Marcia Bhatt

Marcia Bhatt investigates mechanisms of radioiodine resistance in differentiated thyroid cancer and therapeutic strategies to restore radioiodine uptake. Her research has characterized how BRAF V600E and RAS mutations drive suppression of thyroid-specific gene expression including sodium iodide symporter (NIS) that underlies radioiodine resistance. She has evaluated MEK inhibitor and BRAF inhibitor-based redifferentiation strategies that can restore NIS expression and radioiodine uptake in tumors that had lost this capacity. Her translational work has advanced the clinical evaluation of redifferentiation approaches including selumetinib-augmented radioiodine therapy that obtained FDA approval for radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer.