Name
Catherine Hughes
Role
Funded Investigator
Dr. Catherine Hughes is a Lecturer in Public Health Nutrition at Ulster University, where she earned her PhD in Human Nutrition in 2010. She holds a degree in Biomedical Science from Liverpool John Moores University and a PGCE in Secondary Science Teaching. Dr. Hughes is a Registered Nutritionist (RNutr) with a public health specialism.
In 2024, she received the Distinguished Researcher Award from the Faculty of Life and Health Sciences at Ulster University. With extensive experience in research study design and conducting controlled nutrition studies, her focus is on nutrition and healthy aging. Dr. Hughes leads the Centre for Excellence in Nutrition and Ageing (CENA) and coordinates the TUDA study, a large interdisciplinary project exploring the impact of nutrition on aging diseases in over 5,000 older adults.
She is also leading research on nutrition and Parkinson’s disease (PD), including a food-based intervention for those with PD. Her work further extends to one-carbon metabolism and B-vitamins in health and disease.
Dr. Hughes has published over 40 papers in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and has secured over £3.5 million in research funding.
