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Hughes’ behavioral medicine research program examines diabetes and health equity, with a focus on health access and health communication for underserved groups, including the blind and low vision community. Her work was cited in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 American Diabetes Association Standards of Care, highlighting the national impact of her research. Additionally, her scholarship on diabetes and disability has been cited more than a dozen times in international health policy documents in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and Australia, demonstrating the translational impact of her research.

Hughes is also an American Psychological Association (APA) Leadership Education and Advancement Program (LEAP) Fellow, a competitive fellowship for early-career psychologists that provides intensive mentorship in leadership and grant submissions. In August 2026, she was notified that she had been elected as an APA Fellow, an honor awarded to approximately 3% of APA members in recognition of unusual and outstanding national contributions to the field of psychology. Her APA Fellow status begins in January 2027.