Dr. Evington is a BUILD-UP T32 Postdoctoral Fellow in the CHAllenges in Managing and Preventing Pain (CHAMPP) Clinical Research Center. Dr. Evington earned her PhD from Virginia Commonwealth University, training as a behavioral pharmacologist. Her research examined the pharmacology of opioid analgesia in mice, where she used preclinical assays of pain-related behavioral depression because these assays have improved translational validity for predicting drug effects in humans.
To further pursue her interest in translational pain science, Dr. Evington completed a one-year postdoc at Duke University, focusing on basic clinical research in a chronic pain population. To strengthen her clinical training, Dr. Evington joined CHAMPP, with interest in the Tailored Retention and Engagement for Equitable Treatment of Opioid Use Disorder and Pain (TREETOP) study. In her BUILD-UP T32 appointment, Dr. Evington will combine her passion for opioid pharmacology and clinical pain research.
Dr. Evington grew up in sunny Los Angeles, California. In her free time, she enjoys family activities, playing tennis with her husband, and nature walks with her Golden Retriever, Max.
Education & Training
- BS, Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018
- PhD, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Virginia Commonwealth University, 2023
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Anesthesiology, Duke University, 2024
Representative Publications
Santos EJ, Akbarali HI, Bow EW, Chambers DR, Gutman ES, Jacobson AE, Kang M, Lee YK, Lutz JA, Rice KC, Sulima A, Negus SS. Low-Efficacy Mu Opioid Agonists as Candidate Analgesics: Effects of Novel C-9 Substituted Phenylmorphans on Pain-Depressed Behavior in Mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 2024.
Santos EJ*, Nassehi N*, Chambers DR, Gutman ES, Jacobson AE, Lutz JA, Marsh SA, Rice KC, Sulima A, Selley DE, Negus SS. Role of Efficacy as a Determinant of Locomotor Activation by Mu Opioid Receptor (MOR) Ligands in Female and Male Mice. II. Effects of Novel MOR-Selective Opioids with High to Low MOR Efficacy. Pharmacology Research & Perspectives, 2023. *Co-First Authors
Santos EJ, Giddings AN, Kandil FK, Negus SS. Climbing Behavior by Mice as an Endpoint for Preclinical Assessment of Drug Effects in the Absence and Presence of Pain. Frontiers in Pain Research, 2023.
Santos EJ, Banks ML, Negus SS. Role of Efficacy as a Determinant of Locomotor Activation by Mu Opioid Receptor Ligands in Female and Male Mice. J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 2022.
Click here for a more complete bibliography of Dr. Evington’s works.
Research Interests
- Chronic pain
- Clinical trials
- Functional impairment
- Behavioral pharmacology, opioids