Chantell Skye Evans

Chantell Skye Evans is an Assistant Professor of Cell Biology at Duke University's School of Medicine, where she leads a research laboratory focused on mitochondrial quality control mechanisms in neurons. She is also a Duke Science and Technology Scholar and was named a HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar in 2023.

Her research focuses on understanding mitochondrial quality control pathways including mitochondrial fusion and fission events, mitochondrial-derived vesicles, and mitophagy. She investigates how these pathways collaborate to regulate the mitochondrial network in healthy neurons and what goes wrong in neurodegenerative disease. Her lab integrates advanced live-cell microscopy to visualize mitochondrial dynamics with biochemical techniques and proteomics to define the specificity of these mechanisms in primary neurons, iPSCs, and mouse models of disease.

Dr. Evans' publication record demonstrates consistent research output with a focus on mitochondrial dynamics, neuronal health, and neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Her recent work has appeared in high-impact journals including Nature, Cell, Nature Cell Biology, and Journal of Cell Biology, reflecting her significant contributions to understanding how mitochondrial quality control mechanisms function in neurons and how their dysfunction contributes to neurodegenerative conditions.

• HHMI Freeman Hrabowski Scholar (2023)
• Sloan Research Fellow (2022)
• Duke Science and Technology Scholar (2021)
• Hanna Gray Fellow, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (2017)
• The Brilliant 10: The top up-and-coming minds in science (2022)

Dr. Evans actively mentors students in her laboratory, which includes undergraduate research assistants, PhD students, and research technicians. She has secured multiple significant research grants including the HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program and various NIH-funded projects focused on mitochondrial regulation in neurodegeneration. Beyond her research, she is deeply committed to diversity in STEM and serves as a visible role model for underrepresented groups in science, having overcome her own challenges as a Black woman in academia.