Professor
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX, United States
Dr. Maria E. Cabanillas is a tenured Professor in the Department of Endocrine Neoplasia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she serves as an oncologic endocrinologist specializing in the care of patients with both early-stage and advanced thyroid cancers, particularly aggressive and rare subtypes. She is internationally recognized for her pioneering work in advanced thyroid malignancies, especially anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), with research focused on molecular targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and innovative multidisciplinary treatment strategies.
Dr. Cabanillas founded and leads FAST (Facilitating Anaplastic thyroid cancer Specialized Treatment) at MD Anderson, a multidisciplinary program that cares for the largest volume of ATC patients in the United States. Through this transformative initiative, she and her colleagues achieved nearly a threefold improvement in overall survival for patients with ATC and helped establish a potentially curative therapeutic framework for patients with BRAF V600E–mutated disease. In recognition of this groundbreaking work, she received the 2022 Beverly and Jack Randall Prize for Excellence in Cancer Treatment. Her many honors also include the AACE Hossein Gharib Lectureship Award, the Rosalind Franklin Society Special Award in Science, and most recently the ATA Sidney Ingbar Award.
A highly accomplished clinical investigator, Dr. Cabanillas serves as principal investigator on multiple clinical trials for advanced thyroid cancer and has authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. Her work has been cited over 14,000 times, with an H-index of 65, underscoring the broad influence of her scientific contributions.
She is deeply committed to mentorship and career development for junior faculty and plays a key role in shaping future endocrinologists through her service on the oncologic endocrinology fellowship program committee. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Thyroid Association and contributes to multiple national and international guideline committees focused on thyroid cancer.
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MTP03 - Recent Advances in the Management of Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer
Saturday, June 13, 2026
9:45 AM - 10:25 AM CT