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
2011
Journal Article
Association of genetic loci with glucose levels in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis of over 6,000 children
Barker, Adam, Sharp, Stephen J., Timpson, Nicholas J., Bouatia-Naji, Nabila, Warrington, Nicole M., Kanoni, Stavroula, Beilin, Lawrence J., Brage, Soren, Deloukas, Panos, Evans, David M., Grontved, Anders, Hassanali, Neelam, Lawlor, Deborah A., Lecoeur, Cecile, Loos, Ruth J.F., Lye, Stephen J., McCarthy, Mark I., Mori, Trevor A., Ndiaye, Ndeye Coumba, Newnham, John P., Ntalla, Ioanna, Pennell, Craig E., St Pourcain, Beate, Prokopenko, Inga, Ring, Susan M., Sattar, Naveed, Visvikis-Siest, Sophie, Dedoussis, George V., Palmer, Lyle J. ... Langenberg, Claudia (2011). Association of genetic loci with glucose levels in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis of over 6,000 children. Diabetes, 60 (6), 1805-1812. doi: 10.2337/db10-1575
2011
Journal Article
Correction: The genetic basis of spondyloarthritis: SPARTAN/IGAS 2009 (Journal of Rheumatology (2010) 37 (2626-2631))
Evans, D. M., Reveille, J. D., Brown, M., Chandran, V., Gladman, D. D., Martin, T. M., McGovern, D., Wordsworth, Paul and Inman, R. D. (2011). Correction: The genetic basis of spondyloarthritis: SPARTAN/IGAS 2009 (Journal of Rheumatology (2010) 37 (2626-2631)). Journal of Rheumatology, 38 (4). doi: 10.3899/jrheum.100892C1
2011
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study using extreme truncate selection identifies novel genes affecting bone mineral density and fracture risk
Duncan, Emma L., Danoy, Patrick, Kemp, John P., Leo, Paul J., McCloskey, Eugene, Nicholson, Geoffrey C., Eastell, Richard, Prince, Richard L., Eisman, John A., Jones, Graeme, Sambrook, Philip N., Reid, Ian R., Dennison, Elaine M., Wark, John, Richards, J. Brent, Uitterlinden, Andre G., Spector, Tim D., Esapa, Chris, Cox, Roger D., Brown, Steve D. M., Thakker, Rajesh V., Addison, Kathryn A., Bradbury, Linda A., Center, Jacqueline R., Cooper, Cyrus, Cremin, Catherine, Estrada, Karol, Felsenberg, Dieter, Glueer, Claus-C. ... Brown, Matthew A. (2011). Genome-wide association study using extreme truncate selection identifies novel genes affecting bone mineral density and fracture risk. PLoS Genetics, 7 (4) e1001372, e1001372.1-e1001372.10. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001372
2011
Journal Article
Obesity-susceptibility loci have a limited influence on birth weight: A meta-analysis of up to 28,219 individuals
Kilpelainen T.O., Den Hoed M., Ong K.K., Grontved A., Brage S., Jameson K., Cooper C., Khaw K.-T., Ekelund U., Wareham N.J., Loos R.J.F., Freathy R.M., Mook-Kanamori D.O., Sovio U., Prokopenko I., Timpson N.J., Berry D.J., Warrington N.M., Widen E., Hottenga J.J., Kaakinen M., Lange L.A., Bradfield J.P., Kerkhof M., Marsh J.A., Magi R., Chen C.-M., Lyon H.N., Kirin M. ... McCarthy M.I. (2011). Obesity-susceptibility loci have a limited influence on birth weight: A meta-analysis of up to 28,219 individuals. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 93 (4), 851-860. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.110.000828
2011
Journal Article
Associations of FTO and MC4R variants with obesity traits in Indians and the role of rural/urban environment as a possible effect modifier
Taylor, A. E., Sandeep, M. N., Janipalli, C. S., Giambartolomei, C., Evans, D. M., Kranthi Kumar, M. V., Vinay, D. G., Smitha, P., Gupta, V., Aruna, M., Kinra, S., Sullivan, R. M., Bowen, L., Timpson, N. J., Davey Smith, G., Dudbridge, F., Prabhakaran, D., Ben-Shlomo, Y., Reddy, K. S., Ebrahim, S. and Chandak, G. R. (2011). Associations of FTO and MC4R variants with obesity traits in Indians and the role of rural/urban environment as a possible effect modifier. Journal of Obesity, 2011 307542, 1-7. doi: 10.1155/2011/307542
2011
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study identifies four loci associated with eruption of permanent teeth
Geller, Frank, Feenstra, Bjarke, Zhang, Hao, Shaffer, John R., Hansen, Thomas, Esserlind, Ann-Louise, Boyd, Heather A., Nohr, Ellen A., Timpson, Nicholas J., Fatemifar, Ghazaleh, Paternoster, Lavinia, Evans, David M., Weyant, Robert J., Levy, Steven M., Lathrop, Mark, Smith, George Davey, Murray, Jeffrey C., Olesen, Jes, Werge, Thomas, Marazita, Mary L., Sorensen, Thorkild I. A. and Melbye, Mads (2011). Genome-wide association study identifies four loci associated with eruption of permanent teeth. PLoS Genetics, 7 (9) e1002275, e1002275.1-e1002275.9. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002275
2011
Book Chapter
Mapping complex disease genes using linkage disequilibrium and genomewide association scans
Palmer, Lyle J., Timpson, Nicholas J., Evans, David M., Smith, George Davey and Cardon, Lon R. (2011). Mapping complex disease genes using linkage disequilibrium and genomewide association scans. An Introduction to Genetic Epidemiology. (pp. 91-130) Bristol, United Kingdom: Policy Press.
2011
Conference Publication
Association analyses of 47,500 individuals identifies six fracture loci and 82 BMD loci clustering in biological pathways that regulate osteoblast and osteoclast activity
Estrada, K, Evangelou, E, Hsu, YH, Styrkarsdottir, U, Liu, CT, Moayyeri, A, Kaptoge, S, Duncan, E, Amin, N, Kiel, D, Karasik, D, Albagha, OM, Brown, M, Spector, TD, Zillikens, MC, Ohlsson, C, Thorleifsson, G, Reeve, J, Vandenput, L, Pettersson, U, O'Neill, T, Riancho, JA, Ijunggren, O, Rousseau, F, Leslie, WD, Obermayer-Pietsch, B, Alonso, N, Langdahl, B, Nogues, X ... GENOMOS Consortia (2011). Association analyses of 47,500 individuals identifies six fracture loci and 82 BMD loci clustering in biological pathways that regulate osteoblast and osteoclast activity. 3rd Joint Meeting of the European-Calcified-Tissue-Society/International-Bone-and-Mineral-Society, Athens Greece, May 07-11, 2011. NEW YORK: ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2011.03.070
2011
Journal Article
A genome-wide association study to identify genetic determinants of atopy in subjects from the United Kingdom
Wan, Yize I., Strachan, David P., Evans, David M., Henderson, John, McKeever, Tricia, Holloway, John W., Hall, Ian P. and Sayers, Ian (2011). A genome-wide association study to identify genetic determinants of atopy in subjects from the United Kingdom. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 127 (1), 223-231. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.10.006
2011
Journal Article
The ATXN1 and TRIM31 genes are related to intelligence in an ADHD background: evidence from a large collaborative study totaling 4,963 subjects
Rizzi, Thais S., Arias-Vasquez, Alejandro, Rommelse, Nanda, Kuntsi, Jonna, Anney, Richard, Asherson, Philip, Buitelaar, Jan, Banaschewski, Tobias, Ebstein, Richard, Ruano, Dina, van der Sluis, Sophie, Markunas, Christina A., Garrett, Melanie E., Ashley-Koch, Allison E., Kollins, Scott H., Anastopoulos, Arthur D., Hansell, Narelle K., Wright, Margaret J., Montgomery, Grant W., Martin, Nicholas G., Harris, Sarah E., Davies, Gail, Tenesa, Albert, Porteous, David J., Starr, John M., Deary, Ian J., St. Pourcain, Beate, Smith, George Davey, Timpson, Nicholas J. ... Posthuma, Danielle (2011). The ATXN1 and TRIM31 genes are related to intelligence in an ADHD background: evidence from a large collaborative study totaling 4,963 subjects. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 156 (2), 145-157. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.31149
2011
Journal Article
Adult height variants affect birth length and growth rate in children
Paternoster, Lavinia, Howe, Laura D., Tilling, Kate, Weedon, Michael N., Freathy, Rachel M., Frayling, Timothy M., Kemp, John P., Smith, George Davey, Timpson, Nicholas J., Ring, Susan M., Evans, David M. and Lawlor, Debbie A. (2011). Adult height variants affect birth length and growth rate in children. Human Molecular Genetics, 20 (20) ddr309, 4069-4075. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddr309
2011
Book Chapter
Gene-gene interaction and epistasis
Evans, David M. (2011). Gene-gene interaction and epistasis. Analysis of complex disease association studies. (pp. 197-213) edited by Eleftheria Zeggini and Andrew Morris. Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-375142-3.10012-4
2010
Conference Publication
The genetic basis of spondyloarthritis: SPARTAN/IGAS 2009
Evans, David M., Reveille, John D., Brown, Matthew A., Chandran, Vinod, Gladman, Dafna D., Martin, Tammy M., McGovern, Dermot, Wordsworth, Paul and Inman, Robert D. (2010). The genetic basis of spondyloarthritis: SPARTAN/IGAS 2009. Toronto, ON, Canada: Journal of Rheumatology Publishing. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.100892
2010
Journal Article
A genome-wide association study identifies new psoriasis susceptibility loci and an interaction between HLA-C and ERAP1
Strange, Amy, Capon, Francesca, Spencer, Chris C. A., Knight, Jo, Weale, Michael E., Allen, Michael H., Barton, Anne, Band, Gavin, Bellenguez, Céline, Bergboer, Judith G. M., Blackwell, Jenefer M., Bramon, Elvira, Bumpstead, Suzannah J., Casas, Juan P., Cork, Michael J., Corvin, Aiden, Deloukas, Panos, Dilthey, Alexander, Duncanson, Audrey, Edkins, Sarah, Estivill, Xavier, Fitzgerald, Oliver, Freeman, Colin, Giardina, Emiliano, Gray, Emma, Hofer, Angelika, Hüffmeier, Ulrike, Hunt, Sarah E., Irvine, Alan D. ... Trembath, Richard C. (2010). A genome-wide association study identifies new psoriasis susceptibility loci and an interaction between HLA-C and ERAP1. Nature Genetics, 42 (11), 985-990. doi: 10.1038/ng.694
2010
Journal Article
Follow-up of potential novel Graves' disease susceptibility loci, identified in the UK WTCCC genome-wide nonsynonymous SNP study
Newby, Paul R., Pickles, Oliver J., Mazumdar, Samaresh, Brand, Oliver J., Carr-Smith, Jaqueline D., Pearce, Simon H. S., Franklyn, Jayne A., Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Evans, David M., Simmonds, Matthew J., Gough, Stephen C. L., Brown, Matthew A., Bradbury, Linda and Pointon, Jennifer (2010). Follow-up of potential novel Graves' disease susceptibility loci, identified in the UK WTCCC genome-wide nonsynonymous SNP study. European Journal of Human Genetics, 18 (9), 1021-1026. doi: 10.1038/ejhg.2010.55
2010
Journal Article
A variant in LIN28B is Associated with 2D:4D finger-length ratio, a putative retrospective biomarker of prenatal testosterone exposure
Medland, Sarah E., Zayats,Tetyana, Glaser, Beate, Nyholt, Dale R., Gordon,Scott D., Wright, Margaret J., Montgomery, Grant W., Campbell, Megan J., Henders, Anjali K., Timpson, Nicholas J., Peltonen, Leena, Wolke, Dieter, Ring, Susan M., Deloukas, Panos, Martin, Nicholas G., Smith, George Davey and Evans, David M. (2010). A variant in LIN28B is Associated with 2D:4D finger-length ratio, a putative retrospective biomarker of prenatal testosterone exposure. American Journal of Human Genetics, 86 (4), 519-525. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2010.02.017
2010
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study of CNVs in 16,000 cases of eight common diseases and 3,000 shared controls
Craddock, Nick, Hurles, Matthew E., Cardin, Niall, Pearson, Richard D., Plagnol, Vincent, Robson, Samuel, Vukcevic, Damjan, Barnes, Chris, Brown, Matthew A., Evans, David M. and The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (2010). Genome-wide association study of CNVs in 16,000 cases of eight common diseases and 3,000 shared controls. Nature, 464 (7289), 713-720. doi: 10.1038/nature08979
2010
Journal Article
Functional Gene Group Analysis Reveals a Role of Synaptic Heterotrimeric G Proteins in Cognitive Ability
Ruano, Dina, Abecasis, Goncalo R., Glaser, Beate, Lips, Esther S., Cornelisse, L. Niels, de Jong, Arthur P. H., Evans, David M., Smith, George Davey, Timpson, Nicolas J., Smit, August B., Heutink, Peter, Verhage, Mathhijs and Posthuma, Danielle (2010). Functional Gene Group Analysis Reveals a Role of Synaptic Heterotrimeric G Proteins in Cognitive Ability. American Journal of Human Genetics, 86 (2), 113-125. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2009.12.006
2010
Journal Article
A new highly penetrant form of obesity due to deletions on chromosome 16p11.2
Walters, R. G., Jacquemont, S., Valsesia, A., De Smith, A. J., Martinet, D., Andersson, J., Falchi, M., Chen, F., Andrieux, J., Lobbens, S., Delobel, B., Stutzmann, F., El-Sayed Moustafa, J. S., Chevre, J.-C., Lecoeur, C., Vatin, V., Bouquillon, S., Buxton, J. L., Boute, O., Holder-Espinasse, M., Cuisset, J.-M., Lemaitre, M.-P., Ambresin, A.-E., Brioschi, A., Gaillard, M., Giusti, V., Fellmann, F., Ferrarini, A., Hadjikhani, N. ... Beckmann, J. S. (2010). A new highly penetrant form of obesity due to deletions on chromosome 16p11.2. Nature, 463 (7281), 671-675. doi: 10.1038/nature08727
2010
Journal Article
Genome-wide association study of ankylosing spondylitis identifies non-MHC susceptibility loci
Reveille, John D., Sims, Anne-Marie, Danoy, Patrick, Evans, David M., Leo, Paul, Pointon, Jennifer J., Jin, Rui, Zhou, Xiaodong, Bradbury, Linda A., Appleton, Louise H., Davis, John C., Diekman, Laura, Doan, Tracey, Dowling, Alison, Duan, Ran, Duncan, Emma L., Farrar, Claire, Hadler, Johanna, Harvey, David, Karaderi, Tugce, Mogg, Rebecca, Pomeroy, Emma, Pryce, Karena, Taylor, Jacqueline, Savage, Laurie, Deloukas, Panos, Kumanduri, Vasudev, Peltonen, Leena, Ring, Sue M. ... Brown, Mathew A. (2010). Genome-wide association study of ankylosing spondylitis identifies non-MHC susceptibility loci. Nature Genetics, 42 (2), 123-127. doi: 10.1038/ng.513
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
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
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 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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