Grigor Varuzhanyan

Photo of Grigor Varuzhanyan
Title(s)Assistant Adjunct Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
SchoolMedicine
ORCID ORCID Icon0000-0001-6165-0857 Additional info
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    Dr. Varuzhanyan studies how mitochondrial metabolism regulates lineage plasticity, therapeutic resistance, and metabolic vulnerabilities in gynecologic cancers, with a particular interest in treatment-emergent neuroendocrine states that can arise in ovarian and other epithelial malignancies. His work integrates functional genomics, metabolomics, transcriptomics, pharmacology, and computational analyses of large-scale cancer datasets to identify mitochondrial dependencies that drive tumor progression and treatment resistance. He is also interested in how alternative RNA splicing rewires mitochondrial function to create cancer-specific vulnerabilities that may be therapeutically exploited.

    Dr. Varuzhanyan received his Ph.D. in Biology from the California Institute of Technology, where he trained in the laboratory of David C. Chan, M.D., Ph.D., as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, studying mitochondrial fusion, fission, and mitophagy in the male germline. He subsequently completed his postdoctoral training at UCLA in the laboratory of Owen N. Witte, M.D., where he investigated the role of mitochondrial metabolism in regulating lineage plasticity in aggressive small-cell neuroendocrine cancers.

    Dr. Varuzhanyan is a member of the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and its Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Program.

    Collapse Biography 
    Collapse education and training
    University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CAPostdoc06/2026Cancer metabolism
    California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CAPh.D.09/2020Mitochondrial biology and metabolism
    California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Pomona, CAB.S.08/2013Biology and electrophysiology
    Collapse awards and honors
    University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)2025  - 2025Chancellor’s Award for Postdoctoral Research
    University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)2024  - 2025UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) Postdoctoral Fellowship
    University of California, Los Angeles2024  - 2025UCLA ARC 3Rs Research Grant (Animal Replacement, Reduction, Refinement)
    University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)2023  - 2026G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation Research Grant – Lead Scientific Author
    University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)2020  - 2024NIH Tumor Cell Biology Training Grant (T32)
    California Institute of Technology2016  - 2019NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
    Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America (AESA)2015  - 2015Young Scientist and Community Activist Award
    California Institute of Technology2014  - 2016NIH Cell and Molecular Biology Training Grant (T32)
    California Institute of Technology2012  - 2013CIRM Undergraduate Research Internship
    California State Polytechnic University, Pomona2011  - 2011NSF-LSAMP fellowship
    California State Polytechnic University, Pomona2011  - 2011Summer Research Apprenticeship (CCRAA)

    Collapse Research 
    Collapse Featured Publications
    Collapse research activities and funding
    Development of an in vitro organoid model for small cell neuroendocrine cancers to eliminate animal use and enable genome-wide genetic screening
    UCLA’s Animal Research Committee (ARC) 3R Grant Sep 1, 2024 - Sep 1, 2025
    Role: PI
    Exploring the Impact of PGC-1a-Induced Metabolic Reprogramming on Development and Lineage Determination in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.
    UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC) Postdoc Fellowship May 1, 2024 - May 1, 2025
    Role: PI
    PGC-1a-induced mitochondrial respiration as a novel therapeutic target for pan small cell neuroendocrine cancer.
    The G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation Jun 1, 2023 - Jun 1, 2026
    Role: Lead scientific author
    Mitochondrial metabolism in small-cell neuroendocrine cancers of the prostate and lung
    Tumor Cell Biology Training Program NIH Grant (T32) T32 CA 009056-46May 1, 2020 - May 1, 2024

    Collapse Featured Content 
    Collapse Community and Public Service

    Collapse Bibliographic 
    Collapse publications
    Publications listed below are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact us for help. to make corrections and additions.
    Newest   |   Oldest   |   Most Cited   |   Most Discussed   |   Timeline   |   Field Summary   |   Plain Text
    Altmetrics Details PMC Citations indicate the number of times the publication was cited by articles in PubMed Central, and the Altmetric score represents citations in news articles and social media. (Note that publications are often cited in additional ways that are not shown here.) Fields are based on how the National Library of Medicine (NLM) classifies the publication's journal and might not represent the specific topic of the publication. Translation tags are based on the publication type and the MeSH terms NLM assigns to the publication. Some publications (especially newer ones and publications not in PubMed) might not yet be assigned Field or Translation tags.) Click a Field or Translation tag to filter the publications.
    1. OGDHL Promotes Prostate Cancer Progression and Regulates Neuroendocrine Marker Expression and Nucleotide Abundance. Mol Cancer Res. 2026 05 04; 24(5):356-375. Bernard MJ, Gallardo A, Ruiz A, Diaz JA, Nunley NM, Dove RN, Zhang S, Lee E, Heering KY, Varuzhanyan G, Bopardikar S, Hashimoto T, Agrawal R, Smith CM, Wilde BR, Matulionis N, Richards HM, Lee SCS, Sharifi MN, Lang JM, Zhao SG, Witte ON, Haffner MC, Shackelford DB, Boutros PC, Christofk HR, Goldstein AS. PMID: 41591383; PMCID: PMC12949684.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    2. Synthetic lethality between RB-loss and E2F3 inhibition in small cell cancers targeted by pyrimidine synthesis blockade. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2026 Mar 24; 123(12):e2532814123. Abt ER, Wang L, Varuzhanyan G, Freeland J, He T, Peña-Garcia GM, Ruegg L, McLaughlin J, Cheng D, Balanis NG, Chen CC, Xu Y, Xing Y, Memarzadeh S, Radu CG, Graeber TG, Witte ON. PMID: 41860961; PMCID: PMC13012052.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    3. PGC-1α drives small cell neuroendocrine cancer progression toward an ASCL1-expressing subtype with increased mitochondrial capacity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2024 12 03; 121(49):e2416882121. Varuzhanyan G, Chen CC, Freeland J, He T, Tran W, Song K, Wang L, Cheng D, Xu S, Dibernardo GA, Esedebe FN, Bhatia V, Han M, Abt ER, Park JW, Memarzadeh S, Shackelford DB, Lee JK, Graeber TG, Shirihai OS, Witte ON. PMID: 39589879; PMCID: PMC11626175.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 8     Fields:    Translation:HumansAnimalsCells
    4. PGC-1α drives small cell neuroendocrine cancer progression towards an ASCL1-expressing subtype with increased mitochondrial capacity. bioRxiv. 2024 Jul 25. Varuzhanyan G, Chen CC, Freeland J, He T, Tran W, Song K, Wang L, Cheng D, Xu S, Dibernardo GA, Esedebe FN, Bhatia V, Han M, Abt ER, Park JW, Memarzadeh S, Shackelford D, Lee JK, Graeber T, Shirihai O, Witte O. PMID: 38645232; PMCID: PMC11030384.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions:
    5. Temporal evolution reveals bifurcated lineages in aggressive neuroendocrine small cell prostate cancer trans-differentiation. Cancer Cell. 2023 12 11; 41(12):2066-2082.e9. Chen CC, Tran W, Song K, Sugimoto T, Obusan MB, Wang L, Sheu KM, Cheng D, Ta L, Varuzhanyan G, Huang A, Xu R, Zeng Y, Borujerdpur A, Bayley NA, Noguchi M, Mao Z, Morrissey C, Corey E, Nelson PS, Zhao Y, Huang J, Park JW, Witte ON, Graeber TG. PMID: 37995683; PMCID: PMC10878415.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 39     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    6. Wild-type C-Raf gene dosage and dimerization drive prostate cancer metastasis. iScience. 2023 Dec 15; 26(12):108480. Ta L, Tsai BL, Deng W, Sha J, Varuzhanyan G, Tran W, Wohlschlegel JA, Carr-Ascher JR, Witte ON. PMID: 38089570; PMCID: PMC10711388.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 1  
    7. Hydrogel Arrays Enable Increased Throughput for Screening Effects of Matrix Components and Therapeutics in 3D Tumor Models. J Vis Exp. 2022 06 16; (184). Liang J, Sohrabi A, Epperson M, Rad LM, Tamura K, Sathialingam M, Skandakumar T, Lue P, Huang J, Popoli J, Yackly A, Bick M, Wang ZZ, Chen CC, Varuzhanyan G, Damoiseaux R, Seidlits SK. PMID: 35781280; PMCID: PMC9969841.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
    8. Fis1 ablation in the male germline disrupts mitochondrial morphology and mitophagy, and arrests spermatid maturation. Development. 2021 08 15; 148(16). Varuzhanyan G, Ladinsky MS, Yamashita SI, Abe M, Sakimura K, Kanki T, Chan DC. PMID: 34355730; PMCID: PMC8380467.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 16     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    9. Mitochondrial fission factor (Mff) is required for organization of the mitochondrial sheath in spermatids. Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj. 2021 05; 1865(5):129845. Varuzhanyan G, Chen H, Rojansky R, Ladinsky MS, McCaffery JM, Chan DC. PMID: 33476744; PMCID: PMC7904653.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 18     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    10. Mitochondrial Dynamics and Mitophagy during Male Germline Development . 2021. Grigor Varuzhanyan. . View Publication.
    11. Mitochondrial dynamics during spermatogenesis. J Cell Sci. 2020 07 16; 133(14). Varuzhanyan G, Chan DC. PMID: 32675215; PMCID: PMC7375475.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 42     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    12. Mitochondrial fusion is required for spermatogonial differentiation and meiosis. Elife. 2019 10 09; 8. Varuzhanyan G, Rojansky R, Sweredoski MJ, Graham RLJ, Hess S, Ladinsky MS, Chan DC. PMID: 31596236; PMCID: PMC6805159.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 55     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    13. Hierarchical and stage-specific regulation of murine cardiomyocyte maturation by serum response factor. Nat Commun. 2018 09 21; 9(1):3837. Guo Y, Jardin BD, Zhou P, Sethi I, Akerberg BN, Toepfer CN, Ai Y, Li Y, Ma Q, Guatimosim S, Hu Y, Varuzhanyan G, VanDusen NJ, Zhang D, Chan DC, Yuan GC, Seidman CE, Seidman JG, Pu WT. PMID: 30242271; PMCID: PMC6155060.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 62     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    14. Mitochondrial Dynamics is a Distinguishing Feature of Skeletal Muscle Fiber Types and Regulates Organellar Compartmentalization. Cell Metab. 2015 Dec 01; 22(6):1033-44. Mishra P, Varuzhanyan G, Pham AH, Chan DC. PMID: 26603188; PMCID: PMC4670593.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 151     Fields:    Translation:AnimalsCells
    15. Huntington disease skeletal muscle is hyperexcitable owing to chloride and potassium channel dysfunction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 May 28; 110(22):9160-5. Waters CW, Varuzhanyan G, Talmadge RJ, Voss AA. PMID: 23671115; PMCID: PMC3670332.
      View in: PubMed   Mentions: 45     Fields:    Translation:Animals
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