Latest news from the lab.
Welcome to Siyu
September 2022
We are delighted to welcome Dr Siyu Tian to our lab.
Siyu recently completed her PhD studies on mechanotransduction in pulmonary hypertension at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam.
We love the artwork on the cover of her PhD thesis - truly inspirational!
Welcome Siyu !
Our paper on Notch mechanosensing is published in Science Advances
August 2022
We are thrilled that our paper on Notch mechanosensing in atherosclerosis was published in Science Advances. This was a massive effort that spanned the pandemic - it's great to see the work in print. Congratulations to all the authors for their amazing work.
Paul elected to chair ESC Basic Science Council
June 2022
We are delighted to announce that Paul has been elected to be Chair-elect (2022-2022) and Chair (2024-2026) of the ESC Council for Basic Cardiovascular Science. This group represents >5000 basic scientists within the ESC and as oversight of all ESC basic science activities including meetings, summer schools, paper, fellowships and research prizes.
Paul commented "I am thrilled to be elected to chair the Council, and will continue my commitment to ESC Basic Science and it’s translation to prevent or treat cardiovascular disease"
Priscila wins best poster prize
June 2022
Congratulations to Priscila on winning the Best Poster prize at the Annual Research Meeting of the University of Sheffield Medical School!
Priscila receiving the prize from the judges Drs Lynn Prince and Adrian Higginbottom.
Congratulations to George!
May 2022
We are thrilled that George Bowley passed his PhD viva with flying colours. Thanks to Dr Serbanovic-Canic and Prof Tim Chico for brilliant supervision and to BHF and NC3Rs for funding.
Well done to Dr Bowley!
Spring Meetings
April 2022
Paul was delighted to resume face-to-face meetings this Spring. He was honoured to give the Keynote lecture at the International Symposium on Biomechanics in Vascular Biology and Cardiovascular Disease in Rotterdam. The following week it was ESC Frontiers in Cardiovascular Biology in Budapest where Paul chaired three sessions, judged posters and gave a talk. Brilliant science and great to catch up with friends!
Welcome to Hazem
March 2022
We are very pleased to welcome Hazem Darwish to our lab.
Hazem graduated with a BSc from the University of Cairo, and then studied for an MSc in Molecular Medicine at the University of Tübingen, Germany. He joins us to study for a PhD screening for inhibitors of a pro-atherogenic transcription factor.
Welcome Hazem !
Insigneo leadership
February 2022
Paul has been appointed as Director of the 'Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Cell Engineering' (BBC) research theme in the INSIGNEO Institute. This cross-faculty group brings together researchers from biomedical and the physical sciences to understand how cells and tissues respond to materials and mechanical cues.
Goodbye and good luck to Sam
October 2021
We are saying goodbye to Sam Sendac who has been working as a Research Assistant for Jovana for the past year. Sam's favourite meal is pie with brown sauce so it is fitting that we had that traditional Sheffield delicacy for his leaving lunch. Thanks to Sam for his excellent work and good luck for his new adventures in Switzerland!
Pictured from left to right: Sophie, David, George, Sam, Paul, Jovana, Mannekomba, Blanca, Ziqi and Priscila.
Paul is interviewed by Cardiovascular Research
October 2021
In an Onlife interview for the journal Cardiovascular Research, Paul shares his opinion and personal thoughts on the biomechanical mechanisms controlling atherosclerosis.
https://academic.oup.com/cardiovascres/article/117/12/e162/6414255
Welcome to our new starters
October 2021
We are so pleased to welcome two new starters to our lab.
Dr Sophie Irving joins us as a BHF-funded Post-doctoral Research Associate after completing her PhD in molecular microbiology.
David Reid joins the lab as our A* STAR PhD scholar - he will conduct a 4 year research programme including a 1 year internship at the A* STAR Institute in Singapore.
Welcome Sophie and David !
Paul wins the Outstanding Achievement Award from the European Society of Cardiology
August 2021
Congratulations to Paul on winning the Outstanding Achievement Award from the European Society of Cardiology. The award is dedicated to honouring researchers with outstanding productivity and contribution to the future of cardiovascular medicine. Paul was awarded this honour for his discovery of some of the causes and potential treatment for atherosclerosis, a major reason for cardiovascular disease, disability, and death.
You can read more about this award here:
Project Grant Award from MRC
July 2021
We are pleased to announce that Paul has been awarded an MRC Project Grant to study the role of the GATA4 transcription factor in atherosclerosis. Thanks to our co-investigators Prof Sheila Francis and Prof Tim Chico for their excellent contributions. We will be recruiting for this project so watch this space!
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Left: Blanca celebrating her win with two pints of Kronenbourg and some chips.
Right: Blanca presenting her winning talk with YIA chair and judge Prof Pier Lambiase (bottom left) and YIA chair Dr Sanjay Sinha (bottom right).
Blanca Wins Young Investigator Award
June 2021
You know how we were just saying that Blanca had been shortlisted for a Young Investigator Award from the British Cardiovascular Society? Well she only went and won it! Huge congratulations to Blanca, who has worked incredibly hard and is a massive clever clogs and all-round good egg. She thoroughly deserved to win this prestigious accolade and we're all extremely proud!
Blanca Shortlisted for Young Investigator Award
June 2021
Congratulations to Blanca who has been shortlisted for a Young Investigator Award from the British Cardiovascular Society. Blanca will travel to Manchester on 8th June to present her talk in person (what a novelty!) at the BCS annual conference. We all wish her the best of luck and will be sure to pack her off with plenty of face masks, alcohol gel and good vibes.
Welcome to Priscila
March 2021
We are delighted that Priscila Hirschfeld has joined the lab as a BHF-funded PhD student. Priscila is truly international - she was educated in the USA, Brazil and Austria and then worked as a researcher in Oxford before joining our lab.
Paul Awarded A*STAR PhD Studentship
February 2021
The lab will be gaining a new member later this year as Paul has been awarded an A*STAR PhD Studentship entitled "novel mechanisms of endothelial dysfunction in stroke"! Paul wasted no time in picking the right person for the job and has already recruited David Reid, who is due to start in October. David has just completed his MRes in Cardiovascular Science at Newcastle University, and so must be beside himself with excitement at the prospect of moving down to Yorkshire, the county which once welcomed (might not be the most accurate word) the Vikings and Romans, and now Dave!
Daniela has passed her PhD viva!
December 2020
Congratulations to Daniela who successfully defended her thesis in her PhD viva, passing with minor corrections. Daniela is now working as a vascular science Postdoc at Imperial College London.
Blanca has passed her PhD viva!
February 2020
Congratulations are in order for Blanca who successfully defended her thesis in her PhD viva, passing with only very few minor corrections, and in record time. Blanca will start her Postdoctoral position in the lab in May, where whe will work on TWIST1 in the vascular endothelium and its role in atherosclerosis.
BHF Programme Grant Renewed
November 2019
We're so happy to reveal that Paul's BHF Programme grant has been renewed. The BHF have awarded £800,000 which will fund work into a gene expressed in the endothelium which is known to promote atherosclerosis. The project aims to identify a drug to target this gene and "switch it off", thus providing a potential therapeutic target to reduce atherosclerosis. You can read more about this story here: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/news/nr/doctors-of-future-to-switch-off-genes-causing-heart-attacks-1.873896
NC3Rs Board Membership for Paul
November 2019
Paul has been announced as a new member of the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement & Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) board. The NC3Rs is a UK-based scientific organisation dedicated to replacing, refining and reducing the use of animals in research and testing (the 3Rs). They also produce very snazzy mugs, one of which now has pride-of-place in Paul's office! Read more about this news story here:
https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/medicine/news/professor-paul-evans-joins-nc3rs-board
ESC Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science
August 2019
We are pleased to announce that Paul has joined the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science. This Council exists to raise the profile of basic science within the ESC through research, meetings including the flagship Frontiers meeting, awards and other activities.
Review Published in Nature Reviews Cardiology
We're delighted to say that a review written by various members of the lab has been published in Nature Reviews Cardiology. The review focuses on how developmental signaling pathways known to be involved in embryonic development are regulated by shear stress in adult arteries, and proposes that these pathways evolved to orchestrate vascular development, but can also drive atherosclerosis at sites of low shear stress in adult arteries.
July 2019
Royal Society of Biology Fellowship
June 2018
We're very pleased to announce that the Royal Society of Biology has elected Paul as one of its fellows. Congratulations Paul!
Marshall Young Investigator Prize awarded to Dr Marwa Mahmoud
September 2018
Congratulations to Dr Marwa Mahmoud for being awarded the 2018 Bernard and Joan Marshall Early Career Investigator Prize for her work on the the role of Twist1 in regulating endothelial responses to flow. The prize is awarded for outstanding research by an ECR. Pictured left are Dr Karen Porter (BSCR Chair; far left), Professor Hanjoong Jo (BSCR Outstanding Investigator; second from left) and Dr Mahmoud (centre). Pictured right are a clearly-delighted Paul with Marwa!
ATVB Cover Art Award
May 2018
The Paul Evans lab has been awarded the 2017 Cover Art Award from the journal ATVB. Their image was featured on the January edition and was voted as the best cover in 2017 by the ATVB Editors, Editorial Board and social media users. The accompanying paper by Dr Jovana Serbanovic-Canic and colleagues depicts a new zebrafish model for functional screening of flow sensitive genes and their ATVB cover image shows a wall shear stress map in the pig aortic arch generated using magnetic resonance imaging and computational fluid dynamics. Pictured are Dr Jovana Serbanovic-Canic, Professor Paul Evans and his group and Professor Tim Chico with their Award and ATVB mugs featuring the winning image.
