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
2020
Journal Article
Proxy gene-by-environment Mendelian randomization for assessing causal effects of maternal exposures on offspring outcomes
Hwang, Liang-Dar and Evans, David M. (2020). Proxy gene-by-environment Mendelian randomization for assessing causal effects of maternal exposures on offspring outcomes. International Journal of Epidemiology, 49 (4), 1218-1220. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyaa069
2020
Journal Article
It's in the bloody genes!
Evans, David M. (2020). It's in the bloody genes!. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 23 (2), 96-97. doi: 10.1017/thg.2020.31
2020
Journal Article
Editorial
Evans, David, Medland, Sarah E. and Gillespie, Nathan (2020). Editorial. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 23 (2), 67-67. doi: 10.1017/thg.2020.45
2020
Journal Article
Genome-wide association meta-analysis of corneal curvature identifies novel loci and shared genetic influences across axial length and refractive error
Fan, Qiao, Pozarickij, Alfred, Tan, Nicholas Y. Q., Guo, Xiaobo, Verhoeven, Virginie J. M., Vitart, Veronique, Guggenheim, Jeremy A., Miyake, Masahiro, Tideman, J. Willem L., Khawaja, Anthony P., Zhang, Liang, MacGregor, Stuart, Höhn, René, Chen, Peng, Biino, Ginevra, Wedenoja, Juho, Saffari, Seyed Ehsan, Tedja, Milly S., Xie, Jing, Lanca, Carla, Wang, Ya Xing, Sahebjada, Srujana, Mazur, Johanna, Mirshahi, Alireza, Martin, Nicholas G., Yazar, Seyhan, Pennell, Craig E., Yap, Maurice, Haarman, Annechien E. G. ... Evans, David M. (2020). Genome-wide association meta-analysis of corneal curvature identifies novel loci and shared genetic influences across axial length and refractive error. Communications Biology, 3 (1) 133, 133. doi: 10.1038/s42003-020-0802-y
2020
Journal Article
The effect of plasma lipids and lipid-lowering interventions on bone mineral density: a Mendelian randomization study
Zheng, Jie, Brion, Marie-Jo, Kemp, John P., Warrington, Nicole M., Borges, Maria-Carolina, Hemani, Gibran, Richardson, Tom G., Rasheed, Humaira, Qiao, Zhen, Haycock, Philip, Ala-Korpela, Mika, Davey Smith, George, Tobias, Jon H. and Evans, David M. (2020). The effect of plasma lipids and lipid-lowering interventions on bone mineral density: a Mendelian randomization study. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 35 (7) jbmr.3989, 1224-1235. doi: 10.1002/jbmr.3989
2020
Journal Article
Integrating family-based and Mendelian randomization designs
Hwang, Liang-Dar, Davies, Neil M., Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2020). Integrating family-based and Mendelian randomization designs. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine, 11 (3) a039503, 1-15. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a039503
2020
Journal Article
Maternal and paternal effects on offspring internalizing problems: results from genetic and family-based analyses
Jami, Eshim S., Eilertsen, Espen Moen, Hammerschlag, Anke R., Qiao, Zhen, Evans, David M., Ystrøm, Eivind, Bartels, Meike and Middeldorp, Christel M. (2020). Maternal and paternal effects on offspring internalizing problems: results from genetic and family-based analyses. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part B: Neuropsychiatric Genetics, 183 (5), 258-267. doi: 10.1002/ajmg.b.32784
2020
Journal Article
Exploring the genetic relationship between hearing impairment and Alzheimer's disease
Mitchell, Brittany L., Thorp, Jackson G., Evans, David M., Nyholt, Dale R., Martin, Nicholas G. and Lupton, Michelle K. (2020). Exploring the genetic relationship between hearing impairment and Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring, 12 (1) e12108, 1-10. doi: 10.1002/dad2.12108
2020
Journal Article
Variants associated withHHIP expression have sex-differential effects on lung function
Fawcett, Katherine A., Wain, Louise V., Obeidat, Ma'en, Melbourne, Carl, Shrine, Nick, Guyatt, Anna L., John, Catherine, Luan, Jian'an, Richmond, Anne, Moksnes, Marta R., Granell, Raquel, Weiss, Stefan, Imboden, Medea, May-Wilson, Sebastian, Hysi, Pirro, Boutin, Thibaud S., Portas, Laura, Flexeder, Claudia, Harris, Sarah E., Wang, Carol A., Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka, Palviainen, Teemu, Foong, Rachel E., Keidel, Dirk, Minelli, Cosetta, Langenberg, Claudia, Bossé, Yohan, Van den Berge, Maarten, Sin, Don D. ... Tobin, Martin D. (2020). Variants associated withHHIP expression have sex-differential effects on lung function. Wellcome Open Research, 5 111, 1-19. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.15846.1
2019
Journal Article
Use of Mendelian randomization to examine causal inference in osteoporosis
Zheng, Jie, Frysz, Monika, Kemp, John P., Evans, David M., Smith, George Davey and Tobias, Jonathan H. (2019). Use of Mendelian randomization to examine causal inference in osteoporosis. Frontiers in Endocrinology, 10 807, 807. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00807
2019
Journal Article
Metabolomics analysis in adults with high bone mass identifies a relationship between bone resorption and circulating citrate which replicates in the general population
Hartley, April, Paternoster, Lavinia, Evans, David M., Fraser, William D., Tang, Jonathan, Lawlor, Debbie A., Tobias, Jon H. and Gregson, Celia L. (2019). Metabolomics analysis in adults with high bone mass identifies a relationship between bone resorption and circulating citrate which replicates in the general population. Clinical Endocrinology, 92 (1) cen.14119, 29-37. doi: 10.1111/cen.14119
2019
Journal Article
Within family Mendelian randomization studies
Davies, Neil M., Howe, Laurence J., Brumpton, Ben, Havdahl, Alexandra, Evans, David M. and Davey Smith, George (2019). Within family Mendelian randomization studies. Human Molecular Genetics, 28 (R2), R170-R179. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddz204
2019
Journal Article
Introducing M-GCTA a software package to estimate maternal (or paternal) genetic effects on offspring phenotypes
Qiao, Zhen, Zheng, Jie, Helgeland, Øyvind, Vaudel, Marc, Johansson, Stefan, Njølstad, Pål R., Smith, George Davey, Warrington, Nicole M. and Evans, David M. (2019). Introducing M-GCTA a software package to estimate maternal (or paternal) genetic effects on offspring phenotypes. Behavior Genetics, 50 (1), 51-66. doi: 10.1007/s10519-019-09969-4
2019
Journal Article
Using a two-sample Mendelian randomization design to investigate a possible causal effect of maternal lipid concentrations on offspring birth weight
Hwang, Liang-Dar, Lawlor, Deborah A., Freathy, Rachel M., Evans, David M. and Warrington, Nicole M. (2019). Using a two-sample Mendelian randomization design to investigate a possible causal effect of maternal lipid concentrations on offspring birth weight. International Journal of Epidemiology, 48 (5), 1457-1467. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyz160
2019
Journal Article
Market coordination and the making of conventions: qualities, consumption and sustainability in the agro-food industry
Evans, David M. and Mylan, Josephine (2019). Market coordination and the making of conventions: qualities, consumption and sustainability in the agro-food industry. Economy and Society, 48 (3), 426-449. doi: 10.1080/03085147.2019.1620026
2019
Journal Article
Comparative performances of machine learning methods for classifying Crohn Disease patients using genome-wide genotyping data
Romagnoni, Alberto, Jégou, Simon, Van Steen, Kristel, Wainrib, Gilles, Hugot, Jean-Pierre, Peyrin-Biroulet, Laurent, Chamaillard, Mathias, Colombel, Jean-Frederick, Cottone, Mario, D’Amato, Mauro, D’Incà, Renata, Halfvarson, Jonas, Henderson, Paul, Karban, Amir, Kennedy, Nicholas A., Khan, Mohammed Azam, Lémann, Marc, Levine, Arie, Massey, Dunecan, Milla, Monica, Ng, Sok Meng Evelyn, Oikonomou, Ioannis, Peeters, Harald, Proctor, Deborah D., Rahier, Jean-Francois, Rutgeerts, Paul, Seibold, Frank, Stronati, Laura, Taylor, Kirstin M. ... Whittaker, Pamela (2019). Comparative performances of machine learning methods for classifying Crohn Disease patients using genome-wide genotyping data. Scientific Reports, 9 (1) 10351. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46649-z
2019
Journal Article
Vitamin D-Binding Protein Deficiency and Homozygous Deletion of the GC Gene
Brown, Matthew A., Duncan, Emma L. and Evans, David M. (2019). Vitamin D-Binding Protein Deficiency and Homozygous Deletion of the GC Gene. The New England Journal of Medicine, 380 (26), 2583-2583. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc1905282
2019
Journal Article
Publisher Correction: Genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals of European ancestry identifies new loci explaining a substantial fraction of hair color variation and heritability
Hysi, Pirro G., Valdes, Ana M., Liu, Fan, Furlotte, Nicholas A., Evans, David M., Bataille, Veronique, Visconti, Alessia, Hemani, Gibran, McMahon, George, Ring, Susan M., Smith, George Davey, Duffy, David L., Zhu, Gu, Gordon, Scott D., Medland, Sarah E., Lin, Bochao D., Willemsen, Gonneke, Jan Hottenga, Jouke, Vuckovic, Dragana, Girotto, Giorgia, Gandin, Ilaria, Sala, Cinzia, Concas, Maria Pina, Brumat, Marco, Gasparini, Paolo, Toniolo, Daniela, Cocca, Massimiliano, Robino, Antonietta, Yazar, Seyhan ... Spector, Timothy D. (2019). Publisher Correction: Genome-wide association meta-analysis of individuals of European ancestry identifies new loci explaining a substantial fraction of hair color variation and heritability. Nature Genetics, 51 (7), 1190-1190. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0446-3
2019
Journal Article
Exploring the role of genetic confounding in the association between maternal and offspring body mass index: evidence from three birth cohorts
Bond, Tom A., Karhunen, Ville, Wielscher, Matthias, Auvinen, Juha, Männikkö, Minna, Keinänen-Kiukaanniemi, Sirkka, Gunter, Marc J., Felix, Janine F., Prokopenko, Inga, Yang, Jian, Visscher, Peter M., Evans, David M, Sebert, Sylvain, Lewin, Alex, O’Reilly, Paul F., Lawlor, Debbie A. and Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta (2019). Exploring the role of genetic confounding in the association between maternal and offspring body mass index: evidence from three birth cohorts. International Journal of Epidemiology, 49 (1), 233-243. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyz095
2019
Journal Article
Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors
Warrington, Nicole M., Beaumont, Robin N., Horikoshi, Momoko, Day, Felix R., Helgeland, Øyvind, Laurin, Charles, Bacelis, Jonas, Peng, Shouneng, Hao, Ke, Feenstra, Bjarke, Wood, Andrew R., Mahajan, Anubha, Tyrrell, Jessica, Robertson, Neil R., Rayner, N. William, Qiao, Zhen, Moen, Gunn-Helen, Vaudel, Marc, Marsit, Carmen J., Chen, Jia, Nodzenski, Michael, Schnurr, Theresia M., Zafarmand, Mohammad H., Bradfield, Jonathan P., Grarup, Niels, Kooijman, Marjolein N., Li-Gao, Ruifang, Geller, Frank, Paternoster, Lavinia ... Freathy, Rachel M. (2019). Maternal and fetal genetic effects on birth weight and their relevance to cardio-metabolic risk factors. Nature Genetics, 51 (5), 804-814. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0403-1
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
Understanding the genetic epidemiology of women's reproductive health
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Gunn-Helen Moen
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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
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
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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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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