Simon M Hughes

Professor Simon M Hughes is a Professor of Developmental Cell Biology at the Randall Centre of Cell & Molecular Biophysics, King's College London. He leads the Muscle Growth and Repair Group, focusing on fundamental understanding of tissue assembly using striated muscle as a model system. His research has significant implications for population health, medicine, sport, agriculture and aquaculture.

Professor Hughes completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Visual transduction in retinal rod cells, Master of Arts, and Master of Philosophy in Measurement of free divalent cations in cells and organelles, all from the University of Cambridge. He also holds an External Scientific Staff position at the MRC Medical Research Council since 1992.

His research interests include developmental genetics of striated muscle and its attachments and innervation in vertebrates, studied using zebrafish and mice; control of muscle cell size and character in the adult; the role of force in muscle growth and maintenance; morphogenesis; prevention of ageing-related muscle atrophy; comparative evolution of neuromuscular system; muscle repair in disease and after injury; cardiac growth and repair; myocardial cell proliferation, differentiation and growth; trabeculation; regulation of protein synthesis by TOR signaling; and Dystrophin and associated proteins involved in muscular dystrophies. Gene families of specific interest include Hedgehog, Fgf, Wnt, Myod, Mef2, Pax3/7, p57kip2/cdkn1c, Tbx, eIF4EBP, Mtor, and Tead.

Professor Hughes' recent work has focused on circadian regulation of muscle growth, stem cell heterogeneity in skeletal muscle, heart and skeletal muscle regeneration, and the interaction between genes and environment in human sarcopenia. His publications reveal a strong emphasis on zebrafish as a model organism for studying muscle development, with particular attention to molecular mechanisms controlling muscle growth, maintenance, and repair.

Professor Hughes has received significant recognition for his work, including editorial positions at PL o S Biology since 2012, and has organized numerous conferences including the Company of Biologists Workshop on Fish models of muscle growth and repair, and the London Myology Forum. He was a member of the MRC College of Experts from 2006 to 2010.

Professor Hughes has supervised numerous PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, including current PhD students Tapan Pipalia and Jing Zhang. His laboratory has been funded by multiple research grants from organizations including BBSRC, EPSRC, and the MRC, with projects spanning from 2016 to 2022.

His laboratory investigates force sensing and growth of skeletal muscle, stem cell heterogeneity and maintenance of skeletal muscle, heart and skeletal muscle regeneration, chronobiology of muscle, and genes and environment in human sarcopenia. They use zebrafish as a primary model organism but also work with Xenopus, chicken, and mouse models.