Donna M. Evon, PhD

Biography

Dr. Evon is a clinical psychologist and has been a professor of medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill since 2005. She has been a clinician and behavioral researchers in the field of chronic liver disease for 20 years. Clinically, she works with patients with MASLD/MASH to make lifestyle changes to improve liver health and achieve weight loss and with patients with cirrhosis and other liver diseases on coping, adjustment and self-management. Dr. Evon is also very passionate about patient-centered outcomes research. Her research investigates psycho-social-behavioral factors involved in chronic liver disease, understanding patients' experiences, and applying this knowledge to develop and test psychosocial interventions to improve health outcomes. Her research methods include quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to collect data on patient experiences, inclusive of patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures. She enjoys collaborating with patient engagement groups and patient advocacy organizations during the design and development of research studies to ensure study methods are feasible and study outcomes are meaningful to patient communities. Dr. Evon has been the lead investigator and co-investigator on numerous grants funded by the NIH, PCORI, and industry.