Dr. Boufraqech postdoctoral studies led to many seminal discoveries in cancer biology and have significantly improved our understanding of thyroid cancer biology. Using several molecular biology approaches and animal models for metastasis, she provided evidence on the role of miRNAs and Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in thyroid cancer progression and metastasis. Her research has also led to the screening and the repurposing of anticancer drugs, and the use of targeted therapy and precision medicine to tackle anaplastic thyroid cancer.

Currently at the University of Texas at Austin, she will establish the first comprehensive research program on identifying new therapeutic targets in endocrine cancers, and understanding the molecular pathways underlying resistance to targeted therapies. First, using epigenomics tools she will map the transcriptional changes associated with thyroid cancer progression from differentiated tumors. Second, she will identify the mechanism of resistance to targeted therapies using genome-wide analysis and whole exome sequencing datasets. Third, using a new high throughtput drugs screening dataset obtained with thyroid cancer cells carrying different mutations, she will define new therapeutics strategies relevant to specific mutations.

1. 1. Boufraqech M and Nilubol N. Multi-omics Signatures and Translational Potential to Improve Thyroid Cancer Patient Outcome. Cancers. 2019 Dec. In press.
2. 2. WeyemiU, Paul BD, Bhattacharya D, Malla AP, Boufraqech M, Harraz MM, Bonner WM, Snyder SH. Histone H2AX promotes neuronal health by controlling mitochondrial homeostasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.2019 Apr 9;116(15):7471-7476. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1820245116. Epub 2019 Mar 25.
3. Boufraqech M,Patel D,Nilubol N, Powers A, King T, Shell J, Lack J, Zhang L, Gara SK, Gunda V, Klubo-Gwiezdzinska J, Kumar S, Fagin J, Knauf J, Parangi S, Venzon D, Quezado M, Kebebew E.^“Lysyl Oxidase expression is regulated by the BRAF/MAPK pathway and is a prognostic marker in thyroid cancer”. Thyroid 2019 Jan;29(1):79-92. doi: 10.1089/thy.2018.0424. Epub 2018 Dec 28.
4. 4. NarisNilubol, Myriem Boufraqech, Lisa Zhang, Kelli Gaskins, Min Shen, Ya-Qin Zhang, Sudheer K. Gara, Christopher P. Austin, Electron Kebebew. Synergistic combination of flavopiridol and carfilzomib targets commonly dysregulated pathways in adrenocortical carcinoma and has biomarkers of response. Oncotarget DOI:18632/oncotarget.26050: 2018 Aug 21.
5. 5. Shell J, Keutgen XM, Millo C, Nilubol N, Patel D, Sadowski S, Boufraqech M, Yang L, Merkel R, Atallah C, Herscovitch P, Kebebew E. 68-Gallium DOTATATE scanning in symptomatic patients with negative anatomic imaging but suspected neuroendocrine tumor. Int J Endocr Oncol. 2018 Feb 2;5(1):IJE04. doi: 10.2217/ije-2017-0005. eCollection 2018 Feb.
6. 6. Thakur S, Daley B, Gaskins K, Vasko VV, Boufraqech M, Patel D, Sourbier C, Reece J, Cheng SY, Kebebew E, Agarwal S, Klubo-Gwiezdzinska J. Metformin Targets Mitochondrial Glycerophosphate Dehydrogenase to Control Rate of Oxidative Phosphorylation and Growth of Thyroid CancerIn Vitro and In Vivo. Clin Cancer Res. 2018 Aug 15;24(16):4030-4043. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-3167. Epub 2018 Apr 24.
7. Keutgen XM, Kumar S, Gara S, Boufraqech M, Agarwal S, Hruban RH, Nilubol N, Quezado M, Finney R, Cam M, Kebebew E. Transcriptional alterations in hereditary and sporadic nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors according to genotype. Cancer. 2018 Feb 1;124(3):636-647. doi: 10.1002/cncr.31057. Epub 2017 Nov 17. Erratum in:Cancer. 2018 Apr 
8. .Kotian S, Zhang L, Boufraqech M, Gaskins K, Gara SK, Quezado MM, Nilubol N, Kebebew E. “Dual Inhibition of HDAC and tyrosine kinase signaling pathways with CUDC-907 inhibits thyroid cancer growth and metastases.” Clin Cancer Res. 2017 Jun 9. pii: clincanres.1043.2017. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-17-1043.
9. 9. Boufraqech M^*, Joanna Klubo-Gwiezdzinska^* and Electron Kebebew. “MicroRNAs in the thyroid” Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2016 Oct;30(5):603-619. doi: 10.1016/j.beem.2016.10.001. *Both authors contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors.
10. 10. Boufraqech M, Wei D, Weyemi U, Zhang L, Quezado M, Kalab P, Kebebew E. LOX is a novel mitotic spindle-associated protein essential for mitosis. Oncotarget. 2016 Apr 7:29023-29035. doi: 10.18632/Oncotarget.8628
11. 11. Boufraqech M, Zhang L, Nilubol N, Sadowski SM, Kotian S, Quezado MM, Kebebew E. Lysyl Oxidase (LOX) transcriptionally regulates SNAI2 expression and TIMP4 secretion in human cancers. Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Mar 30. pii: Clin Cancer Res.2461.2015
12. 12. Zhang L, Boufraqech M, Lake R, Kebebew E. Carfilzomib potentiates CUDC-101-induced apoptosis in anaplastic thyroid cancer. Oncotarget. 2016 Feb 26. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.7760.
13. 13. Weyemi U, Redon CE, Choudhuri R, Aziz T, Maeda D, Boufraqech M, Parekh PR, Sethi TK, Kasoji M, Abrams N³, Merchant A³, Rajapakse VN¹, Bonner WM¹. The histone variant H2A.X is a regulator of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Nat Commun. 2016 Feb 15;7:10711. doi: 10.1038/ncomms10711.
14. 14. Satoh K, Zhang L, Zhang Y, Chelluri R, Boufraqech M, Nilubol N, Patel D, Shen M, Kebebew E. Identification of Niclosamide as a Novel Anticancer Agent for Adrenocortical Carcinoma. Clin Cancer Res. 2016 Feb 12. pii: Clin Cancer Res.2256.2015.
15. Gara SK, Wang Y, Patel D, Liu-Chittenden Y, Jain M, Boufraqech M, Zhang L, Meltzer PS, Kebebew E. Integrated genome-wide analysis of genomic changes and gene regulation in human adrenocortical tissue samples. Nucleic Acids Res. 2015 Oct 30;43(19):9327-39
16. Patel D, Gara SK, Ellis RJ, Boufraqech M, Nilubol N, Millo C, Stratakis CA, Kebebew E. FDG PET/CT Scan and Functional Adrenal Tumors: A Pilot Study for Lateralization. World J Surg. 2016 Mar;40(3):683-9. doi: 10.1007/s00268-015-3242-y.
17. Boufraqech M, Kebebew E. New genomic somatic amplifications and deletions in papillary thyroid cancer. Endocrine. 2015 Nov;50(2):270-1.
18. 18. Mehta A, Zhang L, Boufraqech M, Zhang Y, Patel D, Shen M, Kebebew E. Carfilzomib is an effective anticancer agent in anaplastic thyroid cancer. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2015 Jun;22(3):319-29.
19. 19. Sadowski SM, Boufraqech M, Zhang L, Mehta A, Kapur P, Zhang Y, Li Z, Shen M, Kebebew E. Torin2 targets dysregulated pathways in anaplastic thyroid cancer and inhibits tumor growth and metastasis. Oncotarget. 2015 Jul 20;6(20):18038-49.
20. 20. Mehta A, Zhang L, Boufraqech M, Liu-Chittenden Y, Zhang Y, Patel D, Davis S, Rosenberg A, Ylaya K, Aufforth R, Li Z, Shen M, Kebebew E. Inhibition of Survivin with YM155 Induces Durable Tumor Response in Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2015 Sep 15;21(18):4123-32.
21. 21. Zhang L, Zhang Y, Mehta A, Boufraqech M, Davis S, Wang J, Tian Z, Yu Z, Boxer MB, Kiefer JA, Copland JA, Smallridge RC, Li Z, Shen M, Kebebew E. Dual inhibition of HDAC and EGFR signaling with CUDC-101 induces potent suppression of tumor growth and metastasis in anaplastic thyroid cancer. Oncotarget. 2015 Apr 20;6(11):9073-85
22. Boufraqech M, Nilubol N, Zhang L, Gara SK, Sadowski SM, Mehta A, He M, Davis S, Dreiling J, Copland JA, Smallridge RC, Quezado MM, Kebebew E. miR30a inhibits LOX expression and anaplastic thyroid cancer progression. Cancer Res. 2015 Jan 15;75(2):367-77.
23. 23. Mehta A, Patel D, Rosenberg A, Boufraqech M, Ellis RJ, Nilubol N, Quezado MM, Marx SJ, Simonds WF, Kebebew E. Hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome: Results of operative management. Surgery. 2014 Dec;156(6):1315-24
24. Boufraqech M, Zhang L, Jain M, Patel D, Ellis R, Xiong Y, He M, Nilubol N, Merino MJ, Kebebew E. miR-145 suppresses thyroid cancer growth and metastasis and targets AKT3. Endocr Relat Cancer. 2014 Aug;21(4):517-31.
25. 25. Jain M, Zhang L, Boufraqech M, Liu-Chittenden Y, Bussey K, Demeure MJ, Wu X, Su L, Pacak K, Stratakis CA, Kebebew E. ZNF367 inhibits cancer progression and is targeted by miR-195. PLoS One. 2014 Jul 21;9(7):e101423.
26. 26. Patel D, Ellis R, Howard B, Boufraqech M, Gara SK, Zhang L, Quezado MM, Nilubol N, Kebebew E. Analysis of IGF and IGFBP as prognostic serum biomarkers for adrenocortical carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol. 2014 Oct;21(11):3541-7.
27. 27. Nilubol N, Boufraqech M, Zhang L, Kebebew E. Loss of CPSF2 expression is associated with increased thyroid cancer cellular invasion and cancer stem cell population, and more aggressive disease. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Jul;99(7):E1173-82.
28. 28. Ellis RJ, Wang Y, Stevenson HS, Boufraqech M, Patel D, Nilubol N, Davis S, Edelman DC, Merino MJ, He M, Zhang L, Meltzer PS, Kebebew E. Genome-wide methylation patterns in papillary thyroid cancer are distinct based on histological subtype and tumor genotype. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Feb;99(2):E329-37.
29. 29. Patel D, Boufraqech M, Jain M, Zhang L, He M, Gesuwan K, Gulati N, Nilubol N, Fojo T, Kebebew E. MiR-34a and miR-483-5p are candidate serum biomarkers for adrenocortical tumors. Surgery. 2013 Dec;154(6):1224-8.
30. Boufraqech M, Patel D, Xiong Y, Kebebew E. Diagnosis of thyroid cancer: state of art. Expert Opin Med Diagn. 2013 Jul;7(4):331-42.
31. Boufraqech M, Fassassi C, Kebebew E. TLR-10 polymorphism and papillary thyroid cancer: one more SNP to consider? Endocrine. 2013 Feb;43(1):10-1.
32. 32. Weyemi U, Lagente-Chevallier O, Boufraqech M, Prenois F, Courtin F, Caillou B, Talbot M, Dardalhon M, Al Ghuzlan A, Bidart JM, Schlumberger M, Dupuy C. ROS-generating NADPH oxidase NOX4 is a critical mediator in oncogenic H-Ras-induced DNA damage and subsequent senescence. Oncogene. 2012 Mar 1;31(9):1117-29.
33. 33. Fortunato RS, Lima de Souza EC, Ameziane-el Hassani R, Boufraqech M, Weyemi U, Talbot M, Lagente-Chevallier O, de Carvalho DP, Bidart JM, Schlumberger M, Dupuy C. Functional consequences of dual oxidase-thyroperoxidase interaction at the plasma membrane. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Dec;95(12):5403-11.
34. 34. Ameziane-El-Hassani R*, Boufraqech M*, Lagente-Chevallier O, Weyemi U, Talbot M, Métivier D, Courtin F, Bidart JM, El Mzibri M, Schlumberger M, Dupuy C. Role of H2O2 in RET/PTC1 chromosomal rearrangement produced by ionizing radiation in human thyroid cells. Cancer Res. 2010 May 15;70(10):4123-32. (* Ameziane-El-Hassani and M. Boufraqech contributed equally to this work and are co-first authors.)

2019  American Thyroid Association Research Grant

2017  Finalist for the NCI Outstanding post-doctoral fellow (5 finalists)

2016  Finalist for the Trans-NIH Earl Stadtman Tenure-Track Investigators search

2015  NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence

2014  NIH Fellows Award for Research Excellence

2014   Endocrine Society Outstanding Abstract Award

2013   American Thyroid Association fellow Grant

2011   Ph.D. training fellowship attributed by the French Association of Cancer Research (ARC)

Myriem Boufraqech (Invited speaker). Targeting the Epigenome in Endocrine Cancers. Keystone symposium, February 2018, Denver, USA.

Myriem Boufraqech (Invited speaker). MicroRNA-LOX-SLUG Axis in Thyroid Cancer Progression. American Thyroid association, October 2017, Victoria, Canada.

Myriem Boufraqech, Lisa Zhang, Naris Nilubol, David Wei, Maria Merino, John A. Copland, Electron Kebebew. Identification of Differentially Expressed LncRNA with Biologic Function in Thyroid Cancer. International Thyroid Congress, Lake Buena Vista, USA. October 2015.

Myriem Boufraqech, Naris Nilubol, Lisa Zhang, Sudheer Kumar Gara, Samira M. Sadowski, Amit Mehta, Mei He, Sean Davis, Jennifer Dreiling, John A. Copland, Robert C. Smallridge, Martha M. Quezado, and Electron Kebebew. miR-30a Inhibits LOX Expression and Thyroid Cancer Progression. CCR Colloquium, NCI Frederick, USA. March 2014.

Myriem Boufraqech, Naris Nilubol, Lisa Zhang, Sudheer Kumar Gara, Samira M. Sadowski, Amit Mehta, Mei He, Sean Davis, Jennifer Dreiling, John A. Copland, Robert C. Smallridge, Martha M. Quezado, and Electron Kebebew. miR-30a Inhibits LOX Expression and Thyroid Cancer Progression. American Thyroid Association, Coronado Island, USA. October 2014.

Myriem Boufraqech, Lisa Zhang, Meenu Jain, Dhaval Patel, Ryan Ellis, Yin Xiong, Mei He, Naris Nilubol, Maria J. Merino, and Electron Kebebew. Role of miR-145 in thyroid cancer growth, metastasis, and diagnosis. American Thyroid Association, Puerto Rico, USA. October 2013.

Myriem Boufraqech, Rabii amaziane, Monique TALBOT, Jacques  FRANCON, Alain VIRION, Martin schlumberger et Corinne DUPUY. : Involvement of DUOX 1 in the radioinduced bystander effects . Club Oxydase, Grenoble, France. May 2011