Current major lines of investigation include studies to understand:
Function of GATA4, GATA5, and GATA6 in cardiogenesis.
Regulation of DNA methylation by TET enzymes during organogenesis.
QSER1 and PRR12 function during zebrafish embryogenesis.
Discovery of genetic modifiers causing DiGeorge Syndrome.
Molecular basis of chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.
Cellular and molecular control of cardiac pacemaker development.
Discovery of novel drugs targeting specific KRAS mutations.
A few representative publications:
1. Kumar, R., DiMenna, L., Schrode, N., Liu, T.-C., Franck, P., Munoz-Descalzo, S., Hadjantonakis, A.-K, Zarrin, A.A., Chaudhuri, J., Elemento, O., and Evans, T. (2013). AID Stabilizes Stem Cell Phenotype by Removing Epigenetic Memory of Pluripotency Genes. Nature. 500: 89-92. PMID: 23803762.
2. Novikov, N. and Evans, T. (2013). Tmem88a Mediates GATA-dependent Specification of Cardiomyocyte Progenitors by Restricting WNT Signaling. Development 140: 3787-3798. PMID: 23903195.
3. Dixon, G., Pan, H., Yang, D., Rosen, B.P., Jashari, T., Verma, N., Pulecio, J., Caspi, I., Lee, K., Stransky, S., Glezer, A., Liu, C., Rivas, M., Kumar, R., Lan, Y., Torregroza, I., He, C., Sidoli, S., Evans, T., Elemento, O., Huangfu, D. (2021). QSER1 Protects DNA Methylation Valleys from De Novo Methylation. Science. 372: 6538. PMID: 33833093.
4. Lan, Y., Banks, K.M., Pan, H., Verma, N., Dixon, G.R., Zhou, T., Ding, B., Elemento, O., Chen, S., Huangfu, D., and Evans, T. (2021). Stage-specific Epigenetic Regulation of Human Cardiac Differentiation by TET Enzymes. Cell Reports. 37: 110095. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110095. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110095
5. Tang, X., Xue, D., Zhang, T., Nilsson-Payant, B.E., Carrau, L., Duan, X., Gordillo, M., Tan, A.Y., Qiu, Y., Xiang, J., Schwartz*, R.E., tenOever*, B.R., Evans*, T., and Chen*, S. (2023). A Multi-Organoid Platform Identifies CIART as a Key Factor for SARS-CoV-2 Infection. Nature Cell Bio. 25: 381-389. PMCID: PMC10014579
6. Sam, J., Torregroza, I., and Evans, T. (2024). Gata6 Functions in Zebrafish Endoderm to Regulate Late Differentiating Arterial Pole Cardiogenesis. Development. 151: dev202895. Doi: 10.1242/dev.202895. PMCID: PMC11423812.
7. Zhu, J., Li, Z, Xue, D., Meng, Z., Shao, S., Pulecio, J., Zhang, G., Huangfu, D., Evans, T., Chen, S., and Schultz, P.G. (2025). A Chemical Epigenetic Tool to Probe Site-Specific DNA-Binding Protein Complexes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 122: e2509021122. PMCID: PMC12519203.