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Professor Paul Charles Evans

Paul Charles

Dean for Research Impact and Professor of Vascular Metabolism

Centre: Biochemical Pharmacology

Email: paul.evans@qmul.ac.uk
Website: https://www.paulevanslab.com/
Twitter: @ProfPaulEvans

Profile

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

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.

Key Publications

2023

  • Li X, Souilhol C, Canham L, Jia X, Diagbouga M, Ayllon BT, Serbanovic-Canic J, Evans PC. DLL4 promotes partial endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition at atherosclerosis-prone regions of arteries. Vascul Pharmacol 2023; 150:107178.
  • Canham L, Sendac S, Wolodimeroff E, Pirri D, Feng S, Souilhol C, Chico TA, Evans PC*, Serbanovic-Canic J*. EVA1A promotes endothelial apoptosis and inflammatory activation under disturbed flow via regulation of autophagy. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2023; 43:547-561.
  • de Winther MPJ,   Back M, Evans PC, Gomez D, Goncalves I, Jørgensen "Rory Koenen R, Esther Lutgens E, Norata GD, Osto E, Dib L, Simons M, Stellos K, Ylä-Herttuala S, Winkels H, Bochaton-Piallat M-L, Monaco C. Translational opportunities of single cell biology in atherosclerosis. Eur Heart J. 2023;44: 1216-1230.

2022

  • Souilhol C, Tardajos Ayllon B, Li X, Diagbouga M, Zhou Z, Canham L, Roddie H, Pirri D, Chambers EV, Dunning MJ, Ariaans M, Li J, Fang Y, Jørgensen HF, Simons M, Waltenberger J, Fragiadaki M, Ridger V, de Val S, Francis SE, TJA Chico, Serbanovic-Canic J, Evans PC. JAG1-NOTCH4 mechanosensing drives atherosclerosis. Science Advances 2022;8:eabo7958.
  • Ward AO, Sala-Newby GB, Ladak S, Angelini GD, Caputo M, Suleiman MS, Evans PC, George SJ, Zakkar M. Nrf2-Keap-1 imbalance under acute shear stress induces inflammatory response in venous endothelial cells. Perfusion 2022;37:582-589.
  • An W, Luong LA, Bowden NP, Yang M, Wu W, Zhou X, Liu C, Niu K, Luo J, Zhang C, Sun X, Poston R, Zhang L, Evans PC*, Xiao Q*. Cezanne is a critical regulator of pathological arterial remodelling by targeting β-catenin signalling. Cardiovasc Res 2022;118:638-653.  *Joint senior authors
  • Chen Y, Evans PC, Wilkinson R. A Workflow to Track and Analyze Endothelial Migration During Vascular Development in Zebrafish Embryos Using Lightsheet Microscopy. Methods Mol Biol 2022;2441:19-28.
  • Evans PC, Davidson SM, Wojta J, Bäck M, Bollini S, Brittan M, Catapano AL, Chaudhry B, Cluitmans M, Gnecchi M, Guzik TJ, Hoefer I, Madonna R, Monteiro JP, Morawietz H, Osto E, Padró T, Sluimer JC, Tocchetti CG, Van der Heiden K, Vilahur G, Waltenberger J, Weber C. From novel discovery tools and biomarkers to precision medicine - basic cardiovascular science highlights of 2021/2022. Cardiovascular Research 2022 (accepted; Online doi:10.1093/cvr/cvac114).
  • Boldock L, Inzoli A, Bonardelli S, Hsiao S, Marzo A, Narracott A, Gunn J, Dubini G, Chiastra C, Halliday I, Morris PD, Evans PC*, Perrault C*. Integrating particle tracking with computational fluid dynamics to assess haemodynamic perturbation by coronary artery stents. PLOS One 2022;17;e0277149 . *joint senior authors.

2021

  • Kugler E, Snodgrass R, Bowley GG, Plant K, Serbanovic-Canic J, Hamilton N, Evans PC, Chico T, Armitage P. The effect of absent blood flow on the zebrafish cerebral and trunk vasculature. Vasc Biol;2021;3:1-16.
  • Davidson SM, Padró T, Bollini S, Vilahur G, Duncker DJ, Evans PC, Guzik T, Hoefer IE, Waltenberger J, Wojta J, Weber C. Progress in cardiac research - from rebooting cardiac regeneration to a complete cell atlas of the heart. Cardiovasc Res. 2021;117:2161-2174.
  • Iqbal J, Chamberlain J, Alfaidi M, Hughes M, Alizadeh T, Casbolt H, Evans P, Mann B, Motterlini R, Francis S, Gunn J. Carbon Monoxide Releasing Molecule A1 Reduces Myocardial Damage After Acute Myocardial Infarction in a Porcine Model. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol. 2021;78:e656-e661.
  • Kraler S, Libby P, Evans PC, Akhmedov A, Schmiady MO, Reinehr M, Camici GG, Lüscher TF. Resilience of the internal mammary artery to atherogenesis: shifting from risk to resistance to address unmet needs. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2021;41:2237-2251.
  • Evans P, Wojta J, Hoefer IE, Waltenberger J, Guzik T, Badimon L, Weber C. The year in basic vascular biology research: from mechanoreceptors and neutrophil extracellular traps to smartphone data and omics. Cardiovasc Res 2021;117:1814-1822.
  • Chiva-Blanch G, Evans PC. Scientists on the Spot: A matter of blood flow. Cardiovasc Res. 2021;117:162-163.
  • Bowley G, Kugler E, Wilkinson R, Lawrie A, van Eeden F, Chico TJA, Evans PC, Noël ES, Serbanovic-Canic J. Zebrafish as a tractable model of human cardiovascular disease. Br J Pharmacol. 2021;179:900-917
  • Wang M, Murdoch CE, Brewer AC, Ivetic A, Evans P, Shah AM, Zhang M. Endothelial NADPH oxidase 4 protects against angiotensin II‐induced cardiac fibrosis and inflammation. ESC Heart Fail 2021;8:1427-1437.
  • Wagner RMF, Maiti R, Carre MJ, Perrault CM, Evans PC, Lewis R. Bio-tribology of Cardiovascular Devices: A Review of Tissue/Device Friction Research. Biotribology 2021; 25: 100169.
  • Alexander Y, Osto E, Schmidt-Trucksäss A, Shechter M, Trifunovic D, Duncker DJ, Aboyans V, Bäck M, Badimon L, Cosentino F, De Carlo M, Dorobantu M, Harrison DG, Guzik TG, Hoefer I, Morris PD, Norata GD, Suades R, Taddei S, Vilahur G, Waltenberger J, Weber C, Wilkinson F, Bochaton-Piallat M-L and Evans PC. Endothelial function in cardiovascular precision medicine: A position paper on behalf of the European Society for Cardiology. Cardiovasc Res 2021;117:29-42.
  • Morris PD, Gosling R, Zwierzak I, Evans H, Aubiniere-Robb L, Czechowicz K, Evans PC, Hose DR, Lawford PV, Narracott A, Gunn JP. A Novel Method for Measuring Absolute Coronary Blood Flow & Microvascular Resistance in Patients with Ischaemic Heart Disease. Cardiovasc Res. 2021;117:1567-1577.
  • Evans PC, Fragiadaki M, Morris PD, Serbanovic-Canic J. Shear stress: the dark energy of atherosclerotic plaques. Cardiovasc Res 2021;117:1811-1813.

 2020

  • Ward AO, Angelini GD, Caputo M, Evans PC, Johnson JL, Suleiman MS, Tulloh RM, George SJ & Zakkar M (2020) NF-κB inhibition prevents acute shear stress-induced inflammation in the saphenous vein graft endothelium. Scientific Reports, 10(1).  
  • Pirri D, Fragiadaki M & Evans PC (2020) Diabetic atherosclerosis: is there a role for the hypoxia-inducible factors?. Bioscience Reports, 40(8).  
  • Naase H, Harling L, Kidher E, Sepehripour A, Nguyen B, Kapelouzou A, Cokkinos D, Stavridis G, Angelini G, Evans PC & Athanasiou T (2020) Toll-like receptor 9 and the inflammatory response to surgical trauma and cardiopulmonary bypass. Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery, 15.  
  • Gomez I, Ward B, Souilhol C, Recarti C, Ariaans M, Johnston J, Burnett A, Mahmoud M, Luong LA, West L , Long M et al (2020) Neutrophil microvesicles drive atherosclerosis by delivering miR-155 to atheroprone endothelium. Nature Communications, 11(1).  
  • Souilhol C, Serbanovic-Canic J, Fragiadaki M, Chico TJ, Ridger V, Roddie H & Evans PC (2020) Endothelial responses to shear stress in atherosclerosis: a novel role for developmental genes. Nature Reviews Cardiology, 17(1), 52-63.
  • Souilhol C, Gauci I, Feng S, Tardajos Ayllon B, Mahmoud M, Canham L, Fragiadaki M, Serbanovic-Canic J, Ridger V, Evans PC. Homeobox B9 integrates bone morphogenic protein 4 with inflammation at atheroprone sites. Cardiovasc Res 2020;116:1300-1310.

2019 

  • Gijsen F, Katagiri Y, Barlis P, Bourantas C, Collet C, Coskun U, Daemen J, Dijkstra J, Edelman E, Evans P , van der Heiden K et al (2019) Expert recommendations on the assessment of wall shear stress in human coronary arteries : existing methodologies, technical considerations, and clinical applications. European Heart Journal, 40(41), 3421-3433.  
  • Ketelhuth DFJ, Lutgens E, Bäck M, Binder CJ, Van den Bossche J, Daniel C, Dumitriu IE, Hoefer I, Libby P, O’Neill L , Weber C et al (2019) Immunometabolism and atherosclerosis: perspectives and clinical significance: a position paper from the Working Group on Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology of the European Society of Cardiology. Cardiovascular Research, 115(9), 1385-1392.  
  • Xanthis I, Souilhol C, Serbanovic-Canic J, Roddie H, Kalli AC, Fragiadaki M, Wong R, Shah DR, Askari JA, Canham L , Akhtar N et al (2019) β1 integrin is a sensor of blood flow direction. Journal of Cell Science.
  • Ayllón BT, Souilhol C, Oakley F & Evans P (2019) BS14 c-Rel drives atherosclerosis at sites of disturbed blood flow by activating inflammatory and proliferative transcriptional programmes in endothelium. Heart, 105(Suppl 6), a148.  
  • Roddie H, Fragiadaki M & Evans P (2019) BS28 Endothelial STAT5A is enriched at atheroprone regions of the aorta and drives inflammation in response to low shear stress. Heart, 105(Suppl 6), a158.  
  • Souilhol C, Canham L, Xueqi J & Evans P (2019) BS3 Notch ligand JAG1 promotes endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition and atherosclerosis at regions of disturbed flow. Heart, 105(Suppl 6), a142.  
  • Serbanovic-Canic J, Souilhol C & Evans PC (2019) Shear stress makes its mark on the endothelial genome.. Cardiovascular Research.  
  • Baeriswyl DC, Prionisti I, Peach T, Tsolkas G, Chooi KY, Vardakis J, Morel S, Diagbouga MR, Bijlenga P, Cuhlmann S , Evans P et al (2019) Disturbed flow induces a sustained, stochastic NF-κB activation which may support intracranial aneurysm growth in vivo. Scientific Reports, 9(1).  
  • Mahmoud M, Souilhol C, Serbanovic-Canic J & Evans P (2019) GATA4-Twist1 Signalling in Disturbed Flow-Induced Atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy.  
  • Tuñón J, Badimón L, Bochaton-Piallat M-L, Cariou B, Daemen MJ, Egido J, Evans PC, Hoefer IE, Ketelhuth DFJ, Lutgens E , Matter CM et al (2019) Identifying the anti-inflammatory response to lipid lowering therapy: a position paper from the working group on atherosclerosis and vascular biology of the European Society of Cardiology. Cardiovascular Research, 115(1), 10-19

Disclosures

No disclosures.

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