Professor Paul Charles Evans

Profile

Professor Paul Evans is Professor of Vascular Metabolism at the William Harvey Research Institute, Queen Mary University of London. 

After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of Wales, Paul undertook training in molecular biology at the Babraham Institute in Cambridge before being appointed as a Senior Lecturer and then Reader at Imperial College London. He joined the University of Sheffield as Professor of Cardiovascular Science in 2011, and was recruited to QMUL in 2023.

Paul's research has been published in more than 130 papers, and he has won several prestigious awards - most notably the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Outstanding Achievement Award which is their highest award for scientific excellence. He is Chair-elect of the ESC Council for Basic Cardiovascular Science, working with more than 5000 cardiovascular scientists throughout Europe, and Vice Chair-elect of the Gordon Research Conference on Vascular Biomechanics scheduled for 2025.

Research

Group members

• Dr Jovana Serbanovic-Canic (Research Fellow) - Jovana is a BHF Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellow investigating endothelial mechanoreceptors and how they regulate endothelial cell death in response to mechanical forces. She is using a range of different models and approaches to do this, including zebrafish, murine models and human cells.
• Dr Blanca Tardajos Ayllon (Postdoctoral Research Associate) - Blanca is a BHF-funded PostDoc working on the role of the TWIST1 gene in endothelial cell plasticity and atherosclerosis. Blanca recently completed her PhD in the lab, which focused on studying the role of the NFkB member C-Rel in shear stress mediated endothelial disfunction and atherosclerosis. 
• Dr Siyu Tian (Postdoctoral Research Associate) - Siyu is an MRC-funded Postdoc working on the transcriptional control of atherosclerosis. Prior to taking up this post in the lab, Siyu completed her PhD at Erasmus MC, Rotterdam studying the PIEZO2 mechanosensor in pulmonary hypertension.
• Dr Mannekomba Diagbouga (Postdoctoral Research Associate) - Mannekomba is a BHF-funded PostDoc working on the role of the TWIST1 gene in endothelial cell plasticity and atherosclerosis. Prior to this Mannekomba was a PhD student in the laboratory of Professor Brenda Kwak in Geneva studying the influence of shear stress on intracranial aneurysms.
• Hazem Darwish (PhD Student) - Hazem is a first year PhD student developing novel inhibitors against a pro-atherogenic transcription factor.
• Priscila Hirschfeld (PhD Student) - Priscila is a first year PhD student funded by the BHF to study the role of NF-kB transcription factors in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis.
• David Reid (PhD Student) - David is a first year PhD student funded by the A*STAR Institute in Singapore to study the role of TWIST1 in stroke. 

Summary 

Our research focuses on the biomechanical mechanisms that control atherosclerosis, a disease of arteries that can lead to angina, heart attack and stroke. Disturbed blood flow generates frictional forces (shear stress) that trigger pathophysiological changes in endothelial cells that promote atherosclerosis initiation and the progression of plaques into dangerous unstable forms prone to rupture or erosion.

The laboratory combines genomics approaches with unbiased functional screening and biochemical studies to identify the signaling pathways and transcriptional programs that regulate endothelial cell responses to flow. The goal is to identify molecules within these pathways that can be targeted to prevent or treat atherosclerosis.

The cross-disciplinary nature of our work has led to interactions with physicist and engineers as well as molecular and cellular biologists and clinical scientists.

Publications

• Bowley G, Irving S, Hoefer I et al. (publicationYear). Zebrafish model for functional screening of flow-responsive genes controlling endothelial cell proliferation. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-77370-1

  
  

  QMRO: qmroHref
• Boldock L, Inzoli A, Bonardelli S et al. (publicationYear). Correction: Integrating particle tracking with computational fluid dynamics to assess haemodynamic perturbation by coronary artery stents. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0314392

  
  

  QMRO: qmroHref
• Zhou Z, Korteland S-A, Tardajos-Ayllon B et al. (2024). Shear stress is uncoupled from atheroprotective KLK10 in atherosclerotic plaques. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2024.118622

  
  

  QMRO: qmroHref
• X S, Aitken C, Mehta V et al. (2024). Controversy in mechanotransduction – the role of endothelial cell–cell junctions in fluid shear stress sensing. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1242/jcs.262348

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/100445
• Pirri D, Tian S, Tardajos-Ayllon B et al. (2024). EPAS1 Attenuates Atherosclerosis Initiation at Disturbed Flow Sites Through Endothelial Fatty Acid Uptake. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1161/circresaha.123.324054

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/100628
• Zhao Y, Wang L, Huang Y et al. (publicationYear). Anthocyanins in Vascular Health and Disease: Mechanisms of Action and Therapeutic Potential. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1097/fjc.0000000000001602

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/100350
• Tian S, Evans PC (2024). BMPER regulates arterial adaptation to flow. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1038/s44161-024-00506-z

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/100598
• Xu M-Y, Xu J-J, Kang L-J et al. (2024). Urolithin A promotes atherosclerotic plaque stability by limiting inflammation and hypercholesteremia in Apolipoprotein E–deficient mice. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1038/s41401-024-01317-5

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/100791
• Wagner R, Carré MJ, Perrault CM et al. (2024). Assessing friction and damage of cell monolayers on soft substrates in vitro. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2023.0696

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/100591
• Wentzel JJ, Bos D, White SJ et al. (2024). Sex-related differences in coronary and carotid vessel geometry, plaque composition and shear stress obtained from imaging. nameOfConference

  
  

  DOI: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2024.117616

  
  

  QMRO: https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/xmlui/handle/123456789/100755

Disclosures

No disclosures.