Luke Evans

Luke Evans serves as an Assistant Professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, holding dual appointments in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Institute for Behavioral Genetics. His research integrates quantitative and statistical genetics to investigate the genetic architecture of complex traits, with particular emphasis on aging, psychiatric disorders, and substance use behaviors.

Dr. Evans completed his Ph.D. at Northern Arizona University in 2012. His research program focuses on developing and applying methods for estimating heritability and investigating the genomic architecture of complex traits. He has made significant contributions to understanding the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders, particularly through examining gene-gene interactions and tissue-specific contributions to heritability.

Analysis of Dr. Evans' recent publications reveals a strong focus on psychiatric genetics, particularly the genetic architecture of internalizing disorders and their relationship with substance use. His work frequently employs advanced genomic structural equation modeling and gene-gene interaction analyses to dissect complex trait architecture. A notable trend in his recent work involves applying these methods to understand aging-related traits and neurological conditions like Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Evans serves as Principal Investigator on the Hevolution/AFAR New Investigator Award grant titled 'Gene-gene interaction associations with frailty to identify core genes of aging and their biological context' and as Co-Investigator on multiple NIH-funded projects including studies on addiction genetics, psychiatric disorders, and cognitive aging. He is actively recruiting graduate students for fall 2026 and postdoctoral researchers for his lab.

The Evans Lab employs quantitative and statistical genetics approaches to investigate the genetic architecture of complex traits, with particular emphasis on aging, psychiatric disorders, and substance use behaviors. The lab collaborates extensively with researchers across multiple institutions and disciplines, contributing to large-scale genomic studies and developing novel analytical methods for understanding complex trait architecture.