Education

  • BA, Anthropology and BS, Biochemistry, Louisiana State University, 2001
  • MS, Biology, University of Oxford, 2002
  • PhD, Molecular Anthropology, University of Leipzig/ Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 2009

Research Interests

Dr. Hughes’s research explores evolutionary genetics, molecular epidemiology and bioinformatics. Previously, he served as a senior researcher at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, where he conducted research in the Integrative Epidemiology Unit.

Selected Publications

  1. Hamilton FW, Hughes DA, Spiller W, Tilling K , Davey Smith D. Non-linear mendelian randomization: detection of biases using negative controls with a focus on BMI, vitamin D and ldl cholesterol. European Journal of Epidemiology, 2024, 1-15.
  2. Hughes DA, Li-Gao R, Bull CJ, de Mutsert R, Rosendaal FR, Mook-Kanamori DO, Willems van Dijk K, Timpson NJ. The association between body mass index and metabolite response to a liquid mixed meal challenge: a Mendelian randomization study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2024, 119 (5), 1354-1370.
  3. Karjalainen MK, et al. Genome-wide characterization of circulating metabolic biomarkers reveals substantial pleiotropy and novel disease pathways. Nature 2024, 628 (8006), 130-138
  4. Goudswaard LJ, Smith ML, Hughes DA, Taylor R, Lean MEJ, Sattar NA, Welsh P, McConnachie A, Blazeby J, Rogers CA, Suhre K, Zaghlool SB, Hers I, Timpson NJ & Corbin LJ. Using trials of caloric restriction and bariatric surgery to explore the effects of body mass index on the circulating proteome. Scientific Reports, 2023, 13, 1, 21077.
  5. Corbin LJ, Hughes DA, Bull CJ, Vincent EE, Smith ML, McConnachie A, Messow C-M, Welsh P, Taylor R, Lean MEJ, Sattar N & Timpson NJ. The metabolomic signature of weight loss and remission in the Diabetes Remission Clinical Trial (DiRECT). 25 Oct 2023, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Diabetologia. 67, 1, p. 74-87 14 p.
  6. Constantinescu AE, Mitchell RE, Zheng J, Bull CJ, Timpson NJ, Amulic B, Vincent EE, Hughes DA. A framework for research into continental ancestry groups of the UK Biobank. Hum Genomics. 2022 Jan 29;16(1):3
  7. Hughes DA, Taylor K, McBride N, Lee MA, Mason D, Lawlor DA, Timpson NJ, Corbin LJ. metaboprep: an R package for pre-analysis data description and processing. Bioinformatics. 2022 Feb 4;38(7):1980–7.
  8. Li-Gao R, Hughes DA, van Klinken JB, de Mutsert R, Rosendaal FR, Mook-Kanamori DO, Timpson NJ, Willems van Dijk K. Genetic Studies of Metabolomics Change After a Liquid Meal Illuminate Novel Pathways for Glucose and Lipid Metabolism. Diabetes. 2021 Dec;70(12):2932-2946.
  9. Goudswaard LJ, Bell JA, Hughes DA, Corbin LJ, Walter K, Davey Smith G, Soranzo N, Danesh J, Di Angelantonio E, Ouwehand WH, Watkins NA, Roberts DJ, Butterworth AS, Hers I, Timpson NJ. Effects of adiposity on the human plasma proteome: observational and Mendelian randomisation estimates. Int J Obes (Lond). 2021 Oct;45(10):2221-2229.
  10. Hughes DA, Bacigalupe R, Wang J, Rühlemann MC, Tito RY, Falony G, Joossens M, Vieira-Silva S, Henckaerts L, Rymenans L, Verspecht C, Ring S, Franke A, Wade KH, Timpson NJ, Raes J. Genome-wide associations of human gut microbiome variation and implications for causal inference analyses. Nat Microbiol. 2020 Sep;5(9):1079-1087.
  11. Kurilshikov A, Medina-Gomez C, Bacigalupe R, ..., Hughes DA, ..., Jeroen Raes, Alexandra Zhernakova. Large-scale association analyses identify host factors influencing human gut microbiome composition. Nat Genet. 2021 Feb;53(2):156-165
  12. Mulligan C, D’Errico N.C., Stess J, Hughes DA. Methylation changes at NR3C1 in newborns associate with maternal prenatal stress exposure and newborn birth weight. Epigenetics, Vol. 7, Issue 8, p853-857. Aug 2012

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