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
2012
Journal Article
Genome-wide prediction of childhood asthma and related phenotypes in a longitudinal birth cohort
Spycher, Ben D., Henderson, John, Granell, Raquel, Evans, David M., Smith, George Davey, Timpson, Nicholas J. and Sterne, Jonathan A. C. (2012). Genome-wide prediction of childhood asthma and related phenotypes in a longitudinal birth cohort. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 130 (2), 503-509.e7. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2012.06.002
2012
Conference Publication
A genomewide association study of anterior uveitis
Claushuis, T., Cortes, A., Bradbury, L. A., Martin, T. M., Rosenbaum, J. T., Reveille, J. D., Pointon, J. J., Wordsworth, B. P., Evans, D. M., Leo, P., Mukhopadhyay, P. and Brown, M. A. (2012). A genomewide association study of anterior uveitis. 8th International Congress on Spondyloarthritis, Granada, Spain, 9-13 May 2012. Ospedaletto, Italy: Pacini Editore SpA.
2012
Journal Article
Meta-analysis of genome-wide scans for total body BMD in children and adults reveals allelic heterogeneity and age-specific effects at the WNT16 locus
Medina-Gomez, Carolina, Kemp, John P., Estrada, Karol, Eriksson, Joel, Liu, Jeff, Reppe, Sjur, Evans, David M., Heppe, Denise H. M., Vandenput, Liesbeth, Herrera, Lizbeth, Ring, Susan M., Kruithof, Claudia J., Timpson, Nicholas J., Zillikens, M.C., Olstad, Ole K., Zheng, Hou-Feng, Richards, J. Brent, St. Pourcain, Beate, Hofman, Albert, Jaddoe, Vincent W. V., Smith, George Davey, Lorentzon, Mattias, Gautvik, Kaare M., Uitterlinden, Andre G., Brommage, Robert, Ohlsson, Claes, Tobias, Jonathan H. and Rivadeneira, Fernando (2012). Meta-analysis of genome-wide scans for total body BMD in children and adults reveals allelic heterogeneity and age-specific effects at the WNT16 locus. PLoS Genetics, 8 (7) e1002718, e1002718.1-e1002718.14. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002718
2012
Journal Article
Novel association approach for variable number tandem repeats (vntrs) identifies Dock5 as a susceptibility gene for severe obesity
El-Sayed Moustafa, Julia S., Eleftherohorinou, Hariklia, de Smith, Adam J., Andersson-Assarsson, Johanna C., Couto Alves, Alexessander, Hadjigeorgiou, Eleni, Walters, Robin G., Asher, Julian E., Bottolo, Leonardo, Buxton, Jessica L., Sladek, Rob, Meyre, David, Dina, Christian, Visvikis-Siest, Sophie, Jacobson, Peter, Sjostrom, Lars, Carlsson, Lena M. S., Walley, Andrew, Falchi, Mario, Froguel, Philippe, Blakemore, Alexandra I. F. and Coin, Lachlan J. M. (2012). Novel association approach for variable number tandem repeats (vntrs) identifies Dock5 as a susceptibility gene for severe obesity. Human Molecular Genetics, 21 (16) dds187, 3727-3738. doi: 10.1093/hmg/dds187
2012
Conference Publication
Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with snps in loci implicating four aminopeptidases
Robinson, P. C., Cortes, A., Leo, P., Evans, D. M. and Brown, M. A. (2012). Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with snps in loci implicating four aminopeptidases. 8th International Congress on Spondyloarthritis, Granada, Spain, 9-13 May 2012. Ospedaletto, Italy: Pacini Editore SpA.
2012
Journal Article
Large-scale association analyses identify new loci influencing glycemic traits and provide insight into the underlying biological pathways
Scott, Robert A., Lagou, Vasiliki, Welch, Ryan P., Wheeler, Eleanor, Montasser, May E., Luan, Jian’an, Mägi, Reedik, Strawbridge, Rona J., Rehnberg, Emil, Gustafsson, Stefan, Kanoni, Stavroula, Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura J., Yengo, Loïc, Lecoeur, Cecile, Shungin, Dmitry, Sanna, Serena, Sidore, Carlo, Johnson, Paul C. D., Jukema, J. Wouter, Johnson, Toby, Mahajan, Anubha, Verweij, Niek, Thorleifsson, Gudmar, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Shah, Sonia, Smith, Albert V., Sennblad, Bengt, Gieger, Christian, Salo, Perttu ... Barroso, Inês (2012). Large-scale association analyses identify new loci influencing glycemic traits and provide insight into the underlying biological pathways. Nature Genetics, 44 (9), 991-1005. doi: 10.1038/ng.2385
2012
Conference Publication
Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Scans for Total Body Bmd Reveals An Interaction with Weight Bearing At the Wnt16 Locus
Kemp, John P., Medina-Gomez, Carolina, Estrada, Karol, Eriksson, Joel, Liu, Jeff, Reppe, Sjur, Evans, David M., Heppe, Denise, VandenPut, Liesbeth, Herrera, Lizbeth, Ring, Susan M., Kruithof, Claudia, Timpson, Nicholas J., Zillikens, M. Carola, Olstad, Ole K., Zheng, Hou-Feng, Richards, Brent, St Pourcain, Beate, Hofman, Albert, Jaddoe, Vincent W., Smith, George Davey, Lorentzon, Mattias, Gautvik, Kaare M., Uitterlinden, Andre G., Brommage, Robert, Ohlsson, Claes, Tobias, Jonathan H. and Rivadeneira, Fernando (2012). Meta-Analysis of Genome-Wide Scans for Total Body Bmd Reveals An Interaction with Weight Bearing At the Wnt16 Locus. Osteoporosis and Bone Conference, Manchester England, Jul 01-04, 2012. LONDON: SPRINGER LONDON LTD.
2012
Conference Publication
Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms in loci implicating four aminopeptidases
Robinson, Philip, Cortes, Adrian, Leo, Paul, Evans, David and Brown, Matthew A. (2012). Ankylosing spondylitis is associated with single nucleotide polymorphisms in loci implicating four aminopeptidases. Annual Scientific Meeting of the American-College-of-Rheumatology (ACR) and Association-of-Rheumatology-Health-Professionals (ARHP), Washington, DC, United States, 9-14 November 2012. Hoboken, NJ, United States: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/art.37735
2012
Conference Publication
Meta-analysis of genome-wide scans for total body BMD in children and adults reveals allelic heterogeneity, pleiotropy and age-specific effects at the WNT16 locus
Medina-Gomez, C., Kemp, J. P., Estrada, K., Eriksson, J., Liu, J., Reppe, S., Evans, D. M., Heppe, D., van den Put, L., Herrera, L., Ring, S. M., Kruithof, C., Timpson, N. J., Zillikens, M. C., Olstad, O. K., St Pourcain, B., Hofman, A., Jaddoe, V. W., Smith, G. D., Lorentzon, M., Gautvik, K. M., Uitterlinden, A. G., Brommage, R., Ohlsson, C., Tobias, J. H. and Rivadeneira, F. (2012). Meta-analysis of genome-wide scans for total body BMD in children and adults reveals allelic heterogeneity, pleiotropy and age-specific effects at the WNT16 locus. 39th Annual Congress of the European-Calcified-Tissue-Society (ECTS), Stockholm Sweden, May 19-23, 2012. NEW YORK: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2012.02.085
2012
Journal Article
Association analysis of 31 common polymorphisms with type 2 diabetes and its related traits in Indian sib pairs
Gupta, V., Vinay, D. G., Rafiq, S., Kranthikumar, M. V., Janipalli, C. S., Giambartolomei, C., Evans, D. M., Mani, K. R., Sandeep, M. N., Taylor, A. E., Kinra, S., Sullivan, R. M., Bowen, L., Timpson, N. J., Smith, G. D., Dudbridge, F., Prabhakaran, D., Ben-Shlomo, Y., Reddy, K. S., Ebrahim, S. and Chandak, G. R. (2012). Association analysis of 31 common polymorphisms with type 2 diabetes and its related traits in Indian sib pairs. Diabetologia, 55 (2), 349-357. doi: 10.1007/s00125-011-2355-6
2012
Book Chapter
Detailing patient specific modeling to aid clinical decision-making
Richmond, S., Al Ali, A. M., Beldie, L., Chong, Y. T., Cronin, A., Djordjevic, J., Drage, N. A., Evans, D. M., Jones, D., Lu, Y., Marshall, D., Middleton, J., Parker, G., Paternoster, L., Playle, R. A., Popat, H., Rosin, P. L., Sidorov, K., Toma, A. M., Walker, B., Wilson, C. and Zhurov, A. I. (2012). Detailing patient specific modeling to aid clinical decision-making. Patient-Specific Computational Modeling. (pp. 105-131) Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer . doi: 10.1007/978-94-007-4552-0_5
2012
Conference Publication
Dense genotyping of candidate genes identifies 16 new susceptibility loci in ankylosing spondylitis
Cortes, A., Robinson, P. C., Hadler, J., Leo, P., Evans, D. M. and Brown, M. A. (2012). Dense genotyping of candidate genes identifies 16 new susceptibility loci in ankylosing spondylitis. Eighth International Congress on Spondyloarthropathies, Gent, Belgium, 4-6 October 2012. Ospedaletto, PI, Italy: Pacini Editore.
2012
Journal Article
Postnatal growth and DNA methylation are associated with differential gene expression of the TACSTD2 gene and childhood fat mass
Groom, Alexandra, Potter, Catherine, Swan, Daniel C., Fatemifar, Ghazaleh, Evans, David M., Ring, Susan M., Turcot, Valerie, Pearce, Mark S., Embleton, Nicholas D., Smith, George Davey, Mathers, John C. and Relton, Caroline L. (2012). Postnatal growth and DNA methylation are associated with differential gene expression of the TACSTD2 gene and childhood fat mass. Diabetes, 61 (2), 391-400. doi: 10.2337/db11-1039
2012
Conference Publication
Genome-wide association study of primary tooth eruption
Fatemifar, G., Hoggart, C., Prokopenko, I., Horikoshi, M., Tobias, J., Jarvelin, M. -R. and Evans, D. M. (2012). Genome-wide association study of primary tooth eruption. 39th Annual Congress of the European-Calcified-Tissue-Society (ECTS), Stockholm Sweden, May 19-23, 2012. NEW YORK: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2012.02.326
2011
Journal Article
New gene functions in megakaryopoiesis and platelet formation
Gieger, Christian, Radhakrishnan, Aparna, Cvejic, Ana, Tang, Weihong, Porcu, Eleonora, Pistis, Giorgio, Serbanovic-Canic, Jovana, Elling, Ulrich, Goodall, Alison H., Labrune, Yann, Lopez, Lorna M., Magi, Reedik, Meacham, Stuart, Okada, Yukinori, Pirastu, Nicola, Sorice, Rossella, Teumer, Alexander, Voss, Katrin, Zhang, Weihua, Ramirez-Solis, Ramiro, Bis, Joshua C., Ellinghaus, David, Gogele, Martin, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Langenberg, Claudia, Kovacs, Peter, O'Reilly, Paul F., Shin, So-Youn, Esko, Tonu ... Soranzo, Nicole (2011). New gene functions in megakaryopoiesis and platelet formation. Nature, 480 (7376), 201-208. doi: 10.1038/nature10659
2011
Journal Article
Genome-wide association and large-scale follow up identifies 16 new loci influencing lung function
Artigas, M.S., Loth, D.W., Wain, L.V., Gharib, S.A., Obeidat, M., Tang, W.B., Zhai, G.J., Zhao, J.H., Smith, A.V., Huffman, J.E., Albrecht, E., Jackson, C.M., Evans, D.M., Cadby, G., Fornage, M., Manichaikul, A., Lopez, L.M., Johnson, T., Aldrich, M.C., Aspelund, T., Barroso, I., Campbell, H., Cassano, P.A., Couper, D.J., Eiriksdottir, G., Franceschini, N., Garcia, M., Gieger, C., Gislason, G.K. ... GIANT Consortium (2011). Genome-wide association and large-scale follow up identifies 16 new loci influencing lung function. Nature Genetics, 43 (11), 1082-1090. doi: 10.1038/ng.941
2011
Conference Publication
Is There a Higher Genetic Load of Susceptibility Loci in Familial Ankylosing Spondylitis?
Joshi, Reeti K., Reveille, John D., Brown, Matthew A., Weisman, Michael H., Ward, Michael M., Gensler, Lianne S., Wordsworth, B. Paul, Evans, David M. and Assassi, Shervin (2011). Is There a Higher Genetic Load of Susceptibility Loci in Familial Ankylosing Spondylitis?. 75th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American-College-of-Rheumatology/46th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Association-of-Rheumatology-Health-Professionals, Chicago Il, Nov 04-09, 2011. MALDEN: WILEY-BLACKWELL.
2011
Journal Article
Genome-wide population-based association study of extremely overweight young adults - the GOYA study
Paternoster, Lavinia, Evans, David M., Aagaard Nohr, Ellen, Holst, Claus, Gaborieau, Valerie, Brennan, Paul, Prior Gjesing, Anette, Grarup, Niels, Witte, Daniel R., Jorgensen, Torben, Linneberg, Allan, Lauritzen, Torsten, Sandbaek, Anelli, Hansen, Torben, Pedersen, Oluf, Elliott, Katherine S., Kemp, John P., St. Pourcain, Beate, McMahon, George, Zelenika, Diana, Hager, Jorg, Lathrop, Mark, Timpson, Nicholas J., Smith, George Davey and Sorensen, Thorkild I. A. (2011). Genome-wide population-based association study of extremely overweight young adults - the GOYA study. PLoS One, 6 (9) e24303, e24303.1-e24303.9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024303
2011
Journal Article
Interaction between ERAP1 and HLA-B27 in ankylosing spondylitis implicates peptide handling in the mechanism for HLA-B27 in disease susceptibility
The Australo-Anglo-American Spondyloarthritis Consortium (TASC), Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium 2 (WTCCC2), Evans, David M., Spencer, Chris C. A., Pointon, Jennifer J., Su, Zhan, Harvey, David, Kochan, Grazyna, Opperman, Udo, Dilthey, Alexander, Pirinen, Matti, Stone, Millicent A., Appleton, Louise, Moutsianis, Loukas, Leslie, Stephen, Wordsworth, Tom, Kenna, Tony J., Karaderi, Tugce, Thomas, Gethin P., Ward, Michael M., Weisman, Michael H., Farrar, Claire, Bradbury, Linda A., Danoy, Patrick, Inman, Robert D., Maksymowych, Walter, Gladman, Dafna, Rahman, Proton, Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) ... Donnelly, Peter (2011). Interaction between ERAP1 and HLA-B27 in ankylosing spondylitis implicates peptide handling in the mechanism for HLA-B27 in disease susceptibility. Nature Genetics, 43 (8), 761-767. doi: 10.1038/ng.873
2011
Journal Article
A comprehensive evaluation of potential lung function associated genes in the SpiroMeta general population sample
Obeidat, Ma’en, Wain, Louise V., Shrine, Nick, Kalsheker, Noor, Artigas, Maria Soler, Repapi, Emmanouela, Burton, Paul R, Johnson, Toby, Ramasamy, Adaikalavan, Zhao, Jing Hua, Zhai, Guangju, Huffman, Jennifer E., Vitart, Veronique, Albrecht, Eva, Igl, Wilmar, Hartikainen, Anna-Liisa, Pouta, Anneli, Cadby,Gemma, Hui, Jennie, Palmer, Lyle J., Hadley, David, McArdle, Wendy L., Rudnicka, Alicja R, Barroso, Ines, Loos, Ruth J.F., Wareham, Nicholas J., Mangino, Massimo, Soranzo, Nicole, Spector, Tim D. ... SpiroMeta Consortium (2011). A comprehensive evaluation of potential lung function associated genes in the SpiroMeta general population sample. PLoS ONE, 6 (5) e19382, e19382.1-e19382.9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019382
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor David Evans is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
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
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
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
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
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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2024
Doctor Philosophy
Using genetics to investigate the interplay of maternal and fetal factors in pregnancy outcomes
Principal Advisor
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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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