Professor David Evans
Professor

David Evans

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+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

447 works between 1997 and 2024
All (447) Journal Article (366) Book Chapter (4) Conference Publication (67) Other Outputs (10)

421 - 440 of 447 works

2007

Journal Article

Genomewide scans of red cell indices suggest linkage on chromosome 6q23

Iliadou, A., Evans, D. M., Zhu, G., Duffy, D. L., Frazer, I. H., Montgomery, G. W. and Martin, N. G. (2007). Genomewide scans of red cell indices suggest linkage on chromosome 6q23. Journal of Medical Genetics, 44 (1), 24-30. doi: 10.1136/jmg.2006.043521

Genomewide scans of red cell indices suggest linkage on chromosome 6q23

2006

Journal Article

Genome-wide association: a promising start to a long race

Evans, David M. and Cardon, Lon R. (2006). Genome-wide association: a promising start to a long race. Trends in Genetics, 22 (7), 350-354. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2006.05.001

Genome-wide association: a promising start to a long race

2006

Journal Article

Two-stage two-locus models in genome-wide association

Evans D.M., Marchini J., Morris A.P. and Cardon L.R. (2006). Two-stage two-locus models in genome-wide association. PLoS Genetics, 2 (9), 1424-1432. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.0020157

Two-stage two-locus models in genome-wide association

2006

Journal Article

A note on the power to detect transmission distortion in parent-child trios via the transmission disequilibrium test.

Evans D.M., Morris A.P., Cardon L.R. and Sham P.C. (2006). A note on the power to detect transmission distortion in parent-child trios via the transmission disequilibrium test.. Behavior genetics, 36 (6), 947-950. doi: 10.1007/s10519-006-9087-2

A note on the power to detect transmission distortion in parent-child trios via the transmission disequilibrium test.

2006

Journal Article

Genome-wide scan of IQ finds significant linkage to a quantitative trait locus on 2q

Luciano, M., Wright, M. J., Duffy, D. L., Wainwright, M. A., Zhu, G., Evans, D. M., Geffen, G. M., Montgomery, G. W. and Martin, N. G. (2006). Genome-wide scan of IQ finds significant linkage to a quantitative trait locus on 2q. Behavior Genetics, 36 (1), 45-55. doi: 10.1007/s10519-005-9003-1

Genome-wide scan of IQ finds significant linkage to a quantitative trait locus on 2q

2005

Journal Article

A haplotype map of the human genome

Belmont J.W., Boudreau A., Leal S.M., Hardenbol P., Pasternak S., Wheeler D.A., Willis T.D., Yu F., Yang H., Gao Y., Hu H., Hu W., Li C., Lin W., Liu S., Pan H., Tang X., Wang J., Wang W., Yu J., Zhang B., Zhang Q., Zhao H., Zhou J., Barry R., Blumenstiel B., Camargo A., Defelice M., Faggart M. ... Stewart J. (2005). A haplotype map of the human genome. Nature, 437 (7063), 1299-1320. doi: 10.1038/nature04226

A haplotype map of the human genome

2005

Journal Article

Teenage acne is influenced by genetic factors

Evans, D. M., Kirk, K. M., Nyholt, D. R., Novac, C. and Martin, N. G. (2005). Teenage acne is influenced by genetic factors. British Journal of Dermatology, 152 (3), 579-581. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2133.2005.06387.x

Teenage acne is influenced by genetic factors

2005

Journal Article

A comparison of linkage disequilibrium patterns and estimated population recombination rates across multiple populations

Evans D.M. and Cardon L.R. (2005). A comparison of linkage disequilibrium patterns and estimated population recombination rates across multiple populations. American Journal of Human Genetics, 76 (4), 681-687. doi: 10.1086/429274

A comparison of linkage disequilibrium patterns and estimated population recombination rates across multiple populations

2005

Journal Article

Genetically indistinguishable SNPs and their influence on inferring the location of disease-associated variants

Lawrence, Robert, Evans, David M., Morris, Andrew P., Ke, Xiayi, Hunt, Sarah, Paolucci, Marta, Ragoussis, Jiannis, Deloukas, Panos, Bentley, David and Cardon, Lon R. (2005). Genetically indistinguishable SNPs and their influence on inferring the location of disease-associated variants. Genome Research, 15 (11), 1503-1510. doi: 10.1101/gr.4217605

Genetically indistinguishable SNPs and their influence on inferring the location of disease-associated variants

2005

Conference Publication

Prospects and pitfalls in whole genome association studies

Lawrence R.W., Evans D.M. and Cardon L.R. (2005). Prospects and pitfalls in whole genome association studies. Meeting on Genetic Variation and Human Health, London England, Jan, 2005. LONDON: ROYAL SOCIETY. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2005.1689

Prospects and pitfalls in whole genome association studies

2004

Journal Article

Genotype prediction using a dense map of SNPs

Evans, David M., Cardon, Lon R. and Morris, Andrew P. (2004). Genotype prediction using a dense map of SNPs. Genetic Epidemiology, 27 (4), 375-384. doi: 10.1002/gepi.20045

Genotype prediction using a dense map of SNPs

2004

Journal Article

Guidelines for genotyping in genomewide linkage studies: single-nucleotide-polymorphism maps versus microsatellite maps

Evans, David M. and Cardon, Lon R. (2004). Guidelines for genotyping in genomewide linkage studies: single-nucleotide-polymorphism maps versus microsatellite maps. American Journal of Human Genetics, 75 (4), 687-692. doi: 10.1086/424696

Guidelines for genotyping in genomewide linkage studies: single-nucleotide-polymorphism maps versus microsatellite maps

2004

Journal Article

Major quantitative trait locus for eosinophil count is located on chromosome 2q

Evans, DM, Zhu, G, Duffy, DL, Montgomery, GW, Frazer, IH and Martin, NG (2004). Major quantitative trait locus for eosinophil count is located on chromosome 2q. Journal of Allergy And Clinical Immunology, 114 (4), 826-830. doi: 10.1016/j.jaci.2004.05.060

Major quantitative trait locus for eosinophil count is located on chromosome 2q

2004

Journal Article

A simulation study concerning the effect of varying the residual phenotypic correlation on the power of bivariate quantitative trait loci linkage analysis

Evans, David M. and Duffy, David L. (2004). A simulation study concerning the effect of varying the residual phenotypic correlation on the power of bivariate quantitative trait loci linkage analysis. Behavior Genetics, 34 (2), 135-141. doi: 10.1023/B:BEGE.0000013727.15845.f8

A simulation study concerning the effect of varying the residual phenotypic correlation on the power of bivariate quantitative trait loci linkage analysis

2004

Journal Article

A genome scan for eye color in 502 twin families: Most variation is due to a QTL on chromosome 15q

Zhu, G., Evans, D. M., Duffy, D. L., Montgomery, G. W., Medland, S. E., Gillespie, N. A., Ewen, K. R., Jewell, M., Liew, Y. W., Hayward, N. K., Sturm, R. A., Trent, J. M. and Martin, N. G. (2004). A genome scan for eye color in 502 twin families: Most variation is due to a QTL on chromosome 15q. Twin Research, 7 (2), 197-210. doi: 10.1375/136905204323016186

A genome scan for eye color in 502 twin families: Most variation is due to a QTL on chromosome 15q

2004

Journal Article

A major quantitative trait locus for CD4-CD8 ratio is located on chromosome 11

Evans, D. M., Zhu, G., Duffy, D. L., Frazer, I. H., Montgomery, G. W. and Martin, N. G. (2004). A major quantitative trait locus for CD4-CD8 ratio is located on chromosome 11. Genes and Immunity, 5 (7), 548-552. doi: 10.1038/sj.gene.6364126

A major quantitative trait locus for CD4-CD8 ratio is located on chromosome 11

2004

Journal Article

Multivariate QTL linkage analysis suggests a QTL for platelet count on chromosome 19q

Evans, D. M., Zhu, G., Duffy, D. L., Montgomery, G. W., Frazer, IH and Martin, NG (2004). Multivariate QTL linkage analysis suggests a QTL for platelet count on chromosome 19q. European Journal of Human Genetics, 12 (10), 835-842. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejhg.5201248

Multivariate QTL linkage analysis suggests a QTL for platelet count on chromosome 19q

2004

Journal Article

Genetic Simplex Modeling of Eysenck's Dimensions of Personality in a Sample of Young Australian Twins

Gillespie, Nathan A., Evans, David E., Wright, Margie M. and Martin, Nicholas G. (2004). Genetic Simplex Modeling of Eysenck's Dimensions of Personality in a Sample of Young Australian Twins. Twin Research, 7 (6), 637-648. doi: 10.1375/1369052042663814

Genetic Simplex Modeling of Eysenck's Dimensions of Personality in a Sample of Young Australian Twins

2004

Journal Article

Do the Genetic or Environmental Determinants of Anxiety and Depression Change with Age? A Longitudinal Study of Australian Twins

Gillespie, Nathan A., Kirk, Katherine M., Evans, David M., Heath, Andrew C., Hickie, Ian B. and Martin, Nicholas G. (2004). Do the Genetic or Environmental Determinants of Anxiety and Depression Change with Age? A Longitudinal Study of Australian Twins. Twin Research, 7 (1), 39-53. doi: 10.1375/13690520460741435

Do the Genetic or Environmental Determinants of Anxiety and Depression Change with Age? A Longitudinal Study of Australian Twins

2003

Journal Article

A note on including phenotypic information from monozygotic twins in variance components Qtl linkage analysis

Evans D.M. and Medland S.E. (2003). A note on including phenotypic information from monozygotic twins in variance components Qtl linkage analysis. Annals of Human Genetics, 67 (6), 613-617. doi: 10.1046/j.1529-8817.2003.00069.x

A note on including phenotypic information from monozygotic twins in variance components Qtl linkage analysis

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

    Understanding the genetic epidemiology of women's reproductive health

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Gunn-Helen Moen

  • 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

    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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