Dr Catherine Hughes is currently a lecturer in Public Health Nutrition 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 a Registered Nutritionist (RNutr, Public Health specialism) with the Association for Nutrition. 

Catherine is the recipient of the Distinguished Researcher Award (2024) for the Faculty Life and Health Science, Ulster University. She has extensive experience of research study design and conducting highly controlled nutrition studies in the general population and clinical groups. Her research is focused on nutrition and healthy ageing and she is the lead of the Centre for Excellence in Nutrition and Ageing (CENA). Catherine is the Coordinator of the TUDA study, a large, interdisciplinary North-South study of ageing that aims to provide a better understanding of how nutrition and related factors impact diseases of ageing in a cohort of over 5000 community dwelling older adults. Catherine is also leading research on nutrition and Parkinson’s disease (PD) and is currently conducting a food-based intervention in those living with Parkinson’s Disease. She also has an interest in one-carbon metabolism and B-vitamins in health and disease.

To date, Catherine has published extensively in the area of nutrition and healthy ageing with over 40 papers in highly impactful peer- reviewed impactful journals and has generated over £3.5 million in research grant income.

Teaching Interests

Human nutrition across the Lifecycle; Biochemistry; Research Design and Biostatistics; Food Regulatory Affairs; Consumer Behaviour; Health Inequalities.  

Professional activities / Leadership roles

• Associate Research Group Leader NICHE
• Lead for the Centre for Excellence in Nutrition and Ageing (CENA) 
• Course Director BSc (Hons) Human Nutrition
• NICHE PhD Postgraduate Tutor
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (HEA)
• Journal Editor Nutrition Research Reviews
• Journal Editor Frontiers in Nutrition
• External Examiner University of Leeds
• Member of the Nutrition Society
• Member of the European Nutrition Leadership Platform (ENLP) Network
• Member of NNEdPro Global Institute for Food and Health
• Member of the Dementia Research Network 
• Member of the NICHE PR and social media team 
• Member of the Civic Engagement, Outreach and Marketing Group for the School of Biomedical Science