Introduction to statistical analysis of data from twins

Are you a researcher looking at twins? Are you interested in finding out how to better analyse and interpret your twin data? Come along to this two-day workshop run by expert statisticians from Twins Research Australia at The University of Melbourne. This value for money, fully catered course will provide knowledge and resources to answer your specific research questions using Stata, R or SPSS. Head over to Twins Research Australia website for more information.

Registrations are closing soon, so act quickly to guarantee your place. Click here to register by Sunday 22nd September, 2019. Or email Alison.wright@unimelb.edu.au to secure your spot.

When: 17-18 October 2019; 9:00am – 5:00pm
Where:  University of Melbourne, Alan Gilbert-120 (Theatre 4)
Cost:  $285 per person - Student Rate $185 per person (lunch and snacks provided)

Additional resources: Twins Research Australia have put together a free series of online training modules to complement our hands-on workshops. The online series features statistical tools and explanations for researchers to expand their skills into twin studies. Find out more and access the modules here. Or if you have any comments or questions for us please visit our Facebook Twin Researcher Group which is moderated by TRA expert researchers, or email us at info@twins.org.au.

Geospatial workshop 

This workshop, run in conjunction with the Melbourne Twins Stats Workshop, will introduce geospatial concepts and analyses with examples of data visualisation tools and procedures, techniques to explore environmental influences on outcomes, and applications across research programs.  More details to follow.
When: 16 October 2019
Where: University of Melbourne, Alan Gilbert-120 (Theatre 4)
Cost:  $75 per person
Registering: Register online here.

Conversations in twin research

Twins Research Australia has launched an online series of occasional papers, Conversations in Twin Research, to showcase the diverse application of the twin method to the research and health professionals’ community. The series aims to encourage a conversation regarding use of this approach in all areas of research, including education, early life origins of chronic disease, clinical trials and population health resources.

See one of our ‘Conversations’ with Brian Byrne on the topic, School achievement in literacy and numeracy. The article summarises what twin research has taught us about Australians’ school achievement, and outlines the implications for students, their families, teachers, educational policymakers, and the broader public as it debates education and its funding. If you have any comments or questions, please go to our Facebook Twin Researcher and Stats Group here.

Sample size calculation guide 

The team here at Twins Research Australia have put together a short guide to help researchers calculate the sample size required for their classic twin study. 

Download the sample size calculation guide here.

Upcoming events

Genetics & Epigenetics of Physical Activity Symposium

Genetics and epigenetics of physical activity: Gene-environment interactions modulating health and disease.
Co-chairs: A/Prof. Nir Eynon (Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University) and Prof. Anthony Hannan (Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne)
When: 18 October 2019
Where:  University of Melbourne, Ian Potter Auditorium
Registering: Free (however registration is essential).
For more information and to register click here.

Twins 2019 Biennial Conference - POSTPONED

The Twins Congress has recently announced that the Twins 2019 biennial conference in Hong Kong has been postponed. More details are expected in the coming weeks. For more information please click here. 

Farewells

Sue Carrick lead of the Twins Node at Charles Perkins
Sue Carrick is stepping down as the Project Node Leader of Twin Research at the Charles Perkins Centre. We are very grateful to Sue for establishing the twin node, as it has opened new opportunities to meet and collaborate with other research groups, provided a base to conduct statistical workshops and to grow the twin research workforce in NSW. This would not have been possible without her leadership and networks over the last four and a half years. Sue will continue to still stay connected with TRA and we look forward to her continued engagement and wisdom.

Janine Lam 
In August we said goodbye to one of TRA's researchers, Janine Lam. Janine worked with us for five years in a variety of roles and, most recently, on the Global Priority Setting Project. This project was conducted in collaboration with Twins and Multiple Birth Association (TAMBA UK) and St George's University, London, as well as a steering group made up of multiple-birth parent group representatives, clinicians and researchers. This highly successful and complex project, saw Janine oversee surveys to identify and prioritise the top-most important unanswered research questions for the health of multiples and their families. In addition, Janine organised and attended a global workshop, held in London, which brought together steering group members and other parents of multiples, as well as clinicians, or researchers to further prioritise the final list of questions. This important work has now been written up by Janine and the project team. A paper will be published shortly presenting the main findings and priority issues for research, so watch this space! We wish Janine well in her future research endeavours, and know she will be as much appreciated at MCRI as she was at TRA.

Twin publications

Twins in the media:

• Red wine and gut health - Kings College Londen & Gastroenterology journal
• New findings about moles and melanoma from twins research - Twins UK
• For more stories please view our most recent member eNews

Do you have upcoming research to be published?

Just a reminder that when referring to Twins Research Australia during the course of your research please ensure you use our new name and logo. Also, a gentle reminder to use the following wording when acknowledging Twins Research Australia in your publications:

“This research was facilitated through access to Twins Research Australia, a national resource supported by a Centre of Research Excellence Grant (ID: 1079102), from the National Health and Medical Research Council.”

An electronic copy of all publications should be sent to info@twins.org.au.