Professor David Evans
Professor

David Evans

Email: 
Phone: 
+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

414 works between 1997 and 2024
All (414) Journal Article (349) Book Chapter (4) Conference Publication (59) Other Outputs (2)

181 - 200 of 414 works

2016

Journal Article

Genome-wide associations for birth weight and correlations with adult disease

Horikoshi, Momoko, Beaumont, Robin N., Day, Felix R., Warrington, Nicole M., Kooijman, Marjolein N., Fernandez-Tajes, Juan, Feenstra, Bjarke, van Zuydam, Natalie R., Gaulton, Kyle J., Grarup, Niels, Bradfield, Jonathan P., Strachan, David P., Li-Gao, Ruifang, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S., Kreiner, Eskil, Rueedi, Rico, Lyytikainen, Leo-Pekka, Cousminer, Diana L., Wu, Ying, Thiering, Elisabeth, Wang, Carol A., Have, Christian T., Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Vilor-Tejedor, Natalia, Joshi, Peter K., Boh, Eileen Tai Hui, Ntalla, Ioanna, Pitkanen, Niina, Mahajan, Anubha ... Freathy, Rachel M. (2016). Genome-wide associations for birth weight and correlations with adult disease. Nature, 538 (7624), 248-252. doi: 10.1038/nature19806

Genome-wide associations for birth weight and correlations with adult disease

2016

Journal Article

Using Mendelian randomization to investigate a possible causal relationship between adiposity and increased bone mineral density at different skeletal sites in children

Kemp, John P., Sayers, Adrian, Smith, George Davey, Tobias, Jonathan H. and Evans, David M. (2016). Using Mendelian randomization to investigate a possible causal relationship between adiposity and increased bone mineral density at different skeletal sites in children. International Journal of Epidemiology, 45 (5), 1560-1572. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyw079

Using Mendelian randomization to investigate a possible causal relationship between adiposity and increased bone mineral density at different skeletal sites in children

2016

Journal Article

Heritability and genome-wide association analyses of sleep duration in children: the EAGLE consortium

Marinelli, Marcella, Pappa, Irene, Bustamante, Mariona, Bonilla, Carolina, Suarez, Anna, Tiesler, Carla M., Vilor-Tejedor, Natalia, Zafarmand, Mohammad Hadi, Alvarez-Pedrerol, Mar, Andersson, Sture, Bakermans-Kranenburg, Marian J., Estivill, Xavier, Evans, David M., Flexeder, Claudia, Forns, Joan, Gonzalez, Juan R., Guxens, Monica, Huss, Anke, van IJzendoorn, Marinus H., Jaddoe, Vincent W. V., Julvez, Jordi, Lahti, Jari, Lopez-Vicente, Monica, Lopez-Espinosa, Maria-Jose, Manz, Judith, Mileva-Seitz, Viara R., Perola, Markus, Pesonen, Anu-Katriina, Rivadeneira, Fernando ... Sunyer, Jordi (2016). Heritability and genome-wide association analyses of sleep duration in children: the EAGLE consortium. Sleep, 39 (10), 1859-1869. doi: 10.5665/sleep.6170

Heritability and genome-wide association analyses of sleep duration in children: the EAGLE consortium

2016

Journal Article

A genome-wide association meta-analysis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in population-based pediatric cohorts

Middeldorp, Christel M., Hammerschlag, Anke R., Ouwens, Klaasjan G., Groen-Blokhuis, Maria M., St Pourcain, Beate, Greven, Corina U., Pappa, Irene, Tiesler, Carla M. T., Ang, Wei, Nolte, Ilja M., Vilor-Tejedor, Natalia, Bacelis, Jonas, Ebejer, Jane L., Zhao, Huiying, Davies, Gareth E., Ehli, Erik A., Evans, David M., Fedko, Iryna O., Guxens, Monica, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Hudziak, James J., Jugessur, Astanand, Kemp, John P., Krapohl, Eva, Martin, Nicholas G., Murcia, Mario, Myhre, Ronny, Ormel, Johan, Ring, Susan M. ... Boomsma, Dorret I. (2016). A genome-wide association meta-analysis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in population-based pediatric cohorts. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 55 (10), 896-905.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2016.05.025

A genome-wide association meta-analysis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms in population-based pediatric cohorts

2016

Journal Article

Why internal weights should be avoided (not only) in MR-Egger regression response

Kemp, John P., Sayers, Adrian, Smith, George Davey, Tobias, Jonathan H. and Evans, David M. (2016). Why internal weights should be avoided (not only) in MR-Egger regression response. International Journal of Epidemiology, 45 (5), 1678-1679. doi: 10.1093/ije/dyw241

Why internal weights should be avoided (not only) in MR-Egger regression response

2016

Journal Article

A genome-wide association meta-analysis of diarrhoeal disease in young children identifies FUT2 locus and provides plausible biological pathways

Bustamante, Mariona, Standl, Marie, Bassat, Quique, Vilor-Tejedor, Natalia, Medina-Gomez, Carolina, Bonilla, Carolina, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S., Bacelis, Jonas, Bradfield, Jonathan P., Tiesler, Carla M. T., Rivadeneira, Fernando, Ring, Susan, Vissing, Nadja H., Fink, Nadia R., Jugessur, Astanand, Mentch, Frank D., Ballester, Ferran, Kriebel, Jennifer, Kiefte-de Jong, Jessica C., Wolsk, Helene M., Llop, Sabrina, Thiering, Elisabeth, Beth, Systke A., Timpson, Nicholas J., Andersen, Josefine, Schulz, Holger, Jaddoe, Vincent W. V., Evans, David M., Waage, Johannes ... Sunyer, Jordi (2016). A genome-wide association meta-analysis of diarrhoeal disease in young children identifies FUT2 locus and provides plausible biological pathways. Human Molecular Genetics, 25 (18), 4127-4142. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddw264

A genome-wide association meta-analysis of diarrhoeal disease in young children identifies FUT2 locus and provides plausible biological pathways

2016

Journal Article

Genome-wide association study of copy number variation with lung function identifies a novel signal of association near BANP for forced vital capacity

Shrine, Nick, Tobin, Martin D., Schurmann, Claudia, Artigas, Maria Soler, Hui, Jennie, Lehtimaki, Terho, Raitakari, Olli T., Pennell, Craig E., Ang, Qi Wei, Strachan, David P., Homuth, Georg, Glaeser, Sven, Felix, Stephan B., Evans, David M., Henderson, John, Granell, Raquel, Palmer, Lyle J., Huffman, Jennifer, Hayward, Caroline, Scotland, Generation, Malarstig, Anders, Musk, Bill, James, Alan L. and Wain, Louise V. (2016). Genome-wide association study of copy number variation with lung function identifies a novel signal of association near BANP for forced vital capacity. BMC Genetics, 17 (1) 116, 1-8. doi: 10.1186/s12863-016-0423-0

Genome-wide association study of copy number variation with lung function identifies a novel signal of association near BANP for forced vital capacity

2016

Journal Article

Erratum to: Heritability and genome-wide analyses of problematic peer relationships during childhood and adolescence

Pourcain, Beate St, Haworth, C. M. A., Davis, O. S. P., Wang, Kai, Timpson, Nicholas J., Evans, David M., Kemp, John P., Ronald, Angelica, Price, Tom, Meaburn, Emma, Ring, Susan M., Golding, Jean, Hakonarson, Hakon, Plomin, R. and Smith, George Davey (2016). Erratum to: Heritability and genome-wide analyses of problematic peer relationships during childhood and adolescence. Human Genetics, 135 (8), 965-965. doi: 10.1007/s00439-016-1695-1

Erratum to: Heritability and genome-wide analyses of problematic peer relationships during childhood and adolescence

2016

Journal Article

Joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing disorders between childhood and adolescence

Nivard, Michel G., Lubke, Gitta H., Dolan, Conor V., Evans, David M., St. Pourcain, Beate, Munafo, Marcus R. and Middeldorp, Christel M. (2016). Joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing disorders between childhood and adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 29 (3), 1-10. doi: 10.1017/S0954579416000572

Joint developmental trajectories of internalizing and externalizing disorders between childhood and adolescence

2016

Journal Article

International genome-wide association study consortium identifies novel loci associated with blood pressure in children and adolescents

Parmar, Priyakumari Ganesh, Taal, H. Rob, Timpson, Nicholas J., Thiering, Elisabeth, Lehtimaki, Terho, Marinelli, Marcella, Lind, Penelope A., Howe, Laura D., Verwoert, Germaine, Aalto, Ville, Uitterlinden, Andre G., Briollais, Laurent, Evans, Dave M., Wright, Margie J., Newnham, John P., Whitfield, John B., Lyytikainen, Leo-Pekka, Rivadeneira, Fernando, Boomsma, Dorrett I., Viikari, Jorma, Gillman, Matthew W., St Pourcain, Beate, Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Montgomery, Grant W., Hofman, Albert, Kahonen, Mika, Martin, Nicholas G., Tobin, Martin D., Raitakari, Ollie ... Palmer, Lyle J. (2016). International genome-wide association study consortium identifies novel loci associated with blood pressure in children and adolescents. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, 9 (3), 266-278. doi: 10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.115.001190

International genome-wide association study consortium identifies novel loci associated with blood pressure in children and adolescents

2016

Journal Article

The case for genome-wide association studies of bone acquisition in paediatric and adolescent populations

Kemp, John P, Medina-Gomez, Carolina, Tobias, Jonathan H, Rivadeneira, Fernando and Evans, David M (2016). The case for genome-wide association studies of bone acquisition in paediatric and adolescent populations. BoneKEy reports, 5, 796. doi: 10.1038/bonekey.2016.23

The case for genome-wide association studies of bone acquisition in paediatric and adolescent populations

2016

Journal Article

Childhood gene-environment interactions and age-dependent effects of genetic variants associated with refractive error and myopia: the CREAM Consortium

Fan, Qiao, Guo, Xiaobo, Tideman, J. Willem L., Williams, Katie M., Yazar, Seyhan, Hosseini, S. Mohsen, Howe, Laura D., St Pourcain, Beate, Evans, David M., Timpson, Nicholas J., McMahon, George, Hysi, Pirro G., Krapohl, Eva, Wang, Ya Xing, Jonas, Jost B., Baird, Paul Nigel, Wang, Jie Jin, Cheng, Ching-Yu, Teo, Yik-Ying, Wong, Tien-Yin, Ding, Xiaohu, Wojciechowski, Robert, Young, Terri L., Parssinen, Olavi, Oexle, Konrad, Pfeiffer, Norbert, Bailey-Wilson, Joan E., Paterson, Andrew D., Klaver, Caroline C. W. ... Guggenheim, Jeremy A. (2016). Childhood gene-environment interactions and age-dependent effects of genetic variants associated with refractive error and myopia: the CREAM Consortium. Scientific Reports, 6 (1) 25853, 25853. doi: 10.1038/srep25853

Childhood gene-environment interactions and age-dependent effects of genetic variants associated with refractive error and myopia: the CREAM Consortium

2016

Journal Article

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

Okbay, Aysu, Beauchamp, Jonathan P., Fontana, Mark Alan, Lee, James J., Pers, Tune H., Rietveld, Cornelius A., Turley, Patrick, Chen, Guo-Bo, Emilsson, Valur, Meddens, S. Fleur W., Oskarsson, Sven, Pickrell, Joseph K., Thom, Kevin, Timshel, Pascal, de Vlaming, Ronald, Abdellaoui, Abdel, Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S., Bacelis, Jonas, Baumbach, Clemens, Bjornsdottir, Gyda, Brandsma, Johannes H., Concas, Maria Pina, Derringer, Jaime, Furlotte, Nicholas A., Galesloot, Tessel E., Girotto, Giorgia, Gupta, Richa, Hall, Leanne M., Harris, Sarah E. ... Benjamin, Daniel J. (2016). Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment. Nature, 533 (7604), 539-542. doi: 10.1038/nature17671

Genome-wide association study identifies 74 loci associated with educational attainment

2016

Journal Article

Exome-wide study of ankylosing spondylitis demonstrates additional shared genetic background with inflammatory bowel disease

Robinson, Philip C., Leo, Paul J, Pointon, Jennifer J., Harris, Jessica, Cremin, Katie, Bradbury, Linda A., Stebbings, Simon, Harrison, Andrew A., Australian Osteoporosis Genetics Consortium, Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, Management Committee, Data and Analysis Group, DNA, Genotyping, Data QC and Informatics Group, Publications Committee, Duncan, Emma L., Evans, David M., Wordsworth, Paul B. and Brown, Matthew A. (2016). Exome-wide study of ankylosing spondylitis demonstrates additional shared genetic background with inflammatory bowel disease. NPJ Genomic Medicine, 1 (1) 16008, 16008-6. doi: 10.1038/npjgenmed.2016.8

Exome-wide study of ankylosing spondylitis demonstrates additional shared genetic background with inflammatory bowel disease

2016

Journal Article

Genetic risk for autism spectrum disorders and neuropsychiatric variation in the general population

Robinson, Elise B., St Pourcain, Beate, Anttila, Verneri, Kosmicki, Jack A., Bulik-Sullivan, Brendan, Grove, Jakob, Maller, Julian, Samocha, Kaitlin E., Sanders, Stephan J., Ripke, Stephan, Martin, Joanna, Hollegaard, Mads V., Werge, Thomas, Hougaard, David M., Neale, Benjamin M., Evans, David M., Skuse, David, Mortensen, Preben Bo, Børglum, Anders D., Ronald, Angelica, Smith, George Davey and Daly, Mark J. (2016). Genetic risk for autism spectrum disorders and neuropsychiatric variation in the general population. Nature Genetics, 48 (5), 552-555. doi: 10.1038/ng.3529

Genetic risk for autism spectrum disorders and neuropsychiatric variation in the general population

2016

Journal Article

Meta-analysis of gene-environment-wide association scans accounting for education level identifies additional loci for refractive error

Fan, Qiao, Verhoeven, Virginie J. M., Wojciechowski, Robert, Barathi, Veluchamy A., Hysi, Pirro G., Guggenheim, Jeremy A., Hoehn, Rene, Vitart, Veronique, Khawaja, Anthony P., Yamashiro, Kenji, Hosseini, S. Mohsen, Lehtimaki, Terho, Lu, Yi, Haller, Toomas, Xie, Jing, Delcourt, Cecile, Pirastu, Mario, Wedenoja, Juho, Gharahkhani, Puya, Venturini, Cristina, Miyake, Masahiro, Hewitt, Alex W., Guo, Xiaobo, Mazur, Johanna, Huffman, Jenifer E., Williams, Katie M., Polasek, Ozren, Campbell, Harry, Rudan, Igor ... Makela, Kari Matti (2016). Meta-analysis of gene-environment-wide association scans accounting for education level identifies additional loci for refractive error. Nature Communications, 7 (1) 11008, 11008-11008. doi: 10.1038/ncomms11008

Meta-analysis of gene-environment-wide association scans accounting for education level identifies additional loci for refractive error

2016

Journal Article

Common genetic variants influence whorls in fingerprint patterns

Ho, Yvonne Y. W., Evans, David M., Montgomery, Grant W., Henders, Anjali K., Kemp, John P., Timpson, Nicholas J., Pourcain, Beate St., Heath, Andrew C., Madden, Pamela A. F., Loesch, Danuta Z., McNevin, Dennis, Daniel, Runa, Davey-Smith, George, Martin, Nicholas G. and Medland, Sarah E. (2016). Common genetic variants influence whorls in fingerprint patterns. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 136 (4), 859-862. doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2015.10.062

Common genetic variants influence whorls in fingerprint patterns

2016

Journal Article

Systematic identification of genetic influences on methylation across the human life course

Gaunt, Tom R., Shihab, Hashem A., Hemani, Gibran, Min, Josine L., Woodward, Geoff, Lyttleton, Oliver, Zheng, Jie, Duggirala, Aparna, McArdle, Wendy L., Ho, Karen, Ring, Susan M., Evans, David M., Smith, George Davey and Relton, Caroline L. (2016). Systematic identification of genetic influences on methylation across the human life course. Genome Biology, 17 (1) 61, 61. doi: 10.1186/s13059-016-0926-z

Systematic identification of genetic influences on methylation across the human life course

2016

Journal Article

Genetic evidence for causal relationships between maternal obesity-related traits and birth weight

Tyrrell, Jessica, Richmond, Rebecca C., Palmer, Tom M., Feenstra, Bjarke, Rangarajan, Janani, Metrustry, Sarah, Cavadino, Alana, Paternoster, Lavinia, Armstrong, Loren L., De Silva, N. Maneka G., Wood, Andrew R., Horikoshi, Momoko, Geller, Frank, Myhre, Ronny, Bradfield, Jonathan P., Kreiner-Moller, Eskil, Huikari, Ville, Painter, Jodie N., Hottenga, Jouke-Jan, Allard, Catherine, Berry, Diane J., Bouchard, Luigi, Das, Shikta, Evans, David M., Hakonarson, Hakon, Hayes, M. Geoffrey, Heikkinen, Jani, Hofman, Albert, Knight, Bridget ... Freathy, Rachel M. (2016). Genetic evidence for causal relationships between maternal obesity-related traits and birth weight. Journal of the American Medical Association, 315 (11), 1129-1140. doi: 10.1001/jama.2016.1975

Genetic evidence for causal relationships between maternal obesity-related traits and birth weight

2016

Journal Article

Association of forced vital capacity with the developmental gene NCOR2

Minelli, Cosetta, Dean, Charlotte H., Hind, Matthew, Alves, Alexessander Couto, Amaral, Andre F. S., Siroux, Valerie, Huikari, Ville, Artigas, Maria Soler, Evans, David M., Loth, Daan W., Bosse, Yohan, Postma, Dirkje S., Sin, Don, Thompson, John, Demenais, Florence, Henderson, John, Bouzigon, Emmanuelle, Jarvis, Deborah, Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta and Burney, Peter (2016). Association of forced vital capacity with the developmental gene NCOR2. Plos One, 11 (2) e0147388, e0147388-e0147388. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147388

Association of forced vital capacity with the developmental gene NCOR2

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
  • 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

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 - 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

    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

    Understanding the genetic epidemiology of women's reproductive health

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Dr Gunn-Helen Moen

  • 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

    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

Need help?

For help with finding experts, story ideas and media enquiries, contact our Media team:

communications@uq.edu.au