Scott E. Evans, M.D., F.C.C.P.
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Regular Faculty Member, Division of Program in Biochemistry and Cell Biology, The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX
Regular Faculty Member, Division of Program in Immunology, The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Houston, TX
Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey
Adjunct Faculty, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX
Research Interests
The entirety of my professional effort, both laboratory and clinical, is focused on the mechanisms that prevent humans from universally succumbing to the microbial pathogens they inhale or aspirate every day. In particular, I am interested in how non-HIV immunocompromised patients respond to the presence of respiratory pathogens. My goal is to exploit these native mechanisms to provide more comprehensive protection during episodes of peak vulnerability, such as when cancer patients receive chemotherapy. My laboratory is currently engaged full-time in mechanistic studies intended to unravel the means by which our recently described phenomenon of inducible resistance protects against pneumonia. Our available data indicate that this protective response occurs via antimicrobial product generation from treated respiratory epithelial cells, rather than through the typical leukocyte effectors of the innate immune system. My long term objective is to develop a research program focused on discovery and manipulation of epithelium-derived antimicrobial mediators that can ultimately be translated for clinical benefit.
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1999 | University of Texas Medical School, San Antonio, TX, USA, MD, Medicine |
| 1994 | University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA, BA, Plan II Honors Program |
Postgraduate Training
| 2004-2005 | Administrative (Chief) Fellow, Pulmonary Medicine, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN |
| 2002-2005 | Clinical Fellowship, Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN |
| 2002-2004 | Clinician-Investigator Research Training Program, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN |
| 1999-2002 | Clinical Internship and Residency, Internal Medicine, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Graduate Faculty, Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Graduate Studies, College Station, TX, 2010 - 2015
Assistant Professor, Department of Critical Care, Division of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2005 - 2009
Assistant Professor, Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2005 - 2013
Honors & Awards
| 2016 | Pulmonary Infection and Tuberculosis Assembly Mid-Career Peer Recognition Award, American Thoracic Society |
| 2014 | Presidential Recognition for Faculty Excellence, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2014 | Cyrus Scholar Award, Cyrus Family Foundation |
| 2013 | Distinguished Paper Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Division of Internal Medicine |
| 2013 | NIH Director's New Innovator Award, NIH Office of the Director |
| 2010 | Cyrus Scholar Award, Cyrus Family Foundation |
| 2008 | Physician-Scientist Award, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2008 | Charles E. Culpeper Scholarship in Medical Science, Partnership for Cures/Culpeper Foundation |
| 2008 | Fellow, American College of Chest Physicians |
| 2007 | Career Development Award, University of Texas Centers for Clinical and Translational Science |
| 2007 | NIH Loan Repayment Program Award, Clinical Research |
| 2005 | Travel Grant, American Thoracic Society |
| 2004 | Burgher Family Endowed Pulmonary Fellowship Award |
| 2003 | Young Investigator Award, ACCP Chest Foundation |
| 2003 | Second Place, National CHEST Challenge, American College of Chest Physicians |
| 2003 | Trainee Travel Award, Experimental Biology, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology |
| 2003 | Scholar Award, GlaxoSmithKline |
| 2003 | Trainee Travel Award, Clinical Research, American Federation for Medical Research |
| 2002 | Trainee Travel Award, Clinical Research, American Federation for Medical Research |
| 2002 | Travel Award, Combined Annual Meeting, Central Society for Clinical Research |
| 2002 | Young Investigator Endowed Fellowship, Hartz Foundation |
| 2002 | Graduation Rank #1, Mayo Internal Medicine Residency Program |
| 2002 | Outstanding Achievement Award, Mayo Internal Medicine Residency Program |
| 2001 | Travel Award, 4th Annual International LAM Research Conference, NHLBI/LAM Foundation |
| 1999 | Holt Leadership Award, University of Texas Medical School |
| 1998 | Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society |
| 1997 | National Achievement Award, American Medical Association/GlaxoWellcome |
| 1996 | Certificate of Excellence for Outstanding Service, Texas State Senate |
| 1993 | Order of Omega Academic Honor Society |
| 1992 | Theta Award for Academic Excellence, University of Texas at Austin |
| 1990 | Terry Foundation Scholar |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Dela Cruz CS, Wunderink RG, Christiani DC, Cormier SA, Crothers K, Doerschuk CM, Evans SE, Goldstein DR, Khatri P, Kobzik L, Kolls JK, Levy BD, Metersky ML, Niederman MS, Nusrat R, Orihuela CJ, Peyrani P, Prince AS, Ramírez JA, Ridge KM, Sethi S, Suratt BT, Sznajder JI, Tsalik EL, Walkey AJ, Yende S, Aggarwal NR, Caler EV, Mizgerd JP. Future Research Directions in Pneumonia: NHLBI Working Group Report. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 198(2):256-263, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29546996.
- Khosravi N, Caetano MS, Cumpian AM, Unver N, De la Garza Ramos C, Noble O, Daliri S, Hernandez BJ, Gutierrez BA, Evans SE, Hanash S, Alekseev AM, Yang Y, Chang SH, Nurieva R, Kadara H, Chen J, Ostrin EJ, Moghaddam SJ. IL-22 promotes K-ras mutant lung cancer by induction of a pro-tumor immune response and protection of stemness properties. Cancer Immunol Res 6(7):788-797, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29764837.
- Kirkpatrick CT, Wang Y, Leiva Juarez MM, Shivshankar P, Pantaleón García J, Plumer AK, Kulkarni VV, Ware HH, Gulraiz F, Chavez Cavasos MA, Martinez Zayes G, Wali S, Rice AP, Liu H, Tour JM, Sikkema WKA, Cruz Solbes AS, Youker KA, Tuvim MJ, Dickey BF, Evans SE. Inducible lung epithelial resistance requires multisource reactive oxygen species generation to protect against viral infections. MBio 9(3), 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29764948.
- Leiva-Juárez MM, Kolls JK, Evans SE. Lung epithelial cells: therapeutically inducible effectors of antimicrobial defense. Mucosal Immunol 11(1):21-34, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28812547.
- Leiva-Juarez MM, Kirkpatrick CT, Gilbert BE, Scott B, Tuvim MJ, Dickey BF, Evans SE, Markesich D. Combined aerosolized Toll-like receptor ligands are an effective therapeutic agent against influenza pneumonia when co-administered with oseltamivir. Eur J Pharmacol 818:191-197, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29066417.
- Sheshadri A, Shah DP, Godoy M, Erasmus JJ, Song J, Li L, Evans SE, Chemaly RF, Dickey BF, Ost DE. Progression of the radiologic severity index predicts mortality in patients with parainfluenza virus-associated lower respiratory infections. PLoS One 13(5):e0197418, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29771962.
- Leiva-Juárez MM, Ware HH, Kulkarni VV, Zweidler-McKay PA, Tuvim MJ, Evans SE. Inducible epithelial resistance protects mice against leukemia-associated pneumonia. Blood 128(7):982-92, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27317793.
- Faiz SA, Bashoura L, Kodali L, Hessel AC, Evans SE, Balachandran DD. Sleep disordered breathing as a delayed complication of iatrogenic vocal cord trauma. Sleep Med 22:1-3, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27544828.
- Yang J, Hernandez BJ, Martinez Alanis D, Narvaez del Pilar O, Vila-Ellis L, Akiyama H, Evans SE, Ostrin EJ, Chen J. The development and plasticity of alveolar type 1 cells. Development 143(1):54-65, 2016. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 26586225.
- Gonzalez CE, Johnson TN, Evans S, Kidin LM, George S, Haq S, DeJesus AY, Walters R, Rolston K. Assessing compliance with established pneumonia core measures at a comprehensive cancer center. J Healthc Qual 37(4):232-44, 2015. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24629128.
- Han XY, Ihegword A, Evans SE, Zhang J, Li L, Cao H, Tarrand JJ, El-Kweifi O. Microbiological and clinical studies of legionellosis in 33 patients with cancer. J Clin Microbiol 53(7):2180-7, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25926494.
- Xia X, Mai J, Xu R, Perez JE, Guevara ML, Shen Q, Mu C, Tung HY, Corry DB, Evans SE, Liu X, Ferrari M, Zhang Z, Li XC, Wang RF, Shen H. Porous silicon microparticle potentiates anti-tumor immunity by enhancing cross-presentation and inducing type I interferon response. Cell Rep 11(6):957-66, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25937283.
- Gonzalez C, Johnson T, Rolston K, Merriman K, Warneke C, Evans S. Predicting pneumonia mortality using CURB-65, PSI, and patient characteristics in patients presenting to the emergency department of a comprehensive cancer center. Cancer Med 3(4):962-70, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24802800.
- Cleaver JO, You D, Michaud DR, Pruneda FA, Juarez MM, Zhang J, Weill PM, Adachi R, Gong L, Moghaddam SJ, Poynter ME, Tuvim MJ, Evans SE. Lung epithelial cells are essential effectors of inducible resistance to pneumonia. Mucosal Immunol 7(1):78-88, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23632328.
- Roy MG, Livraghi-Butrico A, Fletcher AA, McElwee MM, Evans SE, Boerner RM, Alexander SN, Bellinghausen LK, Song AS, Petrova YM, Tuvim MJ, Adachi R, Romo I, Bordt AS, Bowden MG, Sisson JH, Woodruff PG, Thornton DJ, Rousseau K, De la Garza MM, Moghaddam SJ, Karmouty-Quintana H, Blackburn MR, Drouin SM, Davis CW, Terrell KA, Grubb BR, O'Neal WK, Flores SC, Cota-Gomez A, Lozupone CA, Donnelly JM, Watson AM, Hennessy CE, Keith RC, Yang IV, Barthel L, Henson PM, Janssen WJ, Schwartz DA, Boucher RC, Dickey BF, Evans CM. Muc5b is required for airway defence. Nature 505(7483):412-6, 2014. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 24317696.
- Alfaro VY, Goldblatt DL, Valverde GR, Munsell MF, Quinton LJ, Walker AK, Dantzer R, Varadhachary A, Scott BL, Evans SE, Tuvim MJ, Dickey BF. Safety, tolerability, and biomarkers of the treatment of mice with aerosolized toll-like receptor ligands. Front Pharmacol 5:8, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 24567720.
- Garcia JB, Lei X, Wierda W, Cortes JE, Dickey BF, Evans SE, Ost DE. Pneumonia during remission induction chemotherapy in patients with acute leukemia. Ann Am Thorac Soc 10(5):432-40, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23987587.
- Tuvim MJ, Clement CG, Huang ES, Cote GJ, Evans SE, Lei X, Deftos LJ, Gagel RF, Dickey BF. Deletion of the gene encoding calcitonin and CGRPα does not affect the outcome of severe infection in mice. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 49(1):151-5, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23526213.
- Drake MG, Evans SE, Dickey BF, Fryer AD, Jacoby DB. TLR2/6 and TLR9 agonists suppress viral replication but not airway hyperreactivity in guinea pigs. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 48(6):790-6, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23449736.
- Evans SE, Kottom TJ, Pagano RE, Limper AH. Primary alveolar epithelial cell surface membrane microdomain function is required for Pneumocystis β-glucan-induced inflammatory responses. Innate Immun 18(5):709-16, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22334619.
- Tuvim MJ, Gilbert BE, Dickey BF, Evans SE. Synergistic TLR2/6 and TLR9 activation protects mice against lethal influenza pneumonia (***Top 10% most cited papers for this journal***). PLoS One 7(1):e30596, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22299046.
- Sampsonas F, Kontoyiannis DP, Dickey BF, Evans SE. Performance of a standardized bronchoalveolar lavage protocol in a comprehensive cancer center: A prospective 2-year study. Cancer 117(15):3424-33, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21246537.
- Evans SE, Tuvim MJ, Fox CJ, Sachdev N, Gibiansky L, Dickey BF. Inhaled innate immune ligands to prevent pneumonia. Br J Pharmacol 163(1):195-206, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21250981.
- Duggan JM, You D, Cleaver JO, Larson DT, Garza RJ, Guzmán Pruneda FA, Tuvim MJ, Zhang J, Dickey BF, Evans SE. Synergistic interactions of TLR2/6 and TLR9 induce a high level of resistance to lung infection in mice. J Immunol 186(10):5916-26, 2011. e-Pub 2011. PMID: 21482737.
- Ochoa CE, Mirabolfathinejad SG, Ruiz VA, Evans SE, Gagea M, Evans CM, Dickey BF, Moghaddam SJ. Interleukin 6 but not T helper 2 cytokines promotes lung carcinogenesis. Cancer Prev Res (Phila) 4(1):51-64, 2011. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 21098042.
- Evans SE, Scott BL, Clement CG, Larson DT, Kontoyiannis D, Lewis RE, Lasala PR, Pawlik J, Peterson JW, Chopra AK, Klimpel G, Bowden G, Höök M, Xu Y, Tuvim MJ, Dickey BF. Stimulated innate resistance of lung epithelium protects mice broadly against bacteria and fungi. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 42(1):40-50, 2010. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19329554.
- Tuvim MJ, Evans SE (Co-First Author), Clement CG, Dickey BF, Gilbert BE. Augmented lung inflammation protects against influenza A pneumonia. PLoS One 4(1):e4176, 2009. e-Pub 2009. PMID: 19137067.
- Clement CG, Tuvim MJ, Evans CM, Tuvin DM, Dickey BF, Evans SE. Allergic lung inflammation alters neither susceptibility to Streptococcus pneumoniae infection nor inducibility of innate resistance in mice. Respir Res 10(10):70, 2009. PMID: 19635139.
- Clement CG, Evans SE (Co-First Author), Evans CM, Hawke D, Kobayashi R, Reynolds PR, Moghaddam SJ, Scott BL, Melicoff E, Adachi R, Dickey BF, Tuvim MJ. Stimulation of lung innate immunity protects against lethal pneumococcal pneumonia in mice. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 177(12):1322-30, 2008. e-Pub 2008. PMID: 18388354.
- Evans SE, Hahn PY, McCann F, Kottom TJ, Pavlovic' ZV, Limper AH. (Cover Article) Pneumocystis cell wall β-glucans stimulate alveolar epithelial cell chemokine generation through nuclear factor-ĸB-dependent mechanisms. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 32(6):490-7, 2005. e-Pub 2005. PMID: 15746433.
- Gilman G, Evans SE, Hansen WH, Barnes ME, Klarich KW. Evaluation of right pulmonary artery obstruction by echocardiography in a 32-year-old woman with suggested histoplasmosis. J Am Soc Echocardiogr 18(5):490-1, 2005. PMID: 15891762.
- Evans SE, Colby TV, Ryu JH, Limper AH. Transforming growth factor-β1 and extracellular matrix-associated fibronectin expression in pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis. Chest 125(3):1063-70, 2004. PMID: 15006970.
- Limper AH, Lebron F, Evans SE, Hahn RY. Pneumocystis carinii: cell wall β-glucan-mediated pulmonary inflammation. J Eukaryot Microbiol 50 Suppl:646, 2003. PMID: 14736200.
- Hahn PY, Evans SE (Co-First Author), Kottom TJ, Standing JE, Pagano RE, Limper AH. Pneumocystis carinii cell wall β-glucan induces release of macrophage inflammatory protein-2 from alveolar epithelial cells via a lactosylceramide-mediated mechanism. J Biol Chem 278(3):2043-50, 2003. PMID: 12419803.
- Evans SE, Leventakos K, Ben-Ami R, You D, Thakkar SG, Lewis RE, Kontoyiannis DP. Toll-deficient Drosophila are resistant to infection by Pneumocystis spp.: additional evidence of specificity to mammalian hosts. Virulence 1(6). e-Pub 2010. PMID: 21178507.
- Evans SE, Tuvim MJ, Zhang J, Larson DT, Garcia CD, Martinez Pro S, Coombes KR, Dickey BF. Host lung gene expression patterns predict infectious etiology in a mouse model of pneumonia. Respir Res 11(1):101. e-Pub 2010. PMID: 20653947.
- Fernández-Cruz A, Magira E, Heo ST, Evans SE, Tarrand J, and Kontoyiannis DP. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology in culture-documented invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in patients with hematologic diseases: analysis of 67 episodes. Journal of Clinical Microbiology.
Invited Articles
- Vakil E, Evans SE. Viral pneumonia in patients with hematologic malignancy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Clin Chest Med 38(1):97-111, 2017. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 28159165.
- Evans SE, Ost DE. Pneumonia in the neutropenic cancer patient. Curr Opin Pulm Med 21(3):260-71, 2015. PMID: 25784246.
- Evans SE. (Selected for ATS CME program) ATS Virtual Symposium: Coping with Candida infections. Proc Am Thorac Soc 7(3):197-203, 2010. PMID: 20463248.
- Evans SE, Xu Y, Tuvim MJ, Dickey BF. Inducible innate resistance of lung epithelium to infection. Annu Rev Physiol 72:413-35, 2010. PMID: 20148683.
- Safdar A, Shelburne SA, Evans SE, Dickey BF. Inhaled therapeutics for prevention and treatment of pneumonia. Expert Opin Drug Saf 8(4):435-49, 2009. PMID: 19538104.
- Evans SE, Scanlon PD.. Current practice in pulmonary function testing. Mayo Clin Proc 78(6):758-763, 2003. PMID: 12934788.
Book Chapters
- Evans SE, Safdar A. Pneumonia in the Critically Ill Cancer Patient. In: Cancer Critical Care. Springer Science + Business Media: New York, 2018.
- Evans SE, Safdar A. Pneumonia and Other Lung Infections. In: Principles and Practice of Cancer Infectious Diseases. Humana Press: New York, 2011.
- Shannon VR, Evans SE, et al.. Respiratory Complications. In: Holland-Frei Cancer Medicine. 8. BC Decker: Columbia, 2010.
- Evans SE, Scanlon PD, Culver BH. Pulmonary Function Testing. In: Comprehensive Respiratory Medicine, 3rd Edition. 3. Elsevier: Philadelphia, PA, 147-155, 2008.
- Evans SE, Limper AH. Chemotherapy-Induced Lung Disease - An Evidence-Based Approach. In: Oncology: An Evidence-Based Approach. Springer-Verlag: New York, 1401-1410, 2005.
- Evans SE, Limper AH. HIV: North American Perspective. In: Tropical and Parasitic Infections in the ICU. Kluwer Academic Publishers: Norwell, MA, 127-144, 2004.
Grant & Contract Support
| Title: | Inducible epithelial antiviral resistance to prevent asthma |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NHLBI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Expanding the market and success rates for myeloablative cancer treatments using PUL-042, an innate immune stimulant |
| Funding Source: | Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) |
| Role: | Collaborator |
| Title: | Epithelial mechanisms of inducible resistance to AML-associated pneumonia |
| Funding Source: | NIH/NHLBI |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Mechanisms of inducible epithelial resistance to cancer-related pneumonia |
| Funding Source: | TJ Martell Foundation |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |
| Title: | Cyrus Scholar Award |
| Funding Source: | The Cyrus Family Foundation |
| Role: | Principal Investigator |