Profile
Dr Alice Hughes
GW4 Clinical Academic Training PhD Fellow
01223 4088231
RILD Building Level 3
University of Exeter Medical School, RILD Building, RD&E Hospital Wonford, Barrack Road, Exeter, EX2 5DW, UK
Overview
Alice is a clinician and researcher. She completed a Wellcome Trust funded GW4-Clinical Academic Training PhD fellowship in 2022. The aim of her PhD was to investigate the role of fetal insulin in intrauterine and early postnatal growth using genetics. She is currently training in medicine and building upon her PhD studies as a postdoctoral researcher attached to the Exeter Diabetes team.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Medical Sciences with Reproductive and Developmental Sciences, Imperial College London, 2014. Awarded with First Class Honours.
- BMBS, Universities of Exeter and Plymouth, 2015. Awarded with Distinction.
- MSc Genomic Medicine, University of Exeter, 2018. Awarded with Distinction.
- PhD Medical Sciences, University of Exeter, 2022. Title: "Using genetics to investigate the importance of fetal insulin in birth weight and early growth".
Research
Research interests
Alice’s work focuses on fetal growth and the role of insulin, using monogenic and polygenic data to find out how and why babies are born very small or very large. She is also interested in prediction of adverse pregnancy outcomes, particularly in relation to diabetes in pregnancy.
External Engagement and Impact
Awards
- Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland Prize, 2013.
- Peninsula Student Clinical Academics' Award winner, 2015.
- Nominated for the Diabetes UK Nick Hales Young Investigator Award, 2017.
- First prize abstract winner, Diabetes UK Diabetes in Pregnancy Conference, 2021.
- Young Diabetologist and Endocrinologist Endocrine Forum Travel Award winner, 2022.
Competitively funded studentships and postdoctoral fellowships
- Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland Intercalation Studentship, 2013-14.
- EASD Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Group Young Investigator Travel Fellowship, 2019.
- Wellcome Trust Funded GW4 Clinical Academic Training PhD Fellowship, 2019-2022.
External positions
- American Diabetes Association Precision Medicine in Diabetes initiative, Gestational Diabetes Precision Prognostics group member
Teaching
BMBS Healthcare in Practice SSU theme lead, Exeter Locality 2020-22.
Awarded “Above and Beyond” award for contribution to BMBS teaching programme 2022.