Professor David Evans
Professor

David Evans

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Phone: 
+61 7 334 62617

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

Biological Sciences Biomedical and Clinical Sciences Epidemiology Gene mapping Genetics Health Sciences

Qualifications

  • Bachelor (Honours), The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland

Research interests

  • Mendelian randomization

  • Genome-wide association studies

  • Causal Modeling

  • Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)

  • Laterality

  • Sepsis

  • Osteoporosis

  • Ankylosing Spondylitis

Search Professor David Evans’s works on UQ eSpace

451 works between 1997 and 2025
All (451) Journal Article (369) Book Chapter (4) Conference Publication (68) Other Outputs (10)

281 - 300 of 451 works

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

Cis and trans effects of human genomic variants on gene expression

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

Genetic variation in prostate-specific antigen-detected prostate cancer and the effect of control selection on genetic association studies

2014

Journal Article

Phenotypic dissection of bone mineral density reveals skeletal site specificity and facilitates the identification of novel loci in the genetic regulation of bone mass attainment

Kemp, John P., Medina-Gomez, Carolina, Estrada, Karol, St Pourcain, Beate, Heppe, Denise H. M., Warrington, Nicole M., Oei, Ling, Ring, Susan M., Kruithof, Claudia J., Timpson, Nicholas J., Wolber, Lisa E., Reppe, Sjur, Gautvik, Kaare, Grundberg, Elin, Ge, Bing, van der Eerden, Bram, van de Peppel, Jeroen, Hibbs, Matthew A., Ackert-Bicknell, Cheryl L., Choi, Kwangbom, Koller, Daniel L., Econs, Michael J., Williams, Frances M. K., Foroud, Tatiana, Carola Zillikens, M., Ohlsson, Claes, Hofman, Albert, Uitterlinden, Andre G., Davey Smith, George ... Evans, David M. (2014). Phenotypic dissection of bone mineral density reveals skeletal site specificity and facilitates the identification of novel loci in the genetic regulation of bone mass attainment. PLoS Genetics, 10 (6) e1004423, 1-18. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004423

Phenotypic dissection of bone mineral density reveals skeletal site specificity and facilitates the identification of novel loci in the genetic regulation of bone mass attainment

2014

Journal Article

Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide values in childhood are associated with 17q11.2-q12 and 17q12-q21 variants

van der Valk, Ralf J. P., Duijts, Liesbeth, Timpson, Nicolas J., Salam, Muhammad T., Standl, Marie, Curtin, John A., Genuneit, Jon, Kerhof, Marjan, Kreiner-Møller, Eskil, Cáceres, Alejandro, Gref, Anna, Liang, Liming L., Taal, H. Rob, Bouzigon, Emmanuelle, Demenais, Florence, Nadif, Rachel, Ober, Carole, Thompson, Emma E., Estrada, Karol, Hofman, Albert, Uitterlinden, André G., van Duijn, Cornélia, Rivadeneira, Fernando, Li, Xia, Eckel, Sandrah P., Berhane, Kiros, Gauderman, W. James, Granell, Raquel, Evans, David M. ... de Jongste, Johan C. (2014). Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide values in childhood are associated with 17q11.2-q12 and 17q12-q21 variants. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 134 (1), 46-55. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2013.08.053

Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide values in childhood are associated with 17q11.2-q12 and 17q12-q21 variants

2014

Journal Article

The association between primary tooth emergence and anthropometric measures in young adults: Findings from a large prospective cohort study

Fatemifar, Ghazaleh, Evans, David M. and Tobias, Jonathan H. (2014). The association between primary tooth emergence and anthropometric measures in young adults: Findings from a large prospective cohort study. PLoS One, 9 (5) e96355, e96355.1-e96355.9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0096355

The association between primary tooth emergence and anthropometric measures in young adults: Findings from a large prospective cohort study

2014

Journal Article

Does bone resorption stimulate periosteal expansion? A cross-sectional analysis of beta-C-telopeptides of type I collagen (CTX), genetic markers of the RANKL pathway, and periosteal circumference as measured by pQCT

Kemp, John P., Sayers, Adrian, Paternoster, Lavinia, Evans, David M., Deere, Kevin, St Pourcain, Beate, Timpson, Nicholas J., Ring, Susan M., Lorentzon, Mattias, Lehtimäki, Terho, Eriksson, Joel, Kähönen, Mika, Raitakari, Olli, Laaksonen, Marika, Sievänen, Harri, Viikari, Jorma, Lyytikäinen, Leo‐Pekka, Smith, George Davey, Fraser, William D., Vandenput, Liesbeth, Ohlsson, Claes and Tobias, Jon H. (2014). Does bone resorption stimulate periosteal expansion? A cross-sectional analysis of beta-C-telopeptides of type I collagen (CTX), genetic markers of the RANKL pathway, and periosteal circumference as measured by pQCT. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 29 (4), 1015-1024. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.2093

Does bone resorption stimulate periosteal expansion? A cross-sectional analysis of beta-C-telopeptides of type I collagen (CTX), genetic markers of the RANKL pathway, and periosteal circumference as measured by pQCT

2014

Journal Article

Childhood intelligence is heritable, highly polygenic and associated with FNBP1L

Benyamin, B., St Pourcain, B., Davis, O. S., Davies, G., Hansell, N. K., Brion, M. J., Kirkpatrick, R. M., Cents, R. A. M., Franic, S., Miller, M. B., Haworth, C. M. A., Meaburn, E., Price, T. S., Evans, D. M., Timpson, N., Kemp, J., Ring, S., McArdle, W., Medland, S. E., Yang, J., Harris, S. E., Liewald, D. C., Scheet, P., Xiao, X., Hudziak, J. J., de Geus, E. J. C., Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2), Jaddoe, V. W. V., Starr, J. M. ... Visscher, P. M. (2014). Childhood intelligence is heritable, highly polygenic and associated with FNBP1L. Molecular Psychiatry, 19 (2), 253-258. doi: 10.1038/mp.2012.184

Childhood intelligence is heritable, highly polygenic and associated with FNBP1L

2014

Journal Article

Genome-wide association study for radiographic vertebral fractures: a potential role for the 16q24 BMD locus

Oei, Ling, Estrada, Karol, Duncan, Emma L., Christiansen, Claus, Liu, Ching-Ti, Langdahl, Bente L., Obermayer-Pietsch, Barbara, Riancho, José A., Prince, Richard L., van Schoor, Natasja M., McCloskey, Eugene, Hsu, Yi-Hsiang, Evangelou, Evangelos, Ntzani, Evangelia, Evans, David M., Alonso, Nerea, Husted, Lise B., Valero, Carmen, Hernandez, Jose L., Lewis, Joshua R., Kaptoge, Stephen K., Zhu, Kun, Cupples, L. Adrienne, Medina-Gómez, Carolina, Vandenput, Liesbeth, Kim, Ghi Su, Lee, Seung Hun, Castaño-Betancourt, Martha C., Oei, Edwin H. G. ... Rivadeneira, Fernando (2014). Genome-wide association study for radiographic vertebral fractures: a potential role for the 16q24 BMD locus. Bone, 59, 20-27. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2013.10.015

Genome-wide association study for radiographic vertebral fractures: a potential role for the 16q24 BMD locus

2014

Journal Article

Variability in the common genetic architecture of social-communication spectrum phenotypes during childhood and adolescence

St Pourcain, Beate, Skuse, David H., Mandy, William P., Wang, Kai, Hakonarson, Hakon, Timpson, Nicholas J., Evans, David M., Kemp, John P., Ring, Susan M., McArdle, Wendy L., Golding, Jean and Smith, George Davey (2014). Variability in the common genetic architecture of social-communication spectrum phenotypes during childhood and adolescence. Molecular Autism, 5 (1) 18, 18. doi: 10.1186/2040-2392-5-18

Variability in the common genetic architecture of social-communication spectrum phenotypes during childhood and adolescence

2014

Journal Article

Polygenic scores predict alcohol problems in an independent sample and show moderation by the environment

Salvatore, Jessica E., Aliev, Fazil, Edwards, Alexia C., Evans, David M., Macleod, John, Hickman, Matthew, Lewis, Glyn, Kendler, Kenneth S., Loukola, Anu, Korhonen, Tellervo, Latvala, Antti, Rose, Richard J., Kaprio, Jaakko and Dick, Danielle M. (2014). Polygenic scores predict alcohol problems in an independent sample and show moderation by the environment. Genes, 5 (2), 330-346. doi: 10.3390/genes5020330

Polygenic scores predict alcohol problems in an independent sample and show moderation by the environment

2014

Conference Publication

Genome Wide Association Study in 8,997 Women Identifies Novel Genetic Variants At Five Genomic Loci Associated with Stress and Urgency Urinary Incontinence

Cartwright, R., Tikkinen, K., Mangino, M., Guggenheim, J., Franklin-Nembhard, L., Evans, D., Bennett, P., Khullar, V, Spector, T., Lawlor, D., Walley, A. and Jarvelin, M. (2014). Genome Wide Association Study in 8,997 Women Identifies Novel Genetic Variants At Five Genomic Loci Associated with Stress and Urgency Urinary Incontinence. 44th Annual Meeting of the International Continence Society (ICS), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 20-24 October 2014. Hoboken, NJ United States: John Wiley and Sons. doi: 10.1002/nau.22655

Genome Wide Association Study in 8,997 Women Identifies Novel Genetic Variants At Five Genomic Loci Associated with Stress and Urgency Urinary Incontinence

2014

Journal Article

Novel Approach Identifies SNPs in SLC2A10 and KCNK9 with Evidence for Parent-of-Origin Effect on Body Mass Index

Hoggart, C. J., Venturini, G., Mangino, M., Gomez, F., Ascari, G., Zhao, J.H., Teumer, A., Winkler, T. W., Tsernikova, N., Luan, J., Mihailov, E., Ehret, G. B., Zhang, W., Lamparter, D., Esko, T., Mace, A., Rueger, S., Bochud, P.-Y., Barcella, M., Dauvilliers, Y., Benyamin, B., Evans, D. M., Hayward, C., Lopez, M. F., Franke, L., Russo, A., Heid, I. M., Salvi, E., Vendantam, S. ... Kutalik Z. (2014). Novel Approach Identifies SNPs in SLC2A10 and KCNK9 with Evidence for Parent-of-Origin Effect on Body Mass Index. PLoS Genetics, 10 (7) e1004508, 1-12. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1004508

Novel Approach Identifies SNPs in SLC2A10 and KCNK9 with Evidence for Parent-of-Origin Effect on Body Mass Index

2014

Conference Publication

Antxr2 Is Associated with Ankylosing Spondylitis

Karaderi, T., Keidel, S., Appleton, L. H., Evans, D. M. and Wordsworth, B. P. (2014). Antxr2 Is Associated with Ankylosing Spondylitis. 9th International Cogress on Spondyloarthritis, Gent, Belgium, 23-25 October 2014. Ospedaletto, Italy: Pacini Editore SpA.

Antxr2 Is Associated with Ankylosing Spondylitis

2014

Conference Publication

Bivariate genetic association analysis of pediatric total-body DXA parameters identifies two novel genetic variants that jointly influence bone mineral content and bone area

Kemp, John P., Medina-Gomez, Carolina, Warrington, Nicole M., Heppe, Denise H. M., Timpson, Nicholas J., Oei, Ling, St Pourcain, Beate, Kruithof, Claudia J., Zillikens, M. Carola, Hofman, Albert, Uitterlinden, Andre G., Smith, George Davey, Jaddoe, Vincent W. V., Tobias, Jonathan H., Rivadeneira, Fernando and Evans, David M. (2014). Bivariate genetic association analysis of pediatric total-body DXA parameters identifies two novel genetic variants that jointly influence bone mineral content and bone area. Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, Houston, Texas, United States, 12-15 September 2014. Hoboken, NJ, United States: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing.

Bivariate genetic association analysis of pediatric total-body DXA parameters identifies two novel genetic variants that jointly influence bone mineral content and bone area

2013

Journal Article

Genome-wide association analysis identifies 11 risk variants associated with the asthma with hay fever phenotype

Ferreira, Manuel A. R., Matheson, Melanie C., Tang, Clara S., Granell, Raquel, Ang, Wei., Hui, Jennie, Kiefer, Amy K., Duffy, David L., Baltic, Svetlana, Danoy, Patrick, Bui, Minh, Price, Loren, Sly, Peter D., Eriksson, Nicholas, Madden, Pamela A., Abraham, Michael J. A., Holt, Patrick G., Heath, p Andrew C., Hunter, Michael, Musk, Bill, Robertson, Colin F., Le Souef, Peter, Montgomery, Grant W., Henderson, A. John, Tung, Joyce Y., Dharmage, Shyamali C., Brown, Matthew A., James, Alan, Thompson, Philip J. ... Australian Asthma Genetics Consortium Collaborators (2013). Genome-wide association analysis identifies 11 risk variants associated with the asthma with hay fever phenotype. Journal of Allergy And Clinical Immunology, 133 (6), 1564-1571. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2013.10.030

Genome-wide association analysis identifies 11 risk variants associated with the asthma with hay fever phenotype

2013

Journal Article

A population-based study of genetic variation and psychotic experiences in adolescents

Zammit, Stanley, Hamshere, Marian, Dwyer, Sarah, Georgiva, Lyudmila, Timpson, Nic, Moskvina, Valentina, Richards, Alexander, Evans, David M., Lewis, Glyn, Jones, Peter, Owen, Michael J. and O'Donovan, Michael C. (2013). A population-based study of genetic variation and psychotic experiences in adolescents. Schizophrenia Bulletin, Advance Access (6), 1-9. doi: 10.1093/schbul/sbt146

A population-based study of genetic variation and psychotic experiences in adolescents

2013

Journal Article

Meta-analysis of gene-level associations for rare variants based on single-variant statistics

Hu, Yi-Juan, Berndt, Sonja I., Gustafsson, Stefan, Ganna, Andrea, Hirschhorn, Joel, North, Kari E., Ingelsson, Erik, Lin, Dan-Yu, Collins, Francis S., Berndt, Sonja I., Gustafsson, Stefan, Ma¨gi, Reedik, Ganna, Andrea, Wheeler, Eleanor, Feitosa, Mary F., Justice, Anne E., Monda, Keri L., Croteau-Chonka, Damien C., Day, Felix R., Esko, To˜nu, Fall, Tove, Ferreira, Teresa, Gentilini, Davide, Jackson, Anne U., Luan, Jian’an, Randall, Joshua C., Vedantam, Sailaja, Willer, Cristen J., Winkler, Thomas W. ... Ingelsson, Erik (2013). Meta-analysis of gene-level associations for rare variants based on single-variant statistics. American Journal of Human Genetics, 93 (2), 236-248. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.06.011

Meta-analysis of gene-level associations for rare variants based on single-variant statistics

2013

Journal Article

Nine loci for ocular axial length identified through genome-wide association studies, including shared loci with refractive error

Cheng C.-Y., Schache M., Ikram M.K., Young T.L., Guggenheim J.A., Vitart V., MacGregor S., Verhoeven V.J.M., Barathi V.A., Liao J., Hysi P.G., Bailey-Wilson J.E., St. Pourcain B., Kemp J.P., McMahon G., Timpson N.J., Evans D.M., Montgomery G.W., Mishra A., Wang Y.X., Wang J.J., Rochtchina E., Polasek O., Wright A.F., Amin N., Van Leeuwen E.M., Wilson J.F., Pennell C.E., Van Duijn C.M. ... Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (2013). Nine loci for ocular axial length identified through genome-wide association studies, including shared loci with refractive error. American Journal of Human Genetics, 93 (2), 264-277. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2013.06.016

Nine loci for ocular axial length identified through genome-wide association studies, including shared loci with refractive error

2013

Journal Article

Genome-wide association and longitudinal analyses reveal genetic loci linking pubertal height growth, pubertal timing and childhood adiposity

Cousminer D.L., Berry D.J., Timpson N.J., Ang W., Thiering E., Byrne E.M., Rob Taal H., Huikari V., Bradfield J.P., Kerkhof M., Groen-Blokhuis M.M., Kreiner-Moller E., Marinelli M., Holst C., Leinonen J.T., Perry J.R.B., Surakka I., Pietilainen O., Kettunen J., Anttila V., Kaakinen M., Sovio U., Pouta A., Das S., Lagou V., Power C., Prokopenko I., Evans D.M., Kemp J.P. ... Middeldorp, Christel (2013). Genome-wide association and longitudinal analyses reveal genetic loci linking pubertal height growth, pubertal timing and childhood adiposity. Human Molecular Genetics, 22 (13), 2735-2747. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddt104

Genome-wide association and longitudinal analyses reveal genetic loci linking pubertal height growth, pubertal timing and childhood adiposity

2013

Journal Article

Identification of multiple risk variants for ankylosing spondylitis through high-density genotyping of immune-related loci

Cortes, Adrian, Hadler, Johanna, Pointon, Jenny P., Robinson, Philip C., Karaderi, Tugce, Leo, Paul, Cremin, Katie, Pryce, Karena, Harris, Jessica, Lee, Seunghun, Joo, Kyung Bin, Shim, Seung-Cheol, Weisman, Michael, Ward, Michael, Zhou, Xiaodong, Garchon, Henri-Jean, Chiocchia, Gilles, Nossent, Johannes, Lie, Benedicte A., Førre, Øystein, Tuomilehto, Jaakko, Laiho, Kari, Jiang, Lei, Liu, Yu, Wu, Xin, Bradbury, Linda A., Elewaut, Dirk, Burgos-Vargas, Ruben, Stebbings, Simon ... Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2) (2013). Identification of multiple risk variants for ankylosing spondylitis through high-density genotyping of immune-related loci. Nature Genetics, 45 (7), 730-740. doi: 10.1038/ng.2667

Identification of multiple risk variants for ankylosing spondylitis through high-density genotyping of immune-related loci

Current funding

  • 2023 - 2027
    Developing and Applying Mendelian Randomization Methods to Facilitate Drug Discovery and Solve Intractable Problems in Medical Research
    NHMRC Investigator Grants
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2020 - 2024
    Developing and Applying Statistical Genetics Methods to Elucidate the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
    NHMRC IDEAS Grants
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2022
    Identifying maternal and fetal genetic determinants of infant birthweight and their relationship to offspring cardiometabolic risk
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2024
    The role of size, shape and structure of bones and joints, in explaining common musculoskeletal diseases (Wellcome Trust Grant administered by University of Bristol)
    University of Bristol
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2022
    Developing and applying statistical genetics methods to identify genes, molecular biomarkers and environmental agents that causally affect risk of complex musculoskeletal diseases
    NHMRC Research Fellowship
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2020
    Enhancing host defence mechanisms in severe bacterial infections
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2021
    Development and application of a Mendelian randomization framework aimed at dissecting the biological basis of ankylosing spondylitis and other complex diseases
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2020
    Using Methods in Genetic Epidemiology to Elucidate the Relationship Between Viral Infection and Risk of Autoimmune Disease
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2016
    Establishing a gnotobiotic germ-free mouse facility
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2016
    A biomarker for sepsis to thwart antibiotic overuse in the intensive care unit
    Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital
    Open grant
  • 2015
    Bivariate genome-wide association study of birth weight and endophenotypes related to five diseases in later life
    UWA-UQ Bilateral Research Collaboration Award
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    Finding novel genetic associations in Ankylosing Spondylitis
    University of Oxford
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Gene expression profiling in critically ill patients with septic shock: The ADRENAL-GEPS Study
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    Novel ways of utilizing genome-wide DNA methylation data from peripheral blood samples in genetic epidemiology
    NHMRC Project Grant
    Open grant
  • 2014
    Calibration of single channel and liquid handling robots
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2016
    Dissecting the great ophthalmic masquerade: The Global Giant Cell Arteritis Genomics Consortium (NHMRC Project Grant administered by the Centre for Eye Research Australia)
    Centre for Eye Research Australia
    Open grant
  • 2014
    Multiplex High Throughput Bio-plex Protein Assay Platform
    UQ Major Equipment and Infrastructure
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2018
    Clinical Researcher Training
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant

Availability

Professor David Evans is:
Available for supervision

Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.

Available projects

  • 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

  • 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

  • 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

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Multi-omic Approaches to Understanding Septic Shock

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Daniel Hwang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Multi-omic Approaches to Understanding Septic Shock

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Daniel Hwang

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Developing and Applying Statistical Genetics Methods to Elucidate the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Nicole Warrington

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Investigating the association between maternal and fetal HLA-KIR genotypes and offspring birth weight

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Understanding the genetic epidemiology of women's reproductive health

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Gunn-Helen Moen

  • 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

Enquiries

Contact Professor David Evans directly for media enquiries about:

  • Genetics
  • Genome-wide association
  • Mendelian randomization
  • Twin Studies

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