Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer Group

The Molecular Epidemiology of Cancer (MEC) Lab, led by Dr. David Hughes, is located at the UCD Conway Institute. Our lab focuses on understanding the epidemiological associations between nutritional, genetic, metabolic, microbial, and lifestyle factors in the initiation and progression of gastrointestinal cancers.

We investigate how these factors contribute to cancer risk and progression using advanced molecular and statistical methodologies. Our research aims to uncover critical mechanisms that influence cancer development.

Our goal is to provide valuable insights that could improve early detection, and prevention strategies for gastrointestinal cancers.

Our Research Areas

Our research aims to integrate molecular epidemiology into population-based medicine, bridging biology, public health, and research. We investigate how dietary, metabolic, genetic, and microbial factors interact in the development of gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular focus on colorectal, hepatobiliary, and pancreatic cancers. Early detection is key to improving outcomes and guiding personalized treatment plans. Using long-term cohort studies, molecular biology techniques and biomarker discovery approaches, we identify risk factors and early warning signs associated with cancer development. Our research can be used to inform early detection, risk stratification, and prevention strategies for certain cancer types.

Research Interests

Our current molecular epidemiology research examines how nutritional, genetic, metabolic, microbial and lifestyle factors (together with their interactive impact on molecular mechanisms) may affect the initiation and progression of gastrointestinal cancers.

Our ambition is to help integrate cancer molecular epidemiology as a vital bridge of population-based medicine linking lifestyle information, cancer biology (including trans-omics datasets), and public health and clinical measures of disease prevention and control.

Our investigative approaches utilize large, international population cohort infrastructures and patient cohort studies.

Dr Hughes' presentations on nutrient research and microbiome research:

(opens in a new window)Can Selenium prevent Cancer?

(opens in a new window)Microbiome in Cancer and Beyond 2017 - EPIC

Current & recent projects have been funded by internal UCD schemes, the European Union (EU), the Health Research Board (HRB) of Ireland, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), and the International Health Cohort Consortium (via the NIH, USA and Wellcome Trust, UK).

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Meet Our Project Team

Dr. David Hughes

Head of MEC Group Senior Fellow of the Conway Institute, UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science

Dr David Hughes joined the faculty of the School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences, University College Dublin (UCD) in 2018, where he is an Ad Astra Fellow, Assistant Professor of Cancer Epidemiology, and Fellow of the Conway Institute. Dr Hughes received his BSc Biochemistry degree from the University of Leeds, England, a PhD in Medical Genetics at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, and a Postgraduate diploma in Health Professions Education at the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Science, Dublin, Ireland. Previously he has worked at the RCSI, TCD (Dublin, Ireland), the WHO/International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, Lyon, France), the Sanger Institute (Cambridge, England), and Imperial College (London, England).

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Dr. Neil Daniel

Post-doctoral Researcher

UCD Ad Astra Fellowship (PhD awarded June 2025)
Neil Daniel received his undergraduate degree in Genetics in 2018 from University College Dublin. He then completed a MSc in Translational Oncology in 2020 at Trinity College Dublin. He joined the MEC lab in September 2020 as a PhD Student and is currently a postdoctoral researcher. His research interests include the role of microbiota and metabolic interactions in the development of liver and pancreatic cancers.

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Harsha Ganesan

PhD Student

Harsha Ganesan received her M.Sc. degree from Madurai Kamaraj University, India in Biotechnology in 2018. She joined the MEC lab as a PhD student in September, 2023 with a scholarship received from the MSCA Doctoral Network ColoMARK under the supervision of Dr. David Hughes. Her project focuses on investigating the association of microbiome and gut barrier dysfunction with colorectal cancer development.

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