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Professor David Evans
Professor

David Evans

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+61 7 334 62617

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

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

Works

Search Professor David Evans’s works on UQ eSpace

449 works between 1997 and 2025

441 - 449 of 449 works

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

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

2003

Journal Article

A genetic two-factor model of the covariation among a subset of Multidimensional Aptitude Battery and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised subtests

Luciano, M., Wright, M. J., Geffen, G. M., Geffen, L. B., Smith, G. A., Evans, D. M. and Martin, N. G. (2003). A genetic two-factor model of the covariation among a subset of Multidimensional Aptitude Battery and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised subtests. Intelligence, 31 (6), 589-605. doi: 10.1016/S0160-2896(03)00057-6

A genetic two-factor model of the covariation among a subset of Multidimensional Aptitude Battery and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised subtests

2002

Journal Article

Biometrical Genetics

Evans, David M., Gillespie, N. A. and Martin, N. G. (2002). Biometrical Genetics. Biological Psychology, 61 (1-2) PII S0301-0511(02)00051-0, 33-51. doi: 10.1016/S0301-0511(02)00051-0

Biometrical Genetics

2001

Conference Publication

Quantitative trait loci underlying variation in blood cell concentrations

Evans, D. M., Zhu, G., Frazer, I. H. and Martin, N. G. (2001). Quantitative trait loci underlying variation in blood cell concentrations. It Runs in the Family: Twins and Families in Biome, Melbourne, Australia, 6-7 April, 2001. Cambridge, MA: Cell Press.

Quantitative trait loci underlying variation in blood cell concentrations

2001

Journal Article

Developmental genetics of red cell indices during puberty: A longitudinal twin study

Evans, D. M., Frazer, I. H., Boomsma, D. I. and Martin, N. G. (2001). Developmental genetics of red cell indices during puberty: A longitudinal twin study. International Journal of Human Genetics, 1 (1), 41-53. doi: 10.1080/09723757.2001.11885735

Developmental genetics of red cell indices during puberty: A longitudinal twin study

2000

Journal Article

The validity of twin studies

Evans, David M. and Martin, Nicholas G. (2000). The validity of twin studies. GeneScreen, 1 (2), 77-79. doi: 10.1046/j.1466-9218.2000.00027.x

The validity of twin studies

1999

Journal Article

Genetic and environmental causes of variation in basal levels of blood cells

Evans, David M., Frazer, Ian H. and Martin, Nicholas G. (1999). Genetic and environmental causes of variation in basal levels of blood cells. Twin Research, 2 (4), 250-257. doi: 10.1375/twin.2.4.250

Genetic and environmental causes of variation in basal levels of blood cells

1997

Journal Article

Effects of memory load and distraction on performance and event-related slow potentials in a visuospatial working memory task

Geffen, Gina M., Wright, Margaret J., Green, Heather J., Gillespie, Nicole A., Smyth, David C., Evans, David M. and Geffen, Laurence B. (1997). Effects of memory load and distraction on performance and event-related slow potentials in a visuospatial working memory task. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 9 (6), 743-757. doi: 10.1162/jocn.1997.9.6.743

Effects of memory load and distraction on performance and event-related slow potentials in a visuospatial working memory task

Supervision

Availability

Professor David Evans is:
Available for supervision

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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

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

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Nicole Warrington

  • 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

    Multi-omic Approaches to Understanding Septic Shock

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Daniel Hwang

  • 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

Media

Enquiries

Contact Professor David Evans directly for media enquiries about:

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

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