Research Assistant Professor
Institute for Healthcare Studies
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Institute for Healthcare Studies
Northwestern University
750 North Lakeshore Drive 10th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611

Telephone 312-503-5541

charlesnika-evans@northwestern.edu

Dr. Evans is a Research Assistant Professor at the Institute for Healthcare Studies in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University and a member of the Northwestern University Transplantation Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), Transplant Safety Outcomes Workgroup. She is also a Research Health Scientist with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care (CMC3) and the Spinal Cord Injury Quality Enhancement Research Initiative (SCI QUERI). She has a bachelor’s degree in microbiology, a master’s in public health, and a doctoral degree in epidemiology, which was received from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health in 2007. In 2008, Dr. Evans received a research fellowship, with the distinction of Fritz Krauth Memorial Fellow, from the Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) Research Foundation. This distinction for the fellowship is bestowed annually on the highest scoring fellowship grant. Dr. Evans has expertise in epidemiologic methods, utilizing large medical administrative databases to assess health outcomes, and infectious disease related research. Her past and current research has focused on the secondary complications of persons with SCI, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and women with HIV. Her major research interests include the epidemiology of infectious diseases and outcomes as related to these infections. She is the principal investigator (PI) of two funded VA studies focused on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in veterans with SCI; co-PI of a study evaluating the VA mild TBI screening program; and a co-investigator on several studies related to secondary conditions in SCI and/or TBI.

Original peer-reviewed research articles
1. Evans C, Legro M, Weaver F, Goldstein B.   Influenza Vaccination Among Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury, Part 1.  A survey of attitudes and behavior.  J Spinal Cord Med 2003;26:204-209.

2. Weaver F, Goldstein B, Evans C, Legro M, LaVela S, Smith B, Miskevics S, Hammond MC.  Influenza Vaccination Among Veterans with Spinal Cord Injury, Part 2.  Increasing vaccination rates. J Spinal Cord Med  2003;26:210-218.

3. Burns S, Weaver F, Parada J, Evans C, Chang H, Hampton R, Kapur V.  Management of community-acquired pneumonia in persons with spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord 2004;42:450-458.

4. Weaver FM, Hatzakis M, Evans CT, Smith B, LaVela SL, Wallace C, Legro MW, Goldstein B.  A comparison of multiple data sources to identify vaccinations for veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders. J Am Med Inform Assoc 2004;11:377-379.

5. Massad LS, Evans CT, Minkoff H, Watts DH, Black J, Strickler HD, Darragh T, Levine A, Anastos K, Moxley M, Passaro DJ.  Natural history of grade 1 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in women with human immunodeficiency virus. Obstet Gynecol 2004;104:1077-1085.

6. Chang H, Evans CT, Weaver F, Burns SP, Parada J.  Etiology and outcomes of veterans with spinal cord injury hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2005;86:262-267.

7. Evans CT, Smith B, Parada JP, Kurichi JE, Weaver FM.  Trends in antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infection in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder. J Antimicrob Chemother 2005;55:1045-1049.

8. Massad LS, Evans CT, Strickler HD, Burk, Watts DH, Cashin, Darragh T, Gange, Lee, Moxley M, Levine A, Passaro DJ.  Outcome after negative colposcopy among human immunodeficiency virus-infected women with borderline cytologic abnormalities. Obstet Gynecol 2005;106(3):525-532.

9. Evans CT, LaVela SL, Smith B, Miskevics S, Weaver FM, Goldstein B.  Influenza diagnosis and treatment in veterans with spinal cord injury.  Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2006;87:291-293.

10. Massad LS, Evans CT, Minkoff H, Watts DH, Greenblatt RM, Levine A, Anastos K, Young M, Seifer DB, Golub E, Cohen M.  Effects of HIV infection and its treatment on self-reported menstrual abnormalities in women.  J Womens Health 2006;15(5): 591-598.

11. French AL, Evans CT, Anastos K, Greenblatt RM, Huebner R, Augenbraun M, Young M, Hershow R, Lopez-Gatell H, Passaro DJ. Incidence of Tuberculin skin test conversion among HIV-infected and uninfected women: results of a 6 year study. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr 2006;42:592-596.

12. Weaver FM, Smith B, Evans CT, Kurichi JE, Kapur VK, Burns SP.  Outcomes of outpatient visits for acute respiratory illness in veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders.  Am J Phys Med Rehabil 2006;85:718-726.

13. Yahav J, Samra Z, Niv Y, Evans CT, Passaro DJ, Dinari G, Shmuely H.  Susceptibility-guided vs. empiric retreatment of Helicobacter pylori infection after treatment failure.  Dig Dis Sci 2006;51:2316-2321.

14. Weaver FM, Smith B, LaVela SL, Legro MW, Wallace C, Evans CT, Hammond M, Goldstein B.  Interventions to increase influenza vaccination rates in veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders J Spinal Cord Med 2007;30:12-21.

15. Evans CT, LaVela SL, Smith B, Wallace C, Goldstein B, Weaver FM.  Response to the 2004-2005 influenza vaccine shortage in veterans with spinal cord injuries and disorders and their providers. J Spinal Cord Med  2007;30:12-21.

16. Massad LS, Evans C, Weber K, Cejtin HE, Golub ET, Digilio K, Alpern A, Watts DH.  Hysterectomy among women with HIV:  Indications and incidence.  J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, 2007;44:566-568.

17. Chang HT, Krezolek D, Johnson S, Parada JP, Evans CT, Gerding DN.  Onset of symptoms and time to diagnosis of Clostridium difficile-Associated disease following discharge from an acute care hospital.  Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2007;28:926-931.

18. Massad LS, Evans CT, Wilson T, Weber K, Schilder K.  Contraceptive use among women with HIV.  J Womens Health 2007;16:657-666.

19. LaVela SL, Evans CT, Miskevics S, Parada JP, Priebe M, Weaver FM.  Long-term outcomes from nosocomial infections in persons with spinal cord injuries and disorders.  Am J Infect Control 2007;35:393-400.

20. Smith B, Evans CT, Weaver FM, Kurichi JE, Patel N, Burns SB. Acute Respiratory Infection Visits in Veterans with SCI&D: Rates, Trends, and Risk Factors. J Spinal Cord Med, 2007;30:355-361.

21. Massad LS, Evans CT, Wilson TE, Golub ET, Goparaju L, Howard A, Greenblatt RM, WeberK, Schilder K. Impact of menopause on condom use by HIV seropositive and comparison seronegative women.  J Acquir Immune Defic, 2008;47:401-402.

22. Evans CT, LaVela SL, Weaver FM, Priebe M, Sandford P, Niemiec P, Miskevics S, Parada JP.  Epidemiology of hospital-acquired infections in veterans with spinal cord injury and disorder. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol, 2008;29:234-242.

23. Massad LS, Evans CT, D’Souza G, Darragh T, Minkoff H, Henry D, Goparaju L, Muderspach LI, Watts DH. High-grade cervical disease in adolescents with HIV. J Lower Genital Tract Disease, 2008;12:199-203.

24. Weaver FM, Burns SP, Evans CT, Rapacki L, Goldstein B, Hammond MC. Provider perspectives on soldiers with new spinal cord injuries returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2009;90:517-521.

25. French AL, Lin MY, Evans CT, Benning L, Glesby M, Young M, Operskalski E, Augenbraun M, Peters M. Long-term Serologic Follow-up of Isolated Hepatitis B Core Antibody in HIV-infected and Uninfected Women. Clin Infect Dis, 2009;49: 148-154.

26. Evans CT, Hershow RC, Chin A, Foulis PR, Burns SP, Weaver FM. Bloodstream infections and setting of onset in persons with spinal cord injury and disorder. Spinal Cord, 2009;47(8):610-615. Epub 2009 Feb 24.

27. Evans CT, Burns SP, Chin A, Weaver FM, Hershow RC.  Predictors and outcomes of antibiotic adequacy for bloodstream infections in veterans with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 2009;90:1364-1370.