title: International network of twin registries (INTR): building a platform for international collaboration.
abstract: The International Network of Twin Registries (INTR) aims to foster scientific collaboration and promote twin research on a global scale by working to expand the resources of twin registries around the world and make them available to researchers who adhere to established guidelines for international collaboration. Our vision is to create an unprecedented scientific network of twin registries that will advance knowledge in ways that are impossible for individual registries, and includes the harmonization of data. INTR will also promote a broad range of activities, including the development of a website, formulation of data harmonization protocols, creation of a library of software tools for twin studies, design of a search engine to identify research partners, establishment of searchable inventories of data and biospecimens, development of templates for informed consent and data sharing, organization of symposia at International Society of Twin Studies conferences, support for scholar exchanges, and writing grant proposals.
authors.affiliation: University of Washington Twin Registry,Departments of Epidemiology and Medicine,University of Washington,Seattle,WA,USA.
authors.forename: Dedra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Buchwald
authors.affiliation: Finnish Twin Cohort Study,Department of Public Health,University of Helsinki,Hjelt Institute,Helsinki,Finland.
authors.forename: Jaakko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaprio
authors.affiliation: Australian Twin Registry,School of Population and Global Health,University of Melbourne,Melbourne,Victoria,Australia.
authors.forename: John L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hopper
authors.affiliation: Korean National Twin Registry and the Healthy Twin Study,Department of Epidemiology,Seoul National University School of Public Health,Seoul,Korea.
authors.forename: Joohon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sung
authors.affiliation: Vietnam Era Twin Registry,Seattle VA Epidemiologic Research and Information Center,Seattle,WA,USA.
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.affiliation: Maelstrom Research,Research Institute of the McGill University Health Center,Montreal,Canada.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fortier
authors.affiliation: Humboldt University,Berlin,Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Busjhan
authors.affiliation: Sri Lankan Twin Registry,Institute for Research and Development,Colombo,Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: Athula
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sumathipala
authors.affiliation: Departments of Preventive Medicine and Pathology,Keck School of Medicine,University of Southern California,Los Angeles,CA,USA.
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cozen
authors.affiliation: Departments of Preventive Medicine and Pathology,Keck School of Medicine,University of Southern California,Los Angeles,CA,USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mack
authors.affiliation: Murdoch Childrens Research Institute,Royal Children's Hospital,Melbourne,Victoria,Australia.
authors.forename: Jeffrey M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.affiliation: Norwegian Twin Registry,Division of Epidemiology,The Norwegian Institute of Public Health,Oslo,Norway.
authors.forename: Jennifer R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D012042:Registries; D018433:Twin Studies as Topic; D014427:Twins / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*