Dr Catherine Hughes

Overview

Catherine is currently a lecturer in Public Health Nutrition within the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health at Ulster University. She was awarded her PhD in Human Nutrition from Ulster University in 2010 having previously graduated from Liverpool John Moores University with a degree in Biomedical Science and PGCE in Secondary Teaching (Science).

Catherine is the Associate Research Group leader of the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE) and lead of the Centre for Excellence in Nutrition and Ageing (CENA). Her research focuses on B-vitamins and one-carbon metabolism throughout the lifecycle with a particular interest in nutrition and the ageing brain. She has published 40 papers in a range of scientific papers in high quality peer-reviewed journals. She is also principal investigator and/or co-applicant on numerous grant proposals and have generated over £1.9 million in research funding.

Research Interests

• Nutrition and Health Ageing
• Nutrition and Mental Health
• B-vitamin and related genetic factor in health & disease (CVD, cognitive health, bone health, pregnancy)

Teaching Interests

• Nutrition across the lifecycle
• Research methodology and biostatistics
• Social Inequalities and health

Administrative Roles

• Course Director BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition
• Member of the NICHE PR and social media team
• Member of the School of Biomedical Science Civic Engagement, Outreach and Marketing Team

Professional Activities

• Journal Editor Nutrition Research Reviews
• Assistant Journal Editor Frontiers in Nutrition
• Associate Research Group Leader NICHE
• Lead for the Centre for Excellence in Nutrition and Ageing (CENA)
• NICHE PhD Postgraduate Tutor
• Member of NNEdPro Global Institute for Food and Health

• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• Member of the European Nutrition Leadership Platform (ENLP) Network
• Member of the Nutrition Society (UK & Irish Section)

Research Opportunities