Associate Professor Tim Hore

Research

While DNA provides the instruction manual for life, humans and the organisms we live with are so much more than DNA sequence alone. Associate Professor Hore and his team are passionate about uncovering hidden information held within DNA, not seen by regular genetic sequencing, and characterising its importance for development, ageing and evolution.

Recent research highlights include the first molecular proof that poorly studied ribosomal RNA encoding genes can have unique functions like sex determination (Moser et al., 2025) and showing that DNA can accurately record long-term hormone exposure in the form of an ‘Androgen Clock’ (Sugrue et al., 2025).

Other discoveries over the past decade include:

• Finding vitamins synergistically promote cellular reprogramming and erasure of DNA methylation (Hore et al., 2016)
• Overturning the assumption that all vertebrates start development with an epigenetic clean slate (Ortega et al., 2019)
• Characterising the molecular details of sex changing fish (Todd et al., 2019)
• Uncovering the biochemical rules of active DNA methylation erasure (Ravichandran et al., 2022)
• Proving that novel parent-specific gene expression (i.e. genomic imprinting) exists in diverse mammalian species (Bond et al., 2022)
• Helping show that DNA methylation is associated with aging profiles and traits throughout a wide range of mammals (Lu et al., 2023; Haghani et al., 2023)
• Finding the mutations responsible for coat-colour in brushtail possums (the native mammal most likely to come in contact with humans in Australia and New Zealand) (Bond et al., 2024)
• Proving that castration delays DNA aging in a mammalian model (Sugrue et al., 2021)

Underpinning research in the Hore laboratory is strong technical foundation in genetics. This ranges from harnessing the power of CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis to create the first vertebrate with edited ribosome loci (Moser et al., 2025) to co-development of open-source protocols for nucleic acid purification and handling using magnetic beads; used by research and diagnostic laboratories across the world (Oberacker et al., 2019 – also see Bio On Magnetic Beads).

The Hore laboratory has collaborated with complimentary research teams across the world, including long-term efforts with the Jurkowski (Cardiff), Horvath (Cambridge), Reik (Cambridge), Pask (Melbourne), Renfree (Melbourne), and von Meyenn (Zurich) laboratories; as well as key collaborations at Otago (NZ) with the Gemmell, Garratt, Campbell and Anderson laboratories.

A full list of Hore laboratory publications can be found at: https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=TFZ-NEcAAAAJ&hl=en