murison A, Takayama N, Mbong N, Wagenblast E, Orouji E, Arruda A, Mitchell A, Notta F, Minden MD, Lupien M, Kaufmann KB, Dick JE

Leukemia2022

DOI: 10.1038/s41375-022-01697-9 PMID: 36131042

09

IPO11 regulates the nuclear import of BZW1/2 and is necessary for AML cells and stem cells.

Nachmias B, Khan DH, Voisin V, Mer AS, Thomas GE, Segev N, St-Germain J, Hurren R, Gronda M, Botham A, Wang X, Maclean N, Seneviratne AK, Duong N, Xu C, Arruda A, Orouji E, Algouneh A, Hakem R, Shlush L, Minden MD, Raught B, Bader GD, Schimmer AD

Leukemia2022

DOI: 10.1038/s41375-022-01513-4 PMID: 35152270

10

Reprogramming of bivalent chromatin states in NRAS mutant melanoma suggests PRC2 inhibition as a therapeutic strategy.

Terranova CJ, Tang M, Maitituoheti M, Raman AT, Ghosh AK, Schulz J, Amin SB, Orouji E, Tomczak K, Sarkar S, Oba J, Creasy C, Wu CJ, Khan S, Lazcano R, Wani K, Singh A, Barrodia P, Zhao D, Chen K, Haydu LE, Wang WL, Lazar AJ, Woodman SE, Bernatchez C, Rai K

Cell reports2021

DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109410 PMID: 34289358

Epigenetic Drivers in Metastatic Melanoma and Chromatin Loop-Specific Targeting Strategies

Nominated PICIHR2023Project Grant

Principal investigators: Orouji, Elias

Keywords: Chromatin Architecture; Epigenomics; Melanoma; Metastasis

$784,126

3D genome architecture modulates genetic risk in prostate cancer

Co-investigatorCIHR2021Project Grant

Principal investigators: He, Housheng H

Keywords: 3d Genome; Epigenetics; Genetics; Genome-Wide Association Study; Prostate Cancer

$1,032,750

Mapping epigenomic makeup in colorectal cancer patient models to identify novel therapeutic options

Nominated PICIHR2020Project Grant

Principal investigators: Orouji, Elias

Keywords: Chromatin State; Colorectal Cancer; Epigenomics; Histone Modifications; Patient-Derived Organoids

$814,726

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Frequent collaborators

Medical Biophysics
Research Institute
Other

Co-authors at University of Toronto, colored by department. Thicker lines mean more shared papers; select anyone to open their profile and their own map.

Mathieu Lupien

Medical Biophysics

2 shared papers, latest 2022

Brian Raught

Research Institute

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Razqallah Hakem

Faculty

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Faiyaz Notta

Medical Biophysics

1 shared papers, latest 2022

Write to this professor

A short, specific email works best. This draft uses one of their recent papers; replace the parts in brackets with your own details before sending.

Applying for

Paper to mentionMention their CIHR grant from 2023

Subject: Prospective PhD student: Epigenomics Dear Professor Orouji, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. I read your paper "Chromatin accessibility landscapes define stromal cell identities across tissues." (2026), and it connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your CIHR-funded project "Epigenetic Drivers in Metastatic Melanoma and Chromatin Loop-Specific Targeting Strategies" (2023), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]