
Overview
Background
David Evans is an NHMRC Leadership Fellow and Professor of Statistical Genetics at the University of Queensland Institute for Molecular Bioscience. He is a winner of the NHMRC Marshall and Warren Award.
He completed his PhD in Statistical Genetics at the University of Queensland in 2003, before undertaking a four-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford where he worked as part of the The International HapMap Consortium and co-led the analysis of four diseases within the first Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. In 2007 he moved to take up a Senior Lecturer position at the University of Bristol where he led much of the genome-wide association studies work in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). In 2013 he returned to take up a chair at the University of Queensland whilst continuing to lead an MRC Programme in statistical genetics at the University of Bristol.
His research interests include the genetic mapping of complex traits and diseases (including birthweight and other perinatal traits, osteoporosis, ankylosing spondylitis, sepsis, laterality) and the development of statistical methodologies in genetic epidemiology including approaches for gene mapping, individual risk prediction, causal modelling and dissecting the genetic architecture of complex traits. He has a particular interest in Mendelian randomization and has used it and other causal methods to investigate the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)- the idea that adverse intrauterine exposures lead to increased risk of disease in later life.
He is Academic Codirector at the NIH funded International Workshop on Statistical Genetics Methods and is faculty on the European Programme in Educational Epidemiology.
He is Associate Editor at the International Journal of Epidemiology and Behavior Genetics journals.
Availability
- Professor David Evans is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Research interests
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Mendelian randomization
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Genome-wide association studies
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Causal Modeling
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Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)
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Laterality
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Sepsis
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Osteoporosis
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Ankylosing Spondylitis
Works
Search Professor David Evans’s works on UQ eSpace
2015
Journal Article
Associations of vitamin D pathway genes with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin-D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D, and prostate cancer: a nested case–control study
Gilbert, Rebecca, Bonilla, Carolina, Metcalfe, Chris, Lewis, Sarah, Evans, David M., Fraser, William D., Kemp, John P., Donovan, Jenny L., Hamdy, Freddie C., Neal, David E., Lane, J. Athene, Smith, George Davey, Lathrop, Mark and Martin, Richard M. (2015). Associations of vitamin D pathway genes with circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin-D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin-D, and prostate cancer: a nested case–control study. Cancer Causes and Control, 26 (2), 205-218. doi: 10.1007/s10552-014-0500-5
2015
Conference Publication
The relationship between lower back pain, inflammatory markers and genetic variants robustly associated with risk of Ankylosing Spondylitis in a population-based cohort
Katikireddi, V, Baker, P. and Evans, D. (2015). The relationship between lower back pain, inflammatory markers and genetic variants robustly associated with risk of Ankylosing Spondylitis in a population-based cohort. Australian Rheumatology Associationin conjunction with Rheumatology Health Professionals Association, 56th Annual Scientific Meeting, Adelaide, Australia, 23–26 May, 2015. Richmond, Australia: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Asia. doi: 10.1111/imj.12752
2015
Journal Article
Mendelian randomization: new applications in the coming age of hypothesis free causality
Evans, David M. and Smith, George Davey (2015). Mendelian randomization: new applications in the coming age of hypothesis free causality. Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics, 16 (1), 327-350. doi: 10.1146/annurev-genom-090314-050016
2015
Journal Article
Assumption-free estimation of the genetic contribution to refractive error across childhood
Guggenheim, Jeremy A., St Pourcain, Beate, McMahon, George, Timpson, Nicholas J., Evans, David M. and Williams, Cathy (2015). Assumption-free estimation of the genetic contribution to refractive error across childhood. Molecular Vision, 21, 621-632.
2015
Journal Article
Genetic dissection of acute anterior uveitis reveals similarities and differences in associations observed with ankylosing spondylitis
Robinson, Philip C., Claushuis, Theodora A. M., Cortes, Adrian, Martin, Tammy M., Evans, David M., Leo, Paul, Mukhopadhyay, Pamela, Bradbury, Linda A., Cremin, Katie, Harris, Jessica, Maksymowych, Walter P., Inman, Robert D., Rahman, Proton, Haroon, Nigil, Gensler, Lianne, Powell, Joseph E., Van Der Horst-Bruinsma, Irene E., Hewitt, Alex W., Craig, Jamie E., Lim, Lyndell L., Wakefield, Denis, McCluskey, Peter, Voigt, Valentina, Fleming, Peter, Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada, Australio-Anglo-American Spondylitis Consortium, International Genetics of Ankylosing Spondylitis Consortium, Wellcome Trust Case Control Study 2, Degli-Esposti, Mariapia ... Brown, Matthew A. (2015). Genetic dissection of acute anterior uveitis reveals similarities and differences in associations observed with ankylosing spondylitis. Arthritis and Rheumatology, 67 (1), 140-151. doi: 10.1002/art.38873
2015
Conference Publication
Multi-ethnic genome-wide association study of 21,000 cases and 95,000 controls identifies 11 novel risk loci for atopic dermatitis
Paternoster, L., Standl, M., Baurecht, H., Evans, D. M. and Weidinger, S. (2015). Multi-ethnic genome-wide association study of 21,000 cases and 95,000 controls identifies 11 novel risk loci for atopic dermatitis. 45th Annual Meeting of the European Society for Dermatological Research, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, 09-12 September 2015. London, United Kingdom: Nature Publishing Group. doi: 10.1038/jid.2015.271
2014
Journal Article
Heritability and genome-wide analyses of problematic peer relationships during childhood and adolescence
St Pourcain, Beate, Haworth, C. M. A., Davis, O. S. P., Wang, Kai, Timpson, Nicholas J., Evans, David M., Kemp, John P., Ronald, Angelica, Price, Tom, Meaburn, Emma, Ring, Susan M., Golding, Jean, Hakonarson, Hakon, Plomin, R. and Smith, George Davey (2014). Heritability and genome-wide analyses of problematic peer relationships during childhood and adolescence. Human Genetics, 134 (6), 539-551. doi: 10.1007/s00439-014-1514-5
2014
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study for refractive astigmatism reveals genetic co-determination with spherical equivalent refractive error: the CREAM consortium
Li, Qing, Wojciechowski, Robert, Simpson, Claire L., Hysi, Pirro G., Verhoeven, Virginie J. M., Ikram, Mohammad Kamran, Hohn, Rene, Vitart, Veronique, Hewitt, Alex W., Oexle, Konrad, Makela, Kari-Matti, MacGregor, Stuart, Pirastu, Mario, Fan, Qiao, Cheng, Ching-Yu, St Pourcain, Beate, McMahon, George, Kemp, John P., Northstone, Kate, Rahi, Jugnoo S., Cumberland, Phillippa M., Martin, Nicholas G., Sanfilippo, Paul G., Lu, Yi, Wang, Ya Xing, Hayward, Caroline, Polasek, Ozren, Campbell, Harry, Bencic, Goran ... Guggenheim, Jeremy A. (2014). Genome-wide association study for refractive astigmatism reveals genetic co-determination with spherical equivalent refractive error: the CREAM consortium. Human Genetics, 134 (2), 131-146. doi: 10.1007/s00439-014-1500-y
2014
Journal Article
Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with the anthrax toxin receptor 2 gene (ANTXR2)
Karaderi, T., Keidel, S. M., Pointon, J. J., Appleton, L. H., Brown, M. A., Evans, D. M. and Wordsworth, B. P. (2014). Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with the anthrax toxin receptor 2 gene (ANTXR2). Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 73 (11), 2054-2058. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-205643
2014
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study of height-adjusted BMI in childhood identifies functional variant in ADCY3
Stergiakouli, Evangelia, Gaillard, Romy, Tavare, Jeremy M., Balthasar, Nina, Loos, Ruth J., Taal, Hendrik R., Evans, David M., Rivadeneira, Fernando, St Pourcain, Beate, Uitterlinden, Andre G., Kemp, John P., Hofman, Albert, Ring, Susan M., Cole, Tim J., Jaddoe, Vincent W.V., Smith, George Davey and Timpson, Nicholas J. (2014). Genome-wide association study of height-adjusted BMI in childhood identifies functional variant in ADCY3. Obesity, 22 (10), 2252-2259. doi: 10.1002/oby.20840
2014
Journal Article
A rare variant in APOC3 is associated with plasma triglyceride and VLDL levels in Europeans
Timpson, Nicholas J., Walter, Klaudia, Min, Josine L., Tachmazidou, Ioanna, Malerba, Giovanni, Shin, So-Youn, Chen, Lu, Futema, Marta, Southam, Lorraine, Iotchkova, Valentina, Cocca, Massimiliano, Huang, Jie, Memari, Yasin, McCarthy, Shane, Danecek, Petr, Muddyman, Dawn, Mangino, Massimo, Menni, Cristina, Perry, John R. B., Ring, Susan M., Gaye, Amadou, Dedoussis, George, Farmaki, Aliki-Eleni, Burton, Paul, Talmud, Philippa J., Gambaro, Giovanni, Spector, Tim D., Smith, George Davey, Durbin, Richard ... Yang, Jian (2014). A rare variant in APOC3 is associated with plasma triglyceride and VLDL levels in Europeans. Nature Communications, 5 (1) 4871, 1-10. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5871
2014
Journal Article
Common variation near ROBO2 is associated with expressive vocabulary in infancy
St Pourcain, Beate, Cents, Rolieke A. M., Whitehouse, Andrew J. O., Haworth, Claire M. A., Davis, Oliver S. P., O'Reilly, Paul F., Roulstone, Susan, Wren, Yvonne, Ang, Qi W., Velders, Fleur P., Evans, David M., Kemp, John P., Warrington, Nicole M., Miller, Laura, Timpson, Nicholas J., Ring, Susan M., Verhulst, Frank C., Hofman, Albert, Rivadeneira, Fernando, Meaburn, Emma L., Price, Thomas S., Dale, Philip S., Pillas, Demetris, Yliherva, Anneli, Rodriguez, Alina, Golding, Jean, Jaddoe, Vincent W. V., Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta, Plomin, Robert ... Smith, George Davey (2014). Common variation near ROBO2 is associated with expressive vocabulary in infancy. Nature Communications, 5 (1) A4831, 1-9. doi: 10.1038/ncomms5831
2014
Journal Article
Resolving the effects of maternal and offspring genotype on dyadic outcomes in genome wide complex trait analysis ("M-GCTA")
Eaves, Lindon J., Pourcain, Beate St., Smith, George Davey, York, Timothy P. and Evans, David M. (2014). Resolving the effects of maternal and offspring genotype on dyadic outcomes in genome wide complex trait analysis ("M-GCTA"). Behavior Genetics, 44 (5), 445-455. doi: 10.1007/s10519-014-9666-6
2014
Journal Article
Genome-wide screening for DNA variants associated with reading and language traits
Gialluisi, A., Newbury, D. F., Wilcutt, E. G., Olson, R. K., Defries, J. C., Brandler, W. M., Pennington, B. F., Smith, S. D., Scerri, T. S., Simpson, N. H., Luciano, M., Evans, D. M., Bates, T. C., Stein, J. F., Talcott, J. B., Monaco, A. P., Paracchini, S., Francks, C. and Fisher, S. E. (2014). Genome-wide screening for DNA variants associated with reading and language traits. Genes, Brain and Behavior, 13 (7), 686-701. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12158
2014
Journal Article
Copy number variants and therapeutic response to antidepressant medication in major depressive disorder
Tansey, K. E., Rucker, J. J. H., Kavanagh, D. H., Guipponi, M., Perroud, N., Bondolfi, G., Domenici, E., Evans, D. M., Hausers, J., Henigsberg, N., Jerman, B., Maier, W., Mors, O., O'Donovan, M., Peters, T. J., Placentino, A., Rietschel, M., Souery, D., Aitchison, K. J., Craig, I., Farmer, A., Wendland, J. R., Malafosse, A., Lewis, G., Kapur, S., McGuffin, P. and Uher, R. (2014). Copy number variants and therapeutic response to antidepressant medication in major depressive disorder. Pharmacogenomics Journal, 14 (4), 395-399. doi: 10.1038/tpj.2013.51
2014
Journal Article
Applying polygenic risk scores to postpartum depression
Byrne, Edna M., Carrillo-Roa, Tania, Penninx, Brenda W. J. H., Sallis, Hannah M., Viktorin, Alexander, Chapman, Brett, Henders, Anjali K., Pergadia, Michele L., Heath, Andrew C., Madden, Pamela A. F., Sullivan, Patrick F., Boschloo, Lynn, van Grootheest, Gerard, McMahon, George, Lawlor, Debbie A., Landen, Mikael, Lichtenstein, Paul, Magnusson, Patrik K. E., Evans, David M., Montgomery, Grant W., Boomsma, Dorret I., Martin, Nicholas G., Meltzer-Brody, Samantha and Wray, Naomi R. (2014). Applying polygenic risk scores to postpartum depression. Archives of Women's Mental Health, 17 (6), 519-528. doi: 10.1007/s00737-014-0428-5
2014
Journal Article
Genetic variation associated with differential educational attainment in adults has anticipated associations with school performance in children
Ward, Mary E., McMahon, George, St Pourcain, Beate, Evans, David M., Rietveld, Cornelius A., Benjamin, Daniel J., Koellinger, Philipp D., Cesarini, David, The Social Science Genetic Association Consortium, Smith, George Davey and Timpson, Nicholas J. (2014). Genetic variation associated with differential educational attainment in adults has anticipated associations with school performance in children. PLoS One, 9 (7) e100248, e100248.1-e100248.7. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100248
2014
Journal Article
Genome wide association identifies common variants at the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus influencing plasma cortisol and corticosteroid binding globulin
Bolton, Jennifer L., Hayward, Caroline, Direk, Nese, Lewis, John G., Hammond, Geoffrey L., Hill, Lesley A., Anderson, Anna, Huffman, Jennifer, Wilson, James F., Campbell, Harry, Rudan, Igor, Wright, Alan, Hastie, Nicholas, Wild, Sarah H., Velders, Fleur P., Hofman, Albert, Uitterlinden, Andre G., Lahti, Jari, Raikkonen, Katri, Kajantie, Eero, Widen, Elisabeth, Palotie, Aarno, Eriksson, Johan G., Kaakinen, Marika, Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta, Timpson, Nicholas J., Smith, George Davey, Ring, Susan M., Evans, David M. ... Walker, Brian R. (2014). Genome wide association identifies common variants at the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus influencing plasma cortisol and corticosteroid binding globulin. PLoS Genetics, 10 (7) e1004474, 1-11. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004474
2014
Journal Article
Cis and trans effects of human genomic variants on gene expression
Bryois, Julien, Buil, Alfonso, Evans, David M., Kemp, John P., Montgomery, Stephen B., Conrad, Donald F., Ho, Karen M., Ring, Susan, Hurles, Matthew, Deloukas, Panos, Smith, George Davey and Dermitzakis, Emmanouil T. (2014). Cis and trans effects of human genomic variants on gene expression. PLoS Genetics, 10 (7) e1004461, e1004461. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004461
2014
Journal Article
Genetic variation in prostate-specific antigen-detected prostate cancer and the effect of control selection on genetic association studies
Knipe, Duleeka W., Evans, David M., Kemp, John P., Eeles, Rosalind, Easton, Douglas F., Kote-Jarai, Zsofia, Al Omama, Ali Amin, Benlloch, Sara, Donovan, Jenny L., Hamdy, Freddie C., Neal, David E., Davey Smith, George, Lathrop, Mark and Martin, Richard M. (2014). Genetic variation in prostate-specific antigen-detected prostate cancer and the effect of control selection on genetic association studies. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, 23 (7), 1356-1365. doi: 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-0889
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor David Evans is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
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Sometimes Correlation does Equal Causation: Developing Statistical Methods to Determine Causality Using Genetic Data
There is a well-known mantra that correlation does not necessarily equal causation. This is why randomized controlled trials in which participants are physically randomized into treatment and placebo groups are the gold standard for assessing causality in epidemiological investigations. However, what is less appreciated is that strong evidence for causality can sometimes be obtained using observational data only. In particular, genotypes are randomly transmitted from parents to their offspring independent of the environment and other confounding factors, meaning that genotypes associated with particular traits can be used like natural “randomized controlled trials” to examine whether these traits causally affect risk of disease.
The aim of this PhD project is to develop statistical methods to assess causality using observational data alone. The successful candidate will gain experience across a wide range of advanced statistical genetics methodologies including Mendelian randomization (a way of using genetic variants to investigate putatively causal relationships), structural equation modelling, genome-wide association analysis (GWAS), genetic restricted maximum likelihood (G-REML) analysis of genome-wide data which can be used to partition variation in phenotypes into genetic and environmental sources of variation, and instrumental variables analysis (using natural “experiments” to obtain information on causality from observational data). The candidate will apply the new statistical methods that they develop to large genetically informative datasets like the UK Biobank (500,000 individuals with genome-wide SNP data).
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Developing and Applying Statistical Genetics Methods to Elucidate the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicole Warrington
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Doctor Philosophy
Investigating the association between maternal and fetal HLA-KIR genotypes and offspring birth weight
Principal Advisor
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Doctor Philosophy
Understanding the genetic epidemiology of women's reproductive health
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Gunn-Helen Moen
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Doctor Philosophy
Using genetics to predict drug efficacy and on-target side effects of pharmacological agents
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Glenn King, Associate Professor Sonia Shah
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Doctor Philosophy
Harnessing Genetically Informative Within-Family Research Designs for Deeper Insights into the Intrauterine Developmental Period and Downstream Effects on Offspring Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Daniel Hwang, Dr Gunn-Helen Moen
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Doctor Philosophy
Multi-omic Approaches to Understanding Septic Shock
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Daniel Hwang
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Doctor Philosophy
Multi-omic Approaches to Understanding Septic Shock
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Daniel Hwang
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Doctor Philosophy
Using multi-omics approaches to characterise determinants of early growth trajectories and their consequences on later life health
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Honorary Professor Jake Gratten, Dr Nicole Warrington
Completed supervision
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Using genetics to investigate the interplay of maternal and fetal factors in pregnancy outcomes
Principal Advisor
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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Harnessing Genetically Informative Within-Family Research Designs for Deeper Insights into the Intrauterine Developmental Period and Downstream Effects on Offspring Neurodevelopmental Outcomes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Daniel Hwang, Dr Gunn-Helen Moen
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Using Genetics to Understand the Relationship Between the Intrauterine Environment and Future Offspring Cardiometabolic Risk
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicole Warrington
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2019
Doctor Philosophy
Detecting and Quantifying the Effect of Assortative mating and Maternal Effects on Statistical Genetics Analyses
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicole Warrington
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Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor David Evans directly for media enquiries about:
- Genetics
- Genome-wide association
- Mendelian randomization
- Twin Studies
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