Education
PharmD – University of Tennessee, Memphis
Honors & Awards
- 2016 Elected, German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina)
- 2014 Claus Nobel World Betterment Award, NSHSS
- 2014 Doctor of Humanities (honoris causa), Rhodes College
- 2013 Oscar B Hunter Memorial Award, ASCPT
- 2012 Remington Medal, American Pharmaceutical Association
- 2009 ASCO Pediatric Oncology Award (shared with MV Relling)
- 2009 AACR Team Science Award (shared with St. Jude faculty)
- 2006 Rawls Palmer Progress in Medicine Award, ASCPT
- 2005 NIH MERIT Award from NCI (2005-2015)
- 2001 Elected, Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (now National Academy of Medicine)
- 1995 NIH MERIT Award from NCI (1995-2005)
- 1994 Volwiler Research Achievement Award, American Assoc. of Colleges of Pharmacy
- 1991 Leon Goldberg Award, Am. Society for Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics (ASCPT)
- 1989 Therapeutic Frontiers Lecture Award, American College of Clinical Pharmacy
- 1987 NIH MERIT Award from NCI (1987-1995)
Research Interests
Research in the Evans lab is focused on the pharmacogenomics of anticancer agents, with an emphasis on childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (reviewed in Evans and Relling, Nature 2004; Pui and Evans, NEJM 2006; Relling and Evans, Nature 2015). Several approaches are currently being used to identify genes and genome variations that are important determinants of the disposition and effects of antileukemic agents, including the use of genome wide approaches such as gene expression profiling (mRNA, microRNA) of leukemia cells, genome-wide SNP analyses (germline and somatic) and whole exome/genome sequencing of patient cohorts that have been uniformly treated and evaluated on prospective clinical trials at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (reviewed in Evans and Relling, Nature 2004), or by our collaborators in the COG and in Europe (eg, Princess Maxima Center, Utrecht). Ongoing studies are investigating genes that the lab has linked with resistance to antileukemic agents (Holleman et al, NEJM 2004; Lugthart et al, Cancer Cell 2005), and genes linked to the disposition (Kager et al, JCI 2005; Zaza, Blood 2005) or pharmacologic targets (Diouf et al, JAMA 2015; Paugh et al, Nat Genet 2015) of antileukemic agents as well as the influence of somatic and karyotypic abnormalities on genotype-phenotype concordance (Cheng, Nature Genetics 2005; Diouf et al, Nature Med 2011). Work in the lab is funded by a long-standing R01 from NCI (CA36401, W. Evans, PI), a project in the Center for Precision Medicine P50 Grant from NIGMS as part of the NIH-funded Pharmacogenetics Research Network (GM115279, M. Relling PI), by a Cancer Center Support grant from NCI (CA21765 S. Baker, PI), and by ALSAC, the fundraising organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The lab comprises a number of post-doctoral fellows, staff scientists, research technologists, bioinformaticists, computational scientists and students, working with collaborators at St. Jude (including Mary Relling, Ching-Hon Pui, Charles Mullighan, Hiroto Inaba, Kirsten Ness and Jun Yang as major collaborators, plus additional physicians, clinical pharmacists, research nurses and other staff at St. Jude), and with collaborators at other institutions in the US (HudsonAlpha, University of Chicago) and Europe (Erasmus University, Princess Maxima Center).
The lab's overall goals are to elucidate genomic determinants of toxicity and efficacy of anticancer agents and translate this knowledge into new diagnostics and treatment strategies to optimize the therapy of ALL (Relling and Evans, Nature 2015; Dunnenberger et al, Ann Rev Pharmacol Tox 2015).
Selected Publications
For a complete listing, see Evans Lab publications via the National Library of Medicine's PubMed.
Stock W, Diouf B, Crews KR, Pei D, Cheng C, Laumann K, Mandrekar SJ, Luger S, Advani A, Stone RM, Larson RA, Evans WE. An Inherited Genetic Variant in CEP72 Promoter Predisposes to Vincristine-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy in Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Clin Pharmacol Ther Sep 12, 2016. doi: 10.1002/cpt.506. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:27618250
Liu C, Yang W, Pei D, Cheng C, Smith C, Landier W, Hageman L, Chen Y, Yang JJ, Crews KR, Kornegay N, Karol SE, Wong FL, Jeha S, Sandlund JT, Ribeiro RC, Rubnitz JE, Metzger ML, Pui CH, Evans WE, Bhatia S, Relling MV. Genomewide Approach Validates Thiopurine Methyltransferase Activity Is a Monogenic Pharmacogenomic Trait. Clin Pharmacol Ther Aug 26, 2016. doi: 10.1002/cpt.463. [Epub ahead of print] PMID:27564568
Diouf B, Devaraju P, Janke LJ, Fan Y, Frase S, Eddins D, Peters JL, Kim J, Pei D, Cheng C, Zakharenko SS, Evans WE. Msh2 deficiency leads to dysmyelination of the corpus callosum, impaired locomotion, and altered sensory function in mice. Sci Rep Aug 1;6:30757, 2016. doi: 10.1038/srep30757. PMID:27476972
Yang W, Wu G, Broeckel U, Smith CA, Turner V, Haidar CE, Wang S, Carter R, Karol SE, Neale G, Crews KR, Yang JJ, Mullighan CG, Downing JR, Evans WE, Relling MV. Comparison of genome sequencing and clinical genotyping for pharmacogenes. Clin Pharmacol Ther Oct;100(4):380-8, 2016. doi: 10.1002/cpt.411. PMID:27311679
Liu C, Yang W, Devidas M, Cheng C, Pei D, Smith C, Carroll WL, Raetz EA, Bowman WP, Larsen EC, Maloney KW, Martin PL, Mattano LA Jr, Winick NJ, Mardis ER, Fulton RS, Bhojwani D, Howard SC, Jeha S, Pui CH, Hunger SP, Evans WE, Loh ML, Relling MV. Clinical and Genetic Risk Factors for Acute Pancreatitis in Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. J Clin Oncol Jun 20;34(18):2133-40, 2016. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2015.64.5812. PMID:27114598
Moriyama T, Nishii R, Perez-Andreu V, Yang W, Klussmann FA, Zhao X, Lin TN, Hoshitsuki K, Nersting J, Kihira K, Hofmann U, Komada Y, Kato M, McCorkle R, Li L, Koh K, Najera CR, Kham SK, Isobe T, Chen Z, Chiew EK, Bhojwani D, Jeffries C, Lu Y, Schwab M, Inaba H, Pui CH, Relling MV, Manabe A, Hori H, Schmiegelow K, Yeoh AE, Evans WE, Yang JJ. NUDT15 polymorphisms alter thiopurine metabolism and hematopoietic toxicity. Nat Genet Apr;48(4):367-73, 2016. doi: 10.1038/ng.3508. PMID:26878724
Paugh SW, Coss DR, Bao J, Laudermilk LT, Grace CR, Ferreira AM, Waddell MB, Ridout G, Naeve D, Leuze M, LoCascio PF, Panetta JC, Wilkinson MR, Pui CH, Naeve CW, Uberbacher EC, Bonten EJ, Evans WE. MicroRNAs Form Triplexes with Double Stranded DNA at Sequence-Specific Binding Sites; a Eukaryotic Mechanism via which microRNAs Could Directly Alter Gene Expression. PLoS Comput Biol Feb 4;12(2):e1004744, 2016. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1004744. PMID:26844769
Relling MV, Evans WE. Pharmacogenomics in the clinic. Nature 526:343-350, 2015.
Paugh SW, Bonten, EJ, Savic D, Ramsey LB, Thierfelder WE, Gurung P, Malireddi RK, Actis M, Mayasundari A, Min J, Coss DR, Laudermilk LT, Panetta JC, McCorkle JR, FanY, Crews KR, Stocco G, Wilkinson MR, Ferreira AM, Cheng C, Yang W, Karol SE, Fernandez CA, Diouf B, Smith C, Hicks JK, Zanut A, Giordanengo A, Crona D, Bianchi JJ, Holmfeldt L, Mullighan CG, den Boer ML, Pieters R, Jeha S, Dunwell TL, Latif F, Bhojwani D, Carroll WL, Pui CH, Myers RM, Guy RK, Kanneganti TD, Relling MV, Evans WE. NALP3 inflammasome up-regulation and CASP1 cleavage of the glucocorticoid receptor causes glucocorticoid resistance in leukemia cells. Nat Genet 47(6):607-14, 2015.
Diouf B, Crews KR, Lew G, Pei D, Cheng C, Bao J, Zheng JJ, Yang W, Fan Y, Wheeler HE, Wing C, Delaney SM, Komatsu M, Paugh SW, McCorkle JR, Lu X, Winick NJ, Carroll WL, Loh ML, Hunger SP, Devidas M, Pui CH, Dolan ME, Relling MV, Evans WE. Association of an inherited genetic variant with vincristine-related peripheral neuropathy in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. JAMA 313(8):815-23, 2015.
Yang JJ, Landier W, Yang W, Liu C, Hageman L, Cheng C, Pei D, Chen Y, Crews KR, Kornegay N, Wong FL, Evans WE, Pui CH, Bhatia S, Relling MV. Inherited NUDT15 Variant Is a Genetic Determinant of Mercaptopurine Intolerance in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. J Clin Oncol 33(11):1235-42, 2015.
Perez-Andreu V, Roberts KG, Xu H, Smith C, Zhang H, Yang W, Harvey RC, Payne-Turner D, Devidas M, Cheng IM, Carroll WL, Heerema NA, Carroll AJ, Raetz EA, Gastier-Foster JM, Marcucci G, Bloomfield CD, Mrózek K, Kohlschmidt J, Stock W, Kornblau SM, Konopleva M, Paietta E, Rowe JM, Luger SM, Tallman MS, Dean M, Burchard EG, Torgerson DG, Yue F, Wang Y, Pui CH, Jeha S, Relling MV, Evans WE, Gerhard DS, Loh ML, Willman CL, Hunger SP, Mullighan CG, Yang JJ. A genome-wide association study of susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adolescents and young adults. Blood 125(4):680-6, 2015.
Dunnenberger HM, Crews KR, Hoffman JM, Caudle KE, Broeckel U, Howard SC, Hunkler RJ, Klein TE, Evans WE, Relling MV. Preemptive Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation: Current Programs in Five United States Medical Centers. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol 55:89-106, 2014.
Ramsey LB, Janke LJ, Edick MJ, Cheng C, Williams RT, Sherr CJ, Evans WE, Relling MV. Host thiopurine methyltransferase status affects mercaptopurine antileukemic effectiveness in a murine model. Pharmacogenet Genomics 24(5):263-71, 2014.
Perez-Andreu V, Roberts KG, Harvey RC, Yang W, Cheng C, Pei D, Xu H, Gastier-Foster J, E S, Lim JY, Chen IM, Fan Y, Devidas M, Borowitz MJ, Smith C, Neale G, Burchard EG, Torgerson DG, Klussmann FA, Villagran CR, Winick NJ, Camitta BM, Raetz E, Wood B, Yue F, Carroll WL, Larsen E, Bowman WP, Loh ML, Dean M, Bhojwani D, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV, Hunger SP, Willman CL, Mullighan CG, Yang JJ. Inherited GATA3 variants are associated with Ph-like childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia and risk of relapse. Nat Genet 45(12):1948-8, 2013.
Pui CH, Evans WE. A 50-year journey to cure childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Semin Hematol 50(3):185-96, 2013.
Xu H, Yang W, Perez-Andreu V, Devidas M, Fan Y, Cheng C, Pei D, Scheet P, Burchard EG, Eng C, Huntsman S, Torgerson DG, Dean M, Winick NJ, Martin PL, Camitta BM, Bowman WP, Willman CL, Carroll WL, Mullighan CG, Bhojwani D, Hunger SP, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV, Loh ML, Yang JJ. Novel susceptibility variants at 10p12.31-12.2 for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in ethnically diverse populations. J Natl Cancer Inst May 15;105(10):733-42, 2013. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djt042. PMID: 23512250.
Evans WE, Crews KR, Pui CH. A Health-Care System Perspective on Implementing Genomic Medicine: Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia as a Paradigm. Clin Pharmacol Ther 94(2):224-9, 2013. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2013.9. PMID: 23462885.
Meyer JA, Wang J, Hogan LE, Yang JJ, Dandekar S, Patel JP, Tang Z, Zumbo P, Li S, Zavadil J, Levine RL, Cardozo T, Hunger SP, Raetz EA, Evans WE, Morrison DJ, Mason CE, Carroll WL. Relapse-specific mutations in NT5C2 in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Genet 45(3):290-4, 2013. doi: 10.1038/ng.2558. Epub 2013 Feb 3. PMID: 23462885.
Ramsey LB, Panetta JC, Smith C, Yang W, Fan Y, Winick NJ, Martin PL, Cheng C, Devidas M, Pui CH, Evans WE, Hunger SP, Loh M, Relling MV. Genome-wide study of methotrexate clearance replicates SLCO1B1. Blood 121(6):898-904. doi: 10.1182/blood-2012-08-452839. PMID: 23233662.
Hunger SP, Baruchel A, Biondi A, Evans WE, Jeha S, Loh M, Moericke A, Pieters R, Relling MV, Schmiegelow K, Schrappe M, Silverman LB, Stanulla M, Valsecchi MG, Vora A, Pui CH. The thirteenth international childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia workshop report: La Jolla, CA, USA, December 7-9, 2011. Pediatr Blood Cancer 60(2):344-8, 2013. doi: 10.1002/pbc.24354. PMID: 23024117.
Yang JJ, Cheng C, Devidas M, Cao X, Campana D, Yang W, Fan Y, Neale G, Cox N, Scheet P, Borowitz MJ, Winick NJ, Martin PL, Bowman WP, Camitta B, Reaman GH, Carroll WL, Willman CL, Hunger SP, Evans WE, Pui CH, Loh M, Relling MV. Genome-wide association study identifies germline polymorphisms associated with relapse of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 120(20):4197-204, 2012. doi: 10.1182/blood-2012-07-440107. PMID: 23007406.
Hicks JK, Crews KR, Hoffman JM, Kornegay NM, Wilkinson MR, Lorier R, Stoddard A, Yang W, Smith C, Fernandez CA, Cross SJ, Haidar C, Baker DK, Howard SC, Evans WE, Broeckel U, Relling MV. A clinician-driven automated system for integration of pharmacogenetic interpretations into an electronic medical record. Clin Pharmacol Ther 92(5):563-6, 2012. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2012.140. PMID: 22990750.
Crews KR, Hicks JK, Pui CH, Relling MV, Evans WE. Pharmacogenomics and individualized medicine: translating science into practice. Clin Pharmacol Ther 92(4):467-75, 2012. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2012.120. PMID: 22948889.
Downing JR, Wilson RK, Zhang J, Mardis ER, Pui CH, Ding L, Ley TJ, Evans WE. The pediatric cancer genome project. Nat Genet 44(6):619-622, 2012. doi: 10.1038/ng.2287. PMID: 22641210.
Xu H, Cheng C, Devidas M, Pei D, Fan Y, Yang W, Neale G, Scheet P, Burchard EG, Torgerson DG, Eng C, Dean M, Antillon F, Winick NJ, Martin PL, Willman CL, Camitta BM, Reaman GH, Carroll WL, Loh M, Evans WE, Pui CH, Hunger SP, Relling MV, Yang JJ. ARID5B Genetic Polymorphisms Contribute to Racial Disparities in the Incidence and Treatment Outcome of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. J Clin Oncol 30(7):751-7, 2012. PMID: 22291082.
Kawedia JD, Liu C, Pei D, Cheng C, Fernandez CA, Howard SC, Campana D, Panetta JC, Bowman WP, Evans WE, Pui CH, Relling MV. Dexamethasone exposure and asparaginase antibodies affect relapse risk in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 119(7):1658-64, 2012. PMID: 22117041.
Zhang J, Ding L, Holmfeldt L, Wu G, Heatley SL, Payne-Turner D, Easton J, Chen X, Wang J, Rusch M, Lu C, Chen SC, Wei L, Collins-Underwood JR, Ma J, Roberts KG, Pounds SB, Ulyanov A, Becksfort J, Gupta P, Huether R, Kriwacki RW, Parker M, McGoldrick DJ, Zhao D, Alford D, Espy S, Bobba KC, Song G, Pei D, Cheng C, Roberts S, Barbato MI, Campana D, Coustan-Smith E, Shurtleff SA, Raimondi SC, Kleppe M, Cools J, Shimano KA, Hermiston ML, Doulatov S, Eppert K, Laurenti E, Notta F, Dick JE, Basso G, Hunger SP, Loh ML, Devidas M, Wood B, Winter S, Dunsmore KP, Fulton RS, Fulton LL, Hong X, Harris CC, Dooling DJ, Ochoa K, Johnson KJ, Obenauer JC, Evans WE, Pui CH, Naeve CW, Ley TJ, Mardis ER, Wilson RK, Downing JR, Mullighan CG. The genetic basis of early T-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Nature 481(7380):157-63, 2012. doi: 10.1038/nature10725. PMID: 22237106. PMCID: PMC3267575.
Ramsey LB, Bruun GH, Yang W, Treviño LR, Vattathil S, Scheet P, Cheng C, Rosner GL, Giacomini KM, Fan Y, Sparreboom A, Mikkelsen TS, Corydon TJ, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. Rare versus common variants in pharmacogenetics: SLCO1B1 variation and methotrexate disposition. Genome Res 22(1):1-8, 2012. PMID: 22147369. PMCID: PMC3246196.
Diouf B, Cheng Q, Krynetskaia NF, Yang W, Cheok M, Pei D, Fan Y, Cheng C, Krynetskiy EY, Geng H, Chen S, Thierfelder WE, Mullighan CG, Downing JR, Hsieh P, Pui CH, Relling MV, Evans WE. Somatic deletions of genes regulating MSH2 protein stability cause DNA mismatch repair deficiency and drug resistance in human leukemia cells. Nat Med 17:1298-303, 2011.
Paugh SW, Stocco G, McCorkle JR, Diouf B, Crews KR, Evans WE. Cancer pharmacogenomics. Clin Pharmacol Ther 90:461-6, 2011.
Mikkelsen TS, Sparreboom A, Cheng C, Zhou Y, Boyett JM, Raimondi SC, Panetta JC, Bowman WP, Sandlund JT, Pui CH, Relling MV, Evans WE. Shortening infusion time for high-dose methotrexate alters antileukemic effects: a randomized prospective clinical trial. J Clin Oncol 29(13):1771-8, 2011.
Yang JJ, Cheng C, Devidas M, Cao X, Fan Y, Campana D, Yang W, Neale G, Cox NJ, Scheet P, Borowitz MJ, Winick NJ, Martin PL, Willman CL, Bowman WP, Camitta BM, Carroll A, Reaman GH, Carroll WL, Loh M, Hunger SP, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. Ancestry and pharmacogenomics of relapse in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nature Genetics 43(3):237-41, 2011.
Pui CH, Pei D, Campana D, Bowman WP, Sandlund JT, Kaste SC, Ribeiro RC, Rubnitz JE, Coustan-Smith E, Jeha S, Cheng C, Metzger ML, Bhojwani D, Inaba H, Raimondi SC, Onciu M, Howard SC, Leung W, Downing JR, Evans WE, Relling MV. Improved prognosis for older adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Clin Oncol 29(4):386-91, 2011.
Kawedia JD, Kaste SC, Pei D, Panetta JC, Cai X, Cheng C, Neale G, Howard SC, Evans WE, Pui CH, Relling MV. Pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and pharmacogenetic determinants of osteonecrosis in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Blood 117(8):2340-7, 2011.
Chen SH, Yang W, Fan Y, Stocco G, Crews KR, Yang JJ, Paugh SW, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. A genome-wide approach identifies that the aspartate metabolism pathway contributes to asparaginase sensitivity. Leukemia 25(1):66-74, 2011.
Panetta JC, Sparreboom A, Pui CH, Relling MV, Evans WE. Modeling mechanisms of in vivo variability in methotrexate accumulation and folate pathway inhibition in acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.PLoS Comput Biol 6(12):e1001019, 2010.
Chen SH, Pei D, Yang W, Cheng C, Jeha S, Cox NJ, Evans WE, Pui CH, Relling MV. Genetic variations in GRIA1 on chromosome 5q33 related to asparaginase hypersensitivity. Clin Pharmacol Ther 88(2):191-6, 2010.
Relling MV, Altman RB, Goetz MP, Evans WE. Clinical implementation of pharmacogenomics: overcoming genetic exceptionalism. Lancet Oncol 11(6):507-9, 2010.
Yang W, Treviño LR, Yang JJ, Scheet P, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. ARID5B SNP rs10821936 is associated with risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in blacks and contributes to racial differences in leukemia incidence. Leukemia 24(4):894-6, 2010.
Treviño LR, Shimasaki N, Yang W, Panetta JC, Cheng C, Pei D, Chan D, Sparreboom A, Giacomini KM, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. Germline genetic variation in an organic anion transporter polypeptide associated with methotrexate pharmacokinetics and clinical effects. J Clin Oncol 10;27(35):5972-8, 2009.
Treviño LR, Yang W, French D, Hunger SP, Carroll WL, Devidas M, Willman C, Neale G, Downing J, Raimondi SC, Pui CH, Evans WE, Relling MV. Germline genomic variants associated with childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Nat Genet 41(9):1001-5, 2009.
Pui CH, Campana D, Pei D, Bowman WP, Sandlund JT, Kaste SC, Ribeiro RC, Rubnitz JE, Raimondi SC, Onciu M, Coustan-Smith E, Kun LE, Jeha S, Cheng C, Howard SC, Simmons V, Bayles A, Metzger ML, Boyett JM, Leung W, Handgretinger R, Downing JR, Evans WE, Relling MV. Treating childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia without cranial irradiation. N Engl J Med 360(26):2730-41, 2009.
Yang JJ, Cheng C, Yang W, Pei D, Cao X, Fan Y, Pounds SB, Neale G, Treviño LR, French D, Campana D, Downing JR, Evans WE, Pui CH, Devidas M, Bowman WP, Camitta BM, Willman CL, Davies SM, Borowitz MJ, Carroll WL, Hunger SP, Relling MV. Genome-wide interrogation of germline genetic variation associated with treatment response in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia. JAMA 301:393-403, 2009.
Den Boer ML, van Slegtenhorst M, De Menezes RX, Cheok MH, Buijs-Gladdines JG, Peters ST, Van Zutven LJ, Beverloo HB, Van der Spek PJ, Escherich G, Horstmann MA, Janka-Schaub GE, Kamps WA, Evans WE, Pieters R. A subtype of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia with poor treatment outcome: a genome-wide classification study. Lancet Oncol 10:125-34, 2009.
Stocco G, Cheok MH, Crews KR, Dervieux T, French D, Pei D, Yang W, Cheng C, Pui CH, Relling MV, Evans WE. Genetic polymorphism of inosine triphosphate pyrophosphatase is a determinant of mercaptopurine metabolism and toxicity during treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Clin Pharmacol Ther 85:164-72, 2009.
Last update: January 2017