Dr David Hughes joined the Conway Institute in University College Dublin (UCD) in 2017 where his research focuses on nutritional, genetic and microbial epidemiology of various cancer sites. Previously he has worked at the RCSI, TCD, the WHO International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the Sanger Institute. He currently leads large prospective cohort studies in the European Prospective Investigation of Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) of the influence of bacterial antigens and nutritional status of micronutrient minerals on risk of cancer at various organ sites. Recent findings of his studies within EPIC include that antigens to Streptococcus gallolyticus in advance of cancer diagnosis are associated with colorectal cancer risk, pre-diagnostic selenium status is associated with colorectal and liver cancer risk, and that pre-diagnostic zinc and copper concentrations are also associated with risk of these cancers. e.g. PUBMED PMIDs 28415859, 28575311, 28152549, 27357089, 25042282; Click on the interview link to find out more. 

He received his BSc Biochemistry degree from the University of Leeds in 1990, his PhD in Medical Genetics from Queen’s University Belfast in 1996, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Health Professions Education at the RCSI in 2015. He is a member of the EPIC steering committee, the senior council of the Irish Association of Cancer Research, the International Cancer Microbiome Consortium (inaugurated 2017), and the new Irish Cancer Epidemiology Network (inaugurated 2018). Principal funders are the Health Research Board, the World Cancer Research Fund, and various funders for the EPIC project.