Professor Toby Hughes

Professor Toby Hughes
 Position Professor
 Org Unit Dental
 Email toby.hughes@adelaide.edu.au
 Telephone +61 8 8313 3739
 Location Floor/Room 3 ,  Helen Mayo South ,   North Terrace

  • Biography/ Background

     

    My research focuses on the nexus between the genome, the epigenome, the environment and the microbiome.  I have published widely, with more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, and an h-index of 30. I lead a small but productive group in projects spanning craniofacial development, dental anthropology, the oral microbiome, teeth as biomarkers of the prenatal environment, and speech development.

     

    Current appointments and titles

    Professor, Adelaide Dental School, The University of Adelaide, Australia

    Affiliate Professor, The University of Sydney, Australia

    Public Officer, International Association for Dental Research (ANZ Division)

     

    Research funding

    I have attracted research funding with a total value of more than AU$7M across all categories.

     

    Recent invited presentations

    2016   American Association of Physical Anthropology, Atlanta, Georgia

    2017   Australian Dental Therapists & Hygienists Associations, Adelaide, Australia

    2018   Australian Society of Orthodontists, Adelaide, Australia

    2018   International Association of Dental Research, London, UK

     

    Current membership of professional societies

    International Federation of Dental Educators and Associations; American Association of Physical Anthropology; Dental Anthropology Association; Australian Association of Human Biology; International Association of Dental Research; International Society of Twin Studies.

     

    Board and committee membership

    2012-2016     NHMRC Postdoctoral Reference Group

    2021               Australian Dental Board – General member applicant

     

    Research supervision

    BSciDent(Hons) - 24 students including 5 current (19 Completions, 65% 1st class, including 2 University medals); several have gone on to complete PhDs with me.

    GradDip(Forensic Odontology) – 4 students since 2008

    HDR (PhD, DClinDent and Masters) in Dentistry – 16 students including 6 current (10 completions including 2 Dean’s Commendations and 1 University Medal).

     

    Manuscript and grant refereeing

    I referee approximately 15 manuscripts per year for a range of leading international journals, including Journal of Dental Research (highest rating in discipline).  I have been an external referee for grant organisations including the NIH; Singapore Ministry of Health; NHMRC; Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation; Australian Dental Research Foundation.

     

    Current collaborations

    Dr Christina Adler; U Sydney, AUS [Oral Microbiome]; Prof Manish Arora, Dr Christine Austin; Mt Sinai School of Medicine, USA [Pre-natal Exposome]; Prof Angela Morgan, MCRI, AUS [Speech Development]; Prof Jason Kovacic, Victor Chang CRI, AUS [Cardiovascular Risk Factors]; Prof Alan Brook; Queen Mary College, London, UK [Dental Development]; Prof Richard Scott, U Nevada, USA [Dental Anthropology]; Dr Kathleen Paul, U Arizona, USA [Dental Anthropology]; Prof Heather Edgar, U New Mexico, USA [Forensics and Dental Anthropology]

     

    Recent organisation of conferences & symposia

    2014 International Meeting on Methods in Oral Health Research, Adelaide, SA

    2017 57th Annual Scientific Meeting of the IADR (ANZ division), Adelaide, SA

     

    Research centre membership

    NMHRC Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Oral Health (2009-2013)

    Centre for Orofacial Research and Learning, University of Adelaide (2009-2017)

    International Collaborating Network on Genetics of Orofacial Growth and Development (2007-2018)

     

     

  • Qualifications

    PhD (The University of Adelaide) 2003
    BAgSci (The University of Adelaide) 1994

  • Research Interests

    My research has a broad focus on early life factors that influence health and development throughout childhood and early adult life.  I am interested in the nexus between oral and systemic conditions, and specifically in interactions between the genome, the epigenome, the environment and the commensal bacteria (the microbiome).  Key current research areas include:

    1. The role of the oral microbiome in health and disease
    2. Speech development and the role of the oral anatomy
    3. Pre-natal influences on oral health in mid-childhood
    4. The role of diet in early development
    5. Craniofacial development in children
    6. Dental anthropology and forensics

    My group has a broad range of projects available that enable students to tailor their experience to attain specific skills. We operate both wet and dry laboratories, have a strong track record in bioinformatics and big data analysis, and have some very active collaborations with other groups (and potential co-supervisors) in Sydney, Melbourne and the USA.

  • Publications

    Refereed book chapters

    Hughes T , Townsend G 2013. Twin and family studies of human dental crown morphology: genetic, epigenetic and environmental determinants of the modern human dentition. In: Anthropological Perspectives on Tooth Morphology, eds Scott GR, Irish J, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

    Ashar A, Hughes T, James H, Kaidonis J, Khamis F, Townsend G 2012 Dental crown and arch size in Europeans and Australian Aboriginals. In: New Directions in Dental Anthropology, eds Townsend G, Kanazawa E, Takayama H, Adelaide, University of Adelaide Press, pp 65-80.

    Chan E, Bockmann M, Hughes T, Mihailidis S, Townsend G 2012. Do feeding practices, gestation length, and birth weight affect the timing of emergence of the first primary tooth? In: New Directions in Dental Anthropology, eds Townsend G, Kanazawa E, Takayama H, Adelaide, University of Adelaide Press, pp 35-45.

    Hughes T, Townsend G 2012. Genes for teeth - drawing inference from family data. In: New Directions in Dental Anthropology, eds Townsend G, Kanazawa E, Takayama H, Adelaide, University of Adelaide Press, pp 22-34.

    Ribeiro D, Sampson W, Hughes T, Brook A, Townsend G 2012. Sexual dimorphism in the primary and permanent dentitions of twins: an approach to clarifying the role of hormonal factors. In: New Directions in Dental Anthropology, eds Townsend G, Kanazawa E, Takayama H, Adelaide, University of Adelaide Press, pp 46-64.

    Townsend G, Bockmann M, Hughes T, Mihailidis S, Seow WK, Brook A 2012. New approaches to dental anthropology based on the study of twins. In: New Directions in Dental Anthropology, eds Townsend G, Kanazawa E, Takayama H, Adelaide, University of Adelaide Press, pp 10-21.

    Mihailidis S, Woodroffe S, Hughes T, Bockmann M, Townsend G 2009. Patterns of asymmetry in primary tooth emergence of Australian twins. In: Comparative Dental Morphology, eds Koppe T, Meyer G, Alt KW, Frontiers in Oral. Biology, Basel, Karger, vol 13, pp 110-115.

    Townsend G, Hughes T, Bockmann M, Smith R, Brook A 2009 How studies of twins can inform our understanding of dental morphology. In: Comparative Dental Morphology, eds Koppe T, Meyer G, Alt KW, Frontiers in Oral Biology, Basel, Karger, 2009, 13:136-141.

    Refereed journal article

    Brook A, Hone A, Gallo I, Brook O'Donnell M, Riolo R, Townsend G, Hughes T, Hart E 2013. General and craniofacial development are complex adaptive processes influenced by diversity. Aust. Dent. J. (special issue, in press, accepted January 2013).

    Brook A, Jernvall J, Smith R, Chen K, Hone A, Hart E, Gallo I, Hughes T, Townsend G 2013. The dentition: the outcomes of morphogenesis leading to variations of tooth number, size and shape. Aust. Dent. J. (special issue, in press, accepted January 2013).

    Hughes T, Seow K, Bockmann M, Mihaildis S, Lekkas D, Ranjitkar S, Pinkerton S, Brook A, Townsend G 2013. The teeth and faces of twins: providing insights into dento-facial development and oral health for practicing oral health professionals. Aust. Dent. J. (special issue, in press, accepted January 2013).

    Mihaildis S, Ashar A, Hughes T, Bockmann M, Brook A and Townsend G 2013. Dental phenomics: similarities and differences in monozygotic twins. Dental Tribune

    McConnell E, Bockmann M, Hughes T, Mihailidis S and Townsend G 2013. The influence of chorion type on emergence of the first primary tooth in Australian twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics (under revision).

    Ribeiro D, Brook A, Hughes T [30%], Sampson W, Townsend G 2013. Tooth crown size in opposite sex twins: role of intrauterine male hormones. Journal of Dental Research (in press, accepted 6th March 2013).

    Williams S, Hughes T, Townsend G 2013. TITLE Aust. Dent. J. (special issue, in press, accepted January 2013).

    Hughes T, Bockmann M, Milhailidis S, Bennett C, Harris A, Seow WK, Lekkas D, Ranjitkar S, Rupinskas L, Pinkerton S, Brook A, Townsend GC 2012. Genetic, epigenetic, and environmental influences on dentofacial structures and oral health: ongoing studies of Australian twins and their families. Twin Research and Human Genetics 16(S1):43-51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/thg.2012.78.

    ten Berge F, te Poel J, Ranjitkar S, Kaidonis J, Lobbezoo F, Hughes T, Townsend G 2012. Determining the direction of tooth grinding: an in vitro study. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation 39(8):576-583. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2842.2012.02297.x.

    Bockmann M, Harris A, Bennett C, Odeh R, Hughes T, Townsend G 2011. Timing of colonization of caries-producing bacteria: an approach based on studying monozygotic twin pairs. International Journal of Dentistry 2011:571573, 7 pages. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2011/571573.

    Higgins D, Kaidonis J, Austin J, Townsend G, James H, Hughes T 2011. Dentine and cementum as sources of nuclear DNA for use in human identification. Australian Journal of Forensic Science 43:287-295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00450618.2011.583278.

    Townsend G, Bockmann M, Hughes T [25%], Brook A 2011. Genetic, environmental and epigenetic influences on variation in human tooth number, size and shape. Odontology 100(1):1-9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10266-011-0052-z.

    Bockmann M, Hughes T, Townsend G 2010. Genetic modelling of primary tooth emergence: a study of Australian twins. Twin Research and Human Genetics 13:573-581. http://dx.doi.org/10.1375/twin.13.6.573.

    Woodroffe S, Mihailidis S, Hughes T, Bockmann M, Seow W, Gotjamanos T, Townsend G 2010. Primary tooth emergence in Australian twins: timing, sequence and patterns of asymmetry. Australian Dental Journal 55:245-251. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1834-7819.2010.01230.x.

    Higgins D, Hughes T, James H, Townsend G 2009. Strong genetic influence on hypocone expression of permanent maxillary molars in South Australian twins. Dental Anthropology 22:1-7.

    Kunchur R, Need A, Hughes T, Goss A 2009. A clinical investigation of the CTX test in the prevention and management of bisphosphonate associated ONJ. Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 67(6):1167-1173 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.joms.2009.02.004.

    Lau E, Sampson W, Townsend G, Hughes T 2009. An evaluation of maxillary and mandibular rotational responses with the Clark twin block appliance. Australian Orthodontic Journal 25:48-58.

    Ranjitkar S, Naryana T, Kaidonis J, Hughes T, Richards L, Townsend G 2009. The effect of casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate on erosive dentine wear. Australian Dental Journal 54(2):101-107 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1834-7819.2009.01101.x

    Townsend G, Hughes T, Luciano M, Bockmann M, Brook A 2009 Genetic and environmental influences on human dental variation: A critical evaluation of studies involving twins. Archives of Oral Biology 54(S1):S45-S51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.archoralbio.2008.06.009.

  • Professional Associations

    International Association of Dental Research; International Society of Twin Studies; American Association of Physical Anthropology; Australian Association of Human Biology; Australian Society of Medical Researchers

  • Professional Interests

    Genetics
    Human Genetics
    Dental Genetics
    Craniofacial Growth & Development
    Oral Health
    Structural Equation Modelling
    Twins

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Entry last updated: Monday, 9 May 2022

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