Martin McHugh

Dr Martin McHugh is an Honorary Research Fellow at the School of Medicine, University of St Andrews. His research focuses on pathogen genomics, antibiotic resistance mechanisms, and genomic epidemiology of organisms like vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and SARS-CoV-2. He has contributed to studies analyzing genomic data from hospital outbreaks, viral variants, and antimicrobial resistance dynamics.

His work integrates genomic sequencing with epidemiological analysis to understand transmission pathways and inform public health strategies. Key areas of interest include:

• Genomic surveillance of antibiotic-resistant pathogens
• Pathogen population structure analysis
• Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and their clinical implications
• Molecular diagnostics for bacterial infections

Dr McHugh collaborates with national and international groups, including the COG-UK consortium for pandemic response. His research outputs include open-access tools like PopPIPE for genomic epidemiology and datasets deposited in public repositories.