- Source: Chantell Evans
Chantell Skye Evans is an American cell biologist who is a professor at Duke University. Her research looks to understand the dynamical processes of mitochondria and their role in neurodegenerative disease. In 2022, Popular Science named her as one of their "Brilliant 10" U.S. scientists and engineers.
Early life and education
Evans grew up in a small town in central Illinois, in a majority-white neighborhood. She was awarded a Gates Millennium Scholarship to pursue studies at university. Evans was an undergraduate student at the Southern Illinois University, where she studied chemistry was part of the Research Experiences for Undergraduates scheme, and spent her junior year in the laboratory of Punit Kohli. Evans moved to the University of Wisconsin–Madison to complete a doctorate in the lab of Edwin Chapman. Her doctoral research considered the regulation of Ca²⁺ in exocytosis. She moved to the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and joined Erika Holzbaur for postdoctoral research. In 2017, she was named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Fellow.
Research and career
Evans joined the faculty at Duke University in 2021.
Evans uses cell biology to understand how cells deal with malfunctioning mitochondria in neurons, a process known as mitophagy. Patients with Parkinson's disease typically show mutations on two proteins, PINK1 and Parkin. However, when these proteins are disabled in mice, the mice do not exhibit Parkinson's disease. Evans wondered whether mitochondria, the "powerhouse of the cell", may play a role in the development of the neurodegenerative disease. She uncovered that eradicating malfunctioning mitochondria is slower in neurons than it is in epithelial cells, which indicates that defective mitophagy in neurons contributes to neurodegeneration.
In 2022, Evans was named a Fellow of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Science Diversity Leadership program. Popular Science also named her as one of their "Brilliant 10" U.S. scientists and engineers who are succeeding in addressing key challenges in society.
Research Grants
How does selective autophagy dysfunction contribute to neurodegeneration awarded by Chan Zuckerberg Initiative 2022 - 2027
Training Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology awarded by National Institutes of Health 2001 - 2027
Cell and Molecular Biology Training Program awarded by National Institutes of Health 2021 - 2026
Investigating mitochondrial turnover in homeostasis and disease awarded by Alfred P. Sloan Foundation 2022 - 2024
HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellows Program: Mitochondrial surveillance in neuronal homeostasis and disease awarded by Howard Hughes Medical Institute 2021 - 2024
Neurobiology Training Program awarded by National Institutes of Health 2019 - 2024
Selected publications
Huisheng Liu; Hua Bai; Enfu Hui; Lu Yang; Chantell S Evans; Zhao Wang; Sung E Kwon; Edwin Chapman (25 February 2014). "Synaptotagmin 7 functions as a Ca2+-sensor for synaptic vesicle replenishment". eLife. 3: e01524. arXiv:1401.6207. doi:10.7554/ELIFE.01524. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 3930910. PMID 24569478. Wikidata Q28507653.
Atsushi Hoshino; Wei-Jia Wang; Shogo Wada; et al. (16 October 2019). "The ADP/ATP translocase drives mitophagy independent of nucleotide exchange". Nature. 575 (7782): 375–379. doi:10.1038/S41586-019-1667-4. ISSN 1476-4687. PMC 6858570. PMID 31618756. Wikidata Q90748326.
Chantell S Evans; Erika Holzbaur (5 July 2018). "Autophagy and mitophagy in ALS". Neurobiology of Disease. 122: 35–40. doi:10.1016/J.NBD.2018.07.005. ISSN 0969-9961. PMC 6366665. PMID 29981842. Wikidata Q89454538.