Adam Hughes

Adam Hughes, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments Primary - Biochemistry

Academic Office Information

hughes@biochem.utah.edu

Lab

Dr. Hughes received his PhD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2008 and conducted his postdoctoral studies at the Fred Hutch. Dr, Hughes is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Utah. Research in the Hughes lab is focused on understanding how nutrient stress contributes to the breakdown of cellular health in aging and metabolic disease, including cancer, diabetes, and inborn errors of metabolism. Dr. Hughes’ work has been recognized by several awards, including a Helen Way Whitney Postdoc Fellowship, an NIH K99/R00, a Searle Scholars Award, an NIH MIRA, and a Glenn Award for Aging Research.

Education History

Undergraduate Indiana University of Pennsylvania
 BS
Doctoral Training Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
 PhD
Postdoctoral Fellowship Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
 Postdoctoral Fellow

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Warren CD, Eckley DM, Lee MS, Hanna JS, Hughes A, Peyser B, Jie C, Irizarry R, and Spencer FA (2004). S-phase checkpoint genes safeguard high-fidelity sister chromatid cohesion. Mol Biol Cell, 15, 1724-35.
  2. Goodrum JM, Lever AR, Coody TK, Gottschling DE, Hughes AL (2019). Rsp5 and Mdm30 reshape the mitochondrial network in response to age-induced vacuole stress. Mol Biol Cell, 30(17), 2141-2154.
  3. Hughes AL, Todd BL, Espenshade PJ (2005). SREBP pathway responds to sterols and functions as an oxygen sensor in fission yeast. Cell, 120(6), 831-42.
  4. Hughes CE, Coody TK, Jeong MY, Berg JA, Winge DR, Hughes AL (2020). Cysteine Toxicity Drives Age-Related Mitochondrial Decline by Altering Iron Homeostasis. Cell, 180(2), 296-310.e18.
  5. Hughes AL, Lee CY, Bien CM, Espenshade P (2007). 4-Methyl sterols regulate fission yeast SREBP-Scap under low oxygen and cell stress. The Journal of biological chemistry, 282(33), 24388-96.
  6. English AM, Schuler MH, Xiao T, Kornmann B, Shaw JM, Hughes A (2020). ER-mitochondria contacts promote mitochondrial-derived compartment biogenesis. The Journal of cell biology, 219(12),
  7. Hughes AL, Stewart EV, Espenshade P (2008). Identification of twenty-three mutations in fission yeast Scap that constitutively activate SREBP. Journal of lipid research, 49(9), 2001-12.
  8. Lee H, Bien CM, Hughes AL, Espenshade PJ, Kwon-Chung KJ, Chang Y (2007). Cobalt chloride, a hypoxia-mimicking agent, targets sterol synthesis in the pathogenic fungus Cryptococcus neoformans. Molecular microbiology, 65(4), 1018-33.
  9. Todd BL, Stewart EV, Burg JS, Hughes AL, Espenshade P (2006). Sterol regulatory element binding protein is a principal regulator of anaerobic gene expression in fission yeast. Molecular and cellular biology, 26(7), 2817-31.
  10. Hughes AL, Gottschling D (2012). An early age increase in vacuolar pH limits mitochondrial function and lifespan in yeast. Nature, 492(7428), 261-5.
  11. Schuler MH, English AM, Xiao T, Campbell TJ, Shaw JM, Hughes A (2021). Mitochondrial-derived compartments facilitate cellular adaptation to amino acid stress. Molecular cell, 81(18), 3786-3802.e13.
  12. Rutter J, Hughes A (2015). Power(2): the power of yeast genetics applied to the powerhouse of the cell. Trends in endocrinology and metabolism, 26(2), 59-68.
  13. Hughes AL, Powell DW, Bard M, Eckstein J, Barbuch R, Link AJ, Espenshade P (2007). Dap1/PGRMC1 binds and regulates cytochrome P450 enzymes. Cell metabolism, 5(2), 143-9.
  14. Burg JS, Powell DW, Chai R, Hughes AL, Link AJ, Espenshade P (2008). Insig regulates HMG-CoA reductase by controlling enzyme phosphorylation in fission yeast. Cell metabolism, 8(6), 522-31.
  15. Shai N, Yifrach E, van Roermund CWT, Cohen N, Bibi C, IJlst L, Cavellini L, Meurisse J, Schuster R, Zada L, Mari MC, Reggiori FM, Hughes AL, Escobar-Henriques M, Cohen MM, Waterham HR, Wanders RJA, Schuldiner M, Zalckvar (2018). Systematic mapping of contact sites reveals tethers and a function for the peroxisome-mitochondria contact. Nature communications, 9(1), 1761.
  16. Henderson KA, Hughes AL, Gottschling D (2014). Mother-daughter asymmetry of pH underlies aging and rejuvenation in yeast. eLife, 3, e03504.
  17. Hughes AL, Hughes CE, Henderson KA, Yazvenko N, Gottschling D (2016). Selective sorting and destruction of mitochondrial membrane proteins in aged yeast. eLife, 5,
  18. Shakya VP, Barbeau WA, Xiao T, Knutson CS, Schuler MH, Hughes A (2021). A nuclear-based quality control pathway for non-imported mitochondrial proteins. eLife, 10,
  19. Xiao T, Shakya VP, Hughes A (2021). ER targeting of non-imported mitochondrial carrier proteins is dependent on the GET pathway. Life science alliance, 4(3),
  20. Zhao S, Hughes AL, Espenshade P (2022). Fission yeast Dap1 heme iron-coordinating residue Y83 is required for cytochromes P450 function. microPublication biology, 2022,
  21. Wong S, Bertram KR, Raghuram N, Knight T, Hughes A (2025). Alterations in Lipid Saturation Trigger Remodeling of the Outer Mitochondrial Membrane. bioRxiv,
  22. Wilson ZN, Balasubramaniam SS, Wong S, Schuler MH, Wopat MJ, Hughes A (2024). Mitochondrial-derived compartments remove surplus proteins from the outer mitochondrial membrane. The Journal of cell biology, 223(11),
  23. Xiao T, English AM, Wilson ZN, Maschek JA, Cox JE, Hughes A (2024). The phospholipids cardiolipin and phosphatidylethanolamine differentially regulate MDC biogenesis. The Journal of cell biology, 223(5),
  24. Wilson ZN, West M, English AM, Odorizzi G, Hughes A (2024). Mitochondrial-derived compartments are multilamellar domains that encase membrane cargo and cytosol. The Journal of cell biology, 223(11),
  25. Raghuram N, Hughes A (2024). Amino acids trigger MDC-dependent mitochondrial remodeling by altering mitochondrial function. bioRxiv,

Review

  1. Espenshade PJ, Hughes AL (2007). Regulation of sterol synthesis in eukaryotes. [Review]. Annu Rev Genet, 41, 401-27.
  2. English AM, Hughes A (2019). Knowing When to Let Go: Lysosomes Regulate Inter-Mitochondrial Tethering. Developmental cell, 50(3), 259-260.
  3. Schuler MH, Hughes A (2020). OPA1 and Angiogenesis: Beyond the Fusion Function. Cell metabolism, 31(5), 886-887.
  4. Coody TK, Hughes A (2018). Advancing the aging biology toolkit. eLife, 7,
  5. Schuler MH, Hughes A (2022). SPOTting stress at the mitochondrial outer membrane. Molecular cell, 82(6), 1086-1088.