Patrick Hughes

Dr. Patrick Hughes is a researcher at the University of Adelaide's Adelaide Medical School within the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. He leads the Gastrointestinal Neuroimmune Interactions Research Group, focusing on the communication between nervous and immune systems in gastrointestinal diseases.

His research interests include understanding neuroimmune interactions in gastrointestinal diseases, particularly Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Dr. Hughes investigates how microbiota mediates these interactions and develops new imaging tools to study them. His work has strong translational aspects with collaborations with gastroenterologists throughout Adelaide.

Dr. Hughes' recent research focuses on four main projects: differences between naive and relapsing colon inflammation, how microbial products maintain immune homeostasis, novel imaging techniques for colonic inflammation, and the role of stress in colonic diseases. His publications demonstrate expertise in immunology, neurogastroenterology, and microbiome research.

Dr. Hughes is eligible to supervise Masters and PhD students and maintains active research collaborations with clinical partners. His work bridges basic science with clinical applications to develop new treatments and diagnostics for gastrointestinal disorders.