James P. Evans, Ph.D., M.D.
Bryson Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Medicine | UNC-Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC, UNITED STATES
Dr. Evans directs the Clinical Adult and Cancer Genetics Services at the University of North Carolina
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Biography
Dr. Evans is the Bryson Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Medicine at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He directs Adult Genetic Services and is Editor-in-Chief of Genetics in Medicine, the journal of the American College of Medical Genetics. After obtaining his MD and Ph.D from the University of Kansas he served as Resident and Chief Resident of Internal Medicine at The University of North Carolina. He trained in Medical Genetics at The University of Washington and is board certified in Medicine, Medical Genetics and Molecular Diagnostics. He is clinically active in both Genetics and Medicine.
Dr. Evans’s research focuses on cancer genetics, the use of new genomic analytic technologies and broad issues of how genetic information is used and perceived.
He has been extensively involved in policy issues related to genetics and medicine, publishing widely in journals including Science, Nature, NEJM and JAMA. He was an advisor to the US Secretary of Health and Human Services on “Genetics, Health and Society” from 2004-2010 and is actively involved nationally and internationally in the education of high court judges regarding science as described in the New York Times in July of 2008.
In 2010 Dr. Evans testified before the US Congress regarding the regulation of direct-to-consumer genetic testing and advised the Government Accountability Office on this subject. In 2011 he addressed the US Presidential Commission on Bioethics regarding genetic testing. Dr. Evans lives in Durham, North Carolina with his wife.
Industry Expertise (3)
Research
Health and Wellness
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (4)
Medical Genetics
Clinical Cancer Genetics
Pharmacogenomics
Genetic and Genomic Testing
Education (2)
University of Kansas: Ph.D., Genetics
University of Kansas: M.D., Medicine
Affiliations (3)
- Genetics in Medicine (Journal) : Editor-in-Chief
- Advisor to the US Secretary of Health and Human Services on “Genetics Health and Society” (2004 - 2010)
- Board Member American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics
Media Appearances (6)
How FDA plan threatens precision medicine
The News & Observer online
2015-09-08
Recently, the FDA revealed a draft plan to regulate thousands of medical diagnostic tests being done in clinical laboratories throughout the U.S., focusing especially on the field of genomic medicine. While the FDA is doubtless well-intentioned, the envisioned regulation is unnecessary and could undermine innovation, force the closure of many laboratories and threaten patient choice and well-being. If implemented, the requirements would also derail the emergence of precision medicine, a field highlighted by President Obama in his last State of the Union address...
Fearing Punishment for Bad Genes
The New York Times online
2014-04-07
There is no way of knowing how many people fall into this category, but experts say such concerns are mounting. “It was all moot a few years ago,” said Dr. James P. Evans, a professor of genetics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “It’s suddenly now become real because people increasingly have access to what’s in their genomes.”...
The Murky Ethics of Genetic Testing and 'Designer Babies'
Everyday Health online
2013-03-10
Traits that the company claims can be selected for include height, eye color, athleticism and some disease risk, including cancer and macular degeneration, and even how likely you are to become addicted to cigarettes or alcohol. And while it’s not yet possible to tell 23andMe that you want a brown-haired, blue-eyed baseball player, doing so is not just the stuff of science fiction, said James P. Evans, MD, PhD, a Bryson distinguished professor of genetics and medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and editor-in-chief of Genetics in Medicine...
Justices Consider Whether Patents on Genes Are Valid
The New York Times online
2013-04-14
“Events on the ground have overtaken the law,” said Dr. James P. Evans, a professor of genetics and medicine at the University of North Carolina. He said the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision “will be much more ideological than it will be practical.” For one thing, the Myriad patents at issue are due to expire over the next two years. And experts say a relatively small number of other diagnostic tests or drugs are protected by patents on single genes...
Biologist Teaches the Nation’s Judges About Genetics
The New York Times online
2008-07-01
James P. Evans, a physician and molecular biologist, teaches genetics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He also directs the school’s Clinical Cancer Genetics Services, counseling patients about genetic testing. On weekends Dr. Evans, under the auspices of the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center — a Congressionally mandated program — teaches the nation’s judges about genetics. Dr. Evans, 49, was interviewed recently in New York; he had come to speak at the World Science Festival...
Biologist Teaches the Nation’s Judges About Genetics
The New York Times print
2008-07-01
James P. Evans, a physician and molecular biologist, teaches genetics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. He also directs the school’s Clinical Cancer Genetics Services, counseling patients about genetic testing. On weekends Dr. Evans, under the auspices of the Advanced Science and Technology Adjudication Resource Center — a Congressionally mandated program — teaches the nation’s judges about genetics. Dr. Evans, 49, was interviewed recently in New York; he had come to speak at the World Science Festival.
Articles (5)
Deploying whole genome sequencing in clinical practice and public health: meeting the challenge one bin at a time
Genetics in Medicine
2011 ABSTRACT: Technological advances often outpace our ability to effectively use them, a situation that certainly could pertain to modern genomics. Breathtaking advances in genetic sequencing technology have the potential to make whole genome sequencing (WGS) available for ...
The complexities of predictive genetic testing
The British Medical Journal
2001 ABSTRACT: Predictive genetic testing is the use of a genetic test in an asymptomatic person to predict future risk of disease. These tests represent a new and growing class of medical tests, differing in fundamental ways from conventional medical diagnostic tests. The hope ...
Characterization of the Split Hand/Split Foot Malformation Locus SHFM1 at 7Q21.3–Q22.1 and Analysis of a Candidate Gene for Its Expression during Limb Development
Human Molecular Genetics
1996 ABSTRACT: Split hand/split foot malformation (SHFM) is a heterogeneous limb developmental disorder, characterized by missing digits and fusion of remaining digits. An autosomal dominant form of this disorder (SHFM1) has been mapped to 7q21. 3-q22. 1 on the basis ...
Physical mapping of the split hand/split foot locus on chromosome 7 and implication in syndromic ectrodactyly
Human Molecular Genetics
1994 ABSTRACT: Split hand/split foot (ectrodactyly; SHSF) Is a human developmental malformation characterized by missing digits and claw-like extremities. An autosomal dominant form of this disorder has been mapped to 7q21. 3-q22. 1; the locus has been designated SHFD1. ...
Canine hemophilia B resulting from a point mutation with unusual consequences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
1989 ABSTRACT: We have used the polymerase chain reaction to amplify the entire coding region of canine factor IX from a hemophilia B animal. When the sequence was compared to that which codes for normal canine factor IX, a single missense mutation was identified. This ...
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