Cookies

We use cookies to improve your browsing experience.

Overview

Dr. Murugan is a Senior Scientist and Team Leader of the Oncogenomics and Translational Oncology Laboratory in the Department of Molecular Oncology at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Saudi Arabia. His research focuses on molecular and cellular oncology, cancer genetics, and oncogenic signaling pathways, including PI3K/AKT/mTOR and RTKs/RAS/MAPK, in solid tumors, with particular emphasis on endocrine malignancies such as thyroid cancer. He is currently leading several IRB-approved research projects centered on cancer genomics, noncoding RNAs, and precision oncology, aiming to elucidate molecular mechanisms of cancer, identify novel therapeutic targets, and improve prognostic and diagnostic strategies. Dr. Murugan has published extensively in high-impact international journals and holds a U.S. patent. He is consistently ranked among Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% Most Cited Scientists in both single-year and career-long categories and serves as an Associate and Academic Editor for several international journals.

Fields of Expertise

Cancer Genomics and Precision Oncology.

Molecular and Cellular Oncology.

Oncogenic Cell Signaling Pathways (PI3K/AKT/mTOR, RTKs, RAS, MAPK).

Endocrine and Solid Tumor Malignancies.

Noncoding RNAs and Epigenetic Regulation in Cancer.

Translational and Functional Cancer Genomics and NGS.

Molecular Diagnostics and Prognostic Biomarker Discovery.

Career Background

Dr. Murugan has over 25 years of research experience in cancer biology and has been educated and trained at several premier institutions across the globe. He completed his Bachelor’s, Master’s, and MPhil degrees in Genetics from the University of Madras and also holds a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Mysore, India. He earned his PhD from the Department of Molecular Oncology at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan, with support from the Japanese Government Monbukagakusho Fellowship, where his doctoral research focused on head and neck cancers. He subsequently undertook postdoctoral training at Hoshi University, Tokyo, specializing in signal transduction, and at the Johns Hopkins University, USA, in the Departments of Medicine and Oncology, where he conducted advanced research in various solid malignancies including thyroid cancer. His career spans basic, translational, and clinical cancer research, with a strong emphasis on oncogenic signaling, cancer genetics, and precision oncology.

Publications

1. Murugan AK#, Kannan S, Alzahrani AS. TERT promoter mutations in gliomas: Molecular roles in tumorigenesis, metastasis, diagnosis, prognosis, therapeutic targeting, and drug resistance. Biochim Biophys Acta Rev Cancer; 1880 (2025) 189243; Impact Factor: 8.3.

2. Murugan AK#, Kannan S, Alzahrani AS. Immune checkpoint expression and therapeutic implications in IDH1-mutant and wild-type glioblastomas. Curr Probl Cancer; 2025. Vol: 55; 101182. Impact Factor: 2.3

3. Murugan AK# and Alzahrani AS. COVID-19 vaccine-induced autoimmune hyperthyroidism: Graves’ disease. Frontiers in Immunology. 2025 Nov. Impact Factor: 5.9; doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1699210.

4. Howaidi A, Alswailem A, Hakami A, Hadadi A, Alturki D, Abothenain F, Alobaid L, Ewain NS, Murugan AK#, Alzahrani AS. Disease-specific Mortality of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer With Distant Metastases. J Endocr Soc. 2025 Feb 24;9(4):bvaf034; Impact Factor: 3.1; doi: 10.1210/jendso/bvaf034. PMID: 40071068.

5. Alzahrani AS, Alsaihati B, Benito A, Alghamdi B, Alhamoudi KM, Alsaud A, Altuwaijri N, Alhossiny M, Alfares A, Murugan AK#. Germline Telomere-Regulating Gene Variants Are Not Associated with Thyroid Cancer in a Saudi Arabian Population. Thyroid. 2025 Nov;35(11):1277-1284. Impact Factor: 6.7; doi: 10.1177/10507256251388092. Epub 2025 Oct 28. PMID: 41153079.

6. Murugan AK#, Al-Hindi H, Alzahrani AS. LncRNA GAS8-AS1 dinucleotide genetic variantn.713A>G, n.714T>C is associated with early-stage disease, lymph node, and distant metastasis in differentiated thyroid cancer. Endocrine 85 (2024) 1278-1288.

7. Chakkarappan SR, Umadharshini KV, Dhamodharan S, Rose MM, Gopu G, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. Super enhancer loci of EGFR reveal enhancer RNA mediated regulation of EGFR variant 8 in HNSCC. Molecular Genetics and Genomics 299 (2024) 1-13.

8. Mukhtar N, Alhamoudi K, Alswailem M, Alhindi H, Murugan AK, Alghamdi B, Alzahrani AS. How do BRAFV600E and TERT promoter mutations interact with the ATA and TNM staging systems in thyroid cancer? Frontiers in Endocrinology (Lausanne) 14 (2023) 1270796.

9. Murugan AK#, Alzahrani AS. Potential impacts of SARS-CoV-2 on parathyroid: current advances and trends. Endocrine 81 (2023) 391-408.

10. Alghamdi B, Al-Hindi H, Murugan AK, Alzahrani AS. Thyroid Cancer, Neuroendocrine Tumor, Adrenal Adenoma, and Other Tumors in a Patient with a Germline PMS1 Mutation. Journal of the Endocrine Society 7 (2023) bvad035.

11. Alswailem M, Alghamdi B, Alotaibi A, Aljomiah A, Al-Hindi H, Murugan AK, Abouelhoda M, Shi Y, Alzahrani AS. Molecular genetics of diffuse sclerosing papillary thyroid cancer. Journal of Clinical and Endocrinology Metabolism 108 (2023) e704-e711.

12. Alzahrani AS, Alswailem M, Murugan AK, Alghamdi B, Al-Hindi H. Papillary Thyroid Cancer and a TERT Promotor Mutation-positive Paraganglioma in a Patient With a Germline SDHB Mutation. Journal of the Endocrine Society 6 (2022) bvac076.

13. Kannan S, Murugan AK #*, Balasubramanian S, Munirajan AK, Alzahrani AS. Gliomas: Genetic alterations, mechanisms of metastasis, recurrence, drug resistance, and recent trends in molecular therapeutic options. Biochemical Pharmacology 201 (2022) 115090.

14. Rose MM, Dhamodharan S, Revathidevi S, Chakkarappan SR, Jagadeesan MG, Subbiah S, Nakaoka H, Inoue I, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. High incidence of PI3K pathway gene mutations in South Indian cervical cancers. Cancer Genetics 264-265 (2022) 100-108.

15. Rose MM, Dhamodharan S, Bharath G, Murali K, Subbiah S, Bhaskar LVKS, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. Linc-ROR genetic variants are associated with the advanced disease in oral squamous cell carcinoma. Archives of Oral Biology 139 (2022) 105428.

16. Murugan AK #, Alzahrani AS. IDH1 and IDH2 mutations in human cancer: prognostic implication in gliomas. British Journal of Biomedical Sciences 79 (2022) 10208.

17. Murugan AK #, Alzahrani AS. SARS-CoV-2: Emerging Role in the Pathogenesis of Various Thyroid Diseases. Journal of Inflammation Research 14 (2021) 6191-6221.

18. Murugan AK, Qasem E, Al-Hindi H, Alzahrani AS. Analysis of ALK, IDH1, IDH2 and MMP8 somatic mutations in differentiated thyroid cancers. Molecular and Clinical Oncology 15 (2021) 210.

19. Murugan AK #, Alzahrani AS. SARS-CoV-2 plays a pivotal role in inducing hyperthyroidism of Graves' disease. Endocrine 73 (2021) 243-254.

20. Murugan AK, Al-Amr A, Al-Ansari MM, Manogaran PS, Al-Hindi H, Alzahrani AS. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) enhance BRAFV600E mutation-mediated oncogenicity and invasiveness of papillary thyroid cancer cells. Endocrine- Related Cancer 28 (2021) 273-289.

21. Revathidevi S, Murugan AK *, Nakaoka H, Inoue I, Munirajan AK. APOBEC: A molecular driver in cervical cancer pathogenesis. Cancer Letters 496 (2021) 104-116.

22. Vinothkumar V, Arun K, Arunkumar G, Revathidevi S, Ramani R, Bhaskar LVKS, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. Association between functional TERT promoter polymorphism rs2853669 and cervical cancer risk in South Indian women. Molecular and Clinical Oncology 12 (2020) 485-494.

23. Murugan AK # (Editorial). PI3K/Akt Signaling in Human Cancer. Seminars in Cancer Biology. 59 (2019) 1-2.

24. Murugan AK #. mTOR: Role in cancer, metastasis and drug resistance. Seminars in Cancer Biology 59 (2019) 92-111.

25. Murugan AK, Qasem E, Al-Hindi H, Alzahrani AS. GPCR-mediated PI3K pathway mutations in pediatric and adult thyroid cancer. Oncotarget 10 (2019) 4107-4124.

26. Murugan AK#, Grieco M, Tsuchida N. RAS mutations in human cancers: Roles in precision medicine. Seminars in Cancer Biology 59 (2019) 23-35.

27. Murugan AK, Liu R, Xing M. Identification and characterization of two novel oncogenic mTOR mutations. Oncogene 38 (2019) 5211-5226.

28. Alzahrani AS, Alswailem M, Shatha A, Qasem E, Murugan AK, Al-Handi H. Familial paraganglioma due to a novel SDHB mutation: familial phenotypic heterogeneity and a potentially novel manifestation. International Journal of Endocrine Oncology 6 (2019) 2019.

29. Alzahrani AS, Alswailem M, Moria Y, Almutairi R, Alotaibi M, Murugan AK, Qasem E, Alghamdi B, Al-Handi H. Lung Metastasis in Pediatric Thyroid Cancer: Radiological Pattern, Molecular Genetics, Response to Therapy, and Outcome. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism 104 (2019) 103-110.

30. Alzahrani AS, Murugan AK, Qasem E, Alswailem M, AlGhamdi B, Al-Hindi, H. Absence of EIF1AX, PPM1D and CHEK2 mutations reported in Thyroid Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) in a large series of differentiated thyroid cancer. Endocrine 63 (2019) 94-100.

31. Arunkumar G, Anand S, Raksha P, Dhamodharan S, Prasanna Srinivasa Rao H, Subbiah S, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. Scientific Reports 8 (2018) 7018.

32. Arun K, Arunkumar G, Bennet D, Chandramohan SM, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. Comprehensive analysis of aberrantly expressed lncRNAs and construction of ceRNA network in gastric cancer. Oncotarget 9 (2018) 18386-18399.

33. Murugan AK#, Munirajan AK, Alzahrani AS. Long noncoding RNAs: emerging players in thyroid cancer pathogenesis. Endocrine Related Cancer 25 (2018) R59-R82.

34. Arunkumar G, Deva Magendhra Rao AK, Manikandan M, Srinivasa Rao HP, Subbiah S, Ilangovan R, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. Dysregulation of miR-200 family microRNAs and Epithelial-Mesenchymal transition markers in oral cancer. Oncology Letters 15 (2018) 649-657.

35. Alzahrani AS, Alswailem MM, Murugan AK, Alhomaidah DS, Capper CP, Auchus RJ, Qasem E, Alzahrani OS, Al-Sagheir A, Bin-Abbas B. A high rate of novel CYP11B1 mutations in Saudi Arabia. Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 174 (2017) 217-224.

36. Alswailem MM, Alzahrani OS, Alhomaidah DS, Alasmari R, Qasem E, Murugan AK, Alsagheir A, Brema I, Abbas BB, Almehthel M, Almeqbali A, Alzahrani AS. Molecular Cellular Endocrinology S0303-7207 (2017) 30466-5.

37. Arunkumar G, Vishnuprabu D, Nupur B, Vidyasagaran T, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. Genotyping of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 polymorphisms predicts south Indian patients with deep vein thrombosis as fast metabolizers of warfarin/acenocoumarin. Drug Discovery and Therapy 11 (2017) 198-205.

38. Noman AS, Uddin M, Chowdhury AA, Nayeen MJ, Raihan Z, Rashid MI, Azad AK, Rahman ML, Barua D, Sultana A, Shirin A, Ferdous J, Parag RR, Rahman SM, Mahmud MR, Jerin CS, Jahan N, Siddiqua A, Ara T, Sabur EB, Alam SS, Baidya S, Akther S, Rahman MZ, Banu T, Murugan AK, Sabri S, Islam SMS, Karakas B, Aboussekhra, A, Yeger H, Farhat WA, Islam SS. Serum sonic hedgehog (SHH) and interleukin-(IL-6) as dual prognostic biomarkers in progressive metastatic breast cancer. Scientific Reports 7 (2017) 1796.

39. Arunkumar G, Murugan AK, Prasanna Srinivasa Rao H, Subbiah S, Rajaraman R, Munirajan AK. Long non-coding RNA CCAT1 is overexpressed in oral squamous cell carcinomas and predicts poor prognosis. Biomedical Reports 6 (2017) 455-462.

40. Arunkumar G, Murugan AK, Nagarajan M, Ajay C, Rajaraman R, Munirajan AK. Absence of the frequently reported PIK3CA, CASP8, and NOTCH1 mutations in South Indian oral cancers. Oral Diseases 23 (2017) 669-673.

41. Alzahrani AS, Murugan AK, Qasem E, Alswailem M, Al-Hindi H, Shi Y. Single Point Mutations in Pediatric Differentiated Thyroid Cancer. Thyroid 27 (2017) 189-196.

42. Murugan AK, Qasem E, Al-Hindi H, Shi Y, Alzahrani AS. Classical V600E and other non-hotspot BRAF mutations in adult differentiated thyroid cancer. Journal of Translational Medicine 14 (2016) 204.

43. Tsuchida N, Murugan AK, Grieco M. Kirsten Ras oncogene: Significance of its discovery in human cancer research. Oncotarget 7 (2016) 46717-33.

44. Alzahrani AS, Murugan AK, Qasem E, Al-Hindi H. HABP2 Gene Mutations Do Not Cause Familial or Sporadic Non-Medullary Thyroid Cancer in a Highly Inbred Middle Eastern Population. Thyroid 26 (2016) 667-71.

45. Alzahrani AS, Alsaadi R, Murugan AK, Sadiq BB. TERT Promoter Mutations in Thyroid Cancer. Hormones and Cancer 7 (2016) 165-77.

46. Alzahrani AS, Qasem E, Murugan AK, Al-Hindi HN, AlKhafaji D, Almohanna M, Xing M, Alhomaidah D, AlSwailem M. Uncommon TERT Promoter Mutations in Pediatric Thyroid Cancer. Thyroid. 26 (2016) 235-41.

47. Vinothkumar V, Arunkumar G, Revathidevi S, Arun K, Manikandan M, Rao AK, Rajkumar KS, Ajay C, Rajaraman R, Ramani R, Murugan AK, Munirajan AK. TERT promoter hot spot mutations are frequent in Indian cervical and oral squamous cell carcinomas. Tumour Biololgy 37 (2016) 7907-13.

48. Murugan AK#, Munirajan AK, Alzahrani AS. MicroRNAs: Modulators of the Ras Oncogenes in Oral Cancer. Journal of Cell Physiology 231 (2016) 1424-31.

49. Murugan AK, Humudh EA, Qasem E, Al-Hindi H, Almohanna M, Hassan ZK, Alzahrani AS. Absence of somatic mutations of the mTOR gene in differentiated thyroid cancer. Meta Gene 27 (2015) 69-71.

50. Qasem E, Murugan AK *, Al-Hindi H, Xing M, Almohanna M, Alswailem M, Alzahrani AS. TERT promoter mutations in thyroid cancer: a report from a Middle Eastern population. Endocrine-Related Cancer 22 (2015) 901-8.

51. Xing M, Liu R, Liu X, Murugan AK, Zhu G, Zeiger MA, Pai S, Bishop J. BRAF V600E and TERT Promoter Mutations Cooperatively Identify the Most Aggressive Papillary Thyroid Cancer with Highest Recurrence. Journal of Clinical Oncology 55 (2014) 5094.

52. Liu X, Qu S, Liu R, Sheng C, Shi X, Zhu G, Murugan AK, Guan H, Yu H, Wang Y, Sun H, Shan Z, Teng W, Xing M. TERT Promoter Mutations and Their Association with BRAF V600E Mutation and Aggressive Clinicopathological Characteristics of Thyroid Cancer. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 99 (2014) E1130-6.

53. Zhang Z, Liu D, Murugan AK, Liu Z, Xing M. Histone deacetylation of NIS promoter underlies BRAF V600E-promoted NIS silencing in thyroid cancer. Endocrine Related Cancer 21 (2014) 161-73.

54. Murugan AK, Chongfei Yang, Xing M. Mutational analysis of GNA11, MMP27, FGD1, TRRAP and GRM3 genes in thyroid cancer. Oncology Letters 6 (2013) 437-441.

55. Murugan AK, Ali Alzharani, Xing M. mTOR mutations confer gain-of-function and oncogenecity. The Journal of Biological Chemistry 288 (2013) 6511-21.

56. Liu D, Yang C, Bojdani E, Murugan AK, Xing M. RASAL1 is a tumor suppressor gene in thyroid cancers. Journal of National Cancer Institute 105 (2013) 1617-27.

57. Liu X, Bishop J, Shan Y, Pai S, Liu D, Murugan AK, Sun H, El-Naggar AK, Xing M. Highly prevalent TERT promoter mutations in aggressive thyroid cancers. Endocrine-Related Cancer 20 (2013) 603-610.

58. Murugan AK, Chongfei Yang, Xing M. Mutational analysis of GNA11, MMP27, FGD1, TRRAP and GRM3 genes in thyroid cancer. Oncology Letters 6 (2013) 437-441.

59. Murugan AK#, Munirajan AK, Tsuchida N. Genetic deregulation of the PIK3CA oncogene in oral cancers. Cancer Letters 338 (2013) 193-203.

60. Murugan AK #, Munirajan AK, Tsuchida N. Ras oncogenes in oral cancers: the past 20 years. Oral oncology 48 (2012) 383-92.

61. Xing JC, Tufano RP, Murugan AK, Liu D, Wand G, Landenson PW, Xing M, Trink B. Single nucleotide polymorphism rs17849071 G/T in the PIK3CA gene is inversely associated with follicular thyroid cancer and PIK3CA amplification. PLoS One 7 (2012) e49192.

62. Murugan AK, Xing M. Anaplastic thyroid cancers harbor novel oncogenic mutations of the ALK gene. Cancer Research 71 (2011) 4403-11.

63. Murugan AK, Dong J, Xie J, Xing M. Uncommon GNAQ, MMP8, AKT3, EGFR, and PIK3R1 mutations in thyroid cancers. Endocrine Pathology 22 (2011) 97-102.

64. Murugan AK, Bojdani E, Xing M. Identification and functional characterization of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1(IDH1) mutations in thyroid cancer. Biochemical Biophysical Research Communication 393 (2010) 555-9.

65. Murugan AK#, Hong NT, Cuc TTK, Hung NT, Munirajan AK, Ikeda M and Tsuchida N. Detection of two novel mutations and relatively high incidence of H-RAS mutations in Vietnamese oral cancer. Oral Oncology 45 (2009) e161-6.

66. Murugan AK, Dong J, Xie J, and Xing M. MEK1 mutations, but not ERK2 mutations, occur in melanomas and colon carcinomas, but none in thyroid carcinomas. Cell Cycle 8 (2009) 2122-2124.

67. Murugan AK, Ihara S, Tokuda E, Uematsu K, Tsuchida N, and Fukui Y. SWAP- 70 is important for invasive phenotypes of mouse embryo fibroblasts transformed by v-Src. IUBMB Life 60 (2008) 236-240.

68. Mahalingam M, Arvind R, Ida H, Murugan AK, Yamaguchi M and Tsuchida N. ERK2 CD domain mutation from a human cancer cell line enhanced anchorage-independent cell growth and abnormality in Drosophila. Oncology Reports 20 (2008) 957-62.

69. Murugan AK, Hong NT, Fukui Y, Munirajan AK, Tsuchida N. Oncogenic mutations of PIK3CA gene in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. International Journal of Oncology 32 (2008) 101-111.

Patents

1. Murugan AK, Xing M. Anaplastic thyroid cancers harbor ALK mutations. USA Patent (WO /2012/ 158880). 2012 (WO2012158880 A2).

2. Murugan AK, Alzahrani AS. LncRNA GAS8-AS1 dinucleotide genetic variantn.713A>G, n.714T>C is associated with early-stage disease, lymph node, and distant metastasis in differentiated thyroid cancer (Filed).
Projects
Beta Version