Rate My Professor Timothy Hore

Professor Timothy Hore is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago, part of the Division of Health Sciences. He completed his BSc (Hons) at the University of Otago and earned his PhD in Genetics from the Australian National University in 2008, receiving the Genetics Society of Australasia Catcheside Prize for the Best PhD Thesis in Genetics. After his doctorate, Hore undertook postdoctoral research at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge, United Kingdom, as a Human Frontier Science Program Long-Term Fellow, contributing to advancements in DNA methylation and cellular reprogramming to an embryonic-like state. In 2015, he established his own epigenetics laboratory in the Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago, progressing from Lecturer to his current position as Professor.

Hore's research specializations include epigenetics, genomics, DNA methylation reprogramming, genomic imprinting, development, ageing, and variant ribosomes. His laboratory uncovers hidden epigenetic information in DNA, exploring how environmental experiences might be transmitted across generations, as demonstrated in studies on fish and mammals. He has secured significant funding, including a Marsden Fund grant of $854,000 for 'Epigenetic sex determination and inheritance' in 2018 and an Australian Research Council Discovery Project. Hore received the University of Otago Early Career Award for Distinction in Research in 2019. His influential publications encompass 'The androgen clock is an epigenetic predictor of long-term male hormone exposure' (PNAS, 2025, with V.J. Sugrue et al.), 'DNA methylation networks underlying mammalian traits' (Science, 2023, with A. Haghani et al.), 'The admixed brushtail possum genome reveals invasion history in New Zealand and novel imprinted genes' (Nature Communications, 2023, with D.M. Bond et al.), 'Castration delays epigenetic aging and feminizes DNA methylation at androgen-regulated loci' (eLife, 2021, with V.J. Sugrue et al.), and 'Retinol and ascorbate drive erasure of epigenetic memory and enhance reprogramming to naïve pluripotency by complementary mechanisms' (Nature, 2016). With over 8,400 citations, his work has advanced understanding in developmental biology, ageing, and epigenetic inheritance.