Thursday 11 November

Time zones are CET times.

Workshops - Session 1
Workshop 1A 09:00 – 12:30	ICOMBO – Discussion of activities conducted by members Hosted by: Monica Rankin Chairperson, International Council of Multiple Birth Organisations (ICOMBO) chair@icombo.org In this session, members will share projects, research, and other activities they have conducted since 2017. A review of the Declaration of Rights and Statement of Needs of Twins and Higher Order Multiples will be conducted. Launch of new book from Finnish Multiple Birth Association Ulla Kumpula, Executive Director, Suomen Monikkoperheet Online conferences - experiences of Multiple Births Canada Frances Keech, Office Manager, MBC Review of Declaration of Rights and Statement of Needs of Twins and Higher Order Multiples Monica Rankin Chair, ICOMBO Recent research projects of ICOMBO Dr Carolyn Lister PhD Vice Chair & Research Director, ICOMBO Multiples New Zealand
Workshop 1B 09:00 – 12:30	Twin Statistics – Part 1 More than heritability: Diverse designs, outcomes and statistical approaches for data from twins – Part 1  (to be continued in Workshop 2B) Co-organisers: Jacob Hjelmborg, Katrina Scurrah, Márton Piroska, (Levi Littvay, Instructor) This workshop will continue in the afternoon (CET Time), Workshop Session 2 -  Workshop 2B. Twin studies remain highly relevant to health and medical research, especially given advances in biological science and technology which have created new opportunities and possibilities. This workshop will focus on statistical approaches for designs other than the classic twin study, such as the matched case-cotwin design, and non-continuous outcomes such as binary and time to event data.  Advantages, limitations, good statistical practices and assumptions of these approaches will also be discussed. Practice datasets and Stata and R code will be provided. The workshop will conclude with in-depth discussions showcasing worked examples from current research. Session 1: First touch data analysis Dr Katrina Scurrah, PhD BMath(Hons) Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Australia In this session we will review reasons researchers study twins and the types of research questions that can be addressed using twin designs.  We will also provide a brief overview of good practice in data collection and management, the basics of data exploration and statistical inference, and summarise the variety of study designs available. Session 2: Matched twin pair studies: design and analysis Katrina Scurrah PhD BMath (Hons), Australia and Prof Jacob B Hjelmborg, PhD, Denmark The focus of this session will be on matched designs, for binary and continuous outcomes and exposures.  Time to event data will also be introduced and simple models for this data type will be described. Usage and guidelines for application of this design will be discussed.
Workshop 1C 09:00 – 12:00	Do it with twins: tips for twin studies and registers Co-organisers: Dorret Boomsma, Gonneke Willemsen, Adam Tarnoki, David Tarnoki, Emanuela Medda, Jane Loke Setting up and maintaining a twin register has its challenges. In this workshop we review and examine a number of these challenges and present and discuss a number of possible solutions. We start with some thoughts about diversity in twin registries. Next, as twin registers are famous for their longitudinal follow-up of participants, we focus on participants engagement, which is especially important for longitudinal commitment. The additional challenges of longitudinal studies, as well as the impact of the Corona crisis are the topic of the third presentation. We then change the focus towards some design and methodological aspects, including the extension from twins to twins and their families and towards multiple generations, and talk about developments in the analysis of such twin family data. We conclude with insights from multiple established twin registers across the globe, namely those which were established over 25 years ago, drawing on past their experiences, hearing about their successes and providing suggestions for the future. 9:00 Twin registers across different cultures Professor Yoon-Mi Hur, PhD College of General Education Director, Kookmin Twin Research Institute Kookmin University, Seoul, South Korea Veronika Odintsova Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 9:20 Participant engagement Isabelle Budin-Ljøsne Division of Epidemiology, Department of Genes and Environment, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway Gonneke Willemsen Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam ,the Netherlands 9:40 Longitudinal studies and the impact of Covid Jane Loke, PhD, BSc (Hons) Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; Early Life Epigenetics Group, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital; Parkville, Australia. Emanuela Medda Centre for Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy 9:50 Questions and discussion 10:00 SHORT BREAK 10:10 Extended twin studies and trans-generational studies Professor Tim C Bates Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK Associate Professor Nathan A Gillespie Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA 10:30 Overview of recent new technologies for twin studies Michael C. Neale, PhD Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA Hermine Maes Department of Psychiatry, Virginia Institute for Psychiatric and Behavior Genetics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA 10:50 Insights from twin registers Prof. Dr. Dorret I Boomsma Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Prof. Gonneke Willemsen Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 11:10 Questions and discussion
Workshop 1D 10:00 – 12:30	Microbiome and Health Workshop Co-organisers: Chika Honda, Helga Szabo, Rie Tamizawa, David Tarnoki Information (pdf) Chairs: Prof. Chika Honda, Ass. prof. David Tarnoki 10.00-10.30 Microbiome and health: current topics Dr. Jun Kunisawa Osaka, Japan 10.30-11.00 Microbiome analysis in twins: experiences, practical issues and statistical insights from the TwinsUK cohor Andrei-Florin Baleanu Dr. Ruth Bowye Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College, London, UK 11.00-11.30 Microbiome twin research in Japan Dr. Rie Tomizawa Osaka University Twin Registry, Osaka University, Japan 11.30-12.00 Microbiome research: Hungarian experiences Dr. Helga Szabo Department of Medical Imaging, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary) 12.00-12.30 Discussion

Workshops – Session 2
Workshop 2A 13:00 – 16:30	Twin Systematic Reviews – Part 1 Hosted by: Shayesteh Jahanfar, David Haas, Donald O'Mathuna, Isha Taneja, Tiffany Duque, Joel Gagnier This workshop is a top-rated standard author training offered by "Cochrane Trainers" from four universities across the United States: Tufts (Boston), Ohio State University (Ohio), Indiana University (Indiana), and the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). We also have the coordinator of the Cochrane US Network (Seattle) on board.  You will learn how to conduct a systematic review of twin studies using Cochrane's high standard methodology. The concepts discussed include ten steps of developing a protocol,  meta-analysis, heterogeneity, and writing a review.  We also introduce software(s) Revman, Covidence, and Grade_Pro.  Small group activities will help you develop protocols to be registered with Cochrane Collaboration. Participants can apply for a mentorship program following the workshop, which supports them throughout all the steps for six months to 1 year. 13:00-13:40     Introduction & How to write a Cochrane review Shayesteh Jahanfar, PhD Associate Professor, of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine Director of Tufts University, Affiliate of Cochrane US Co-director of Cochrane Pregnancy Childbirth US Satellite 13:45-14:20      Steps in writing a protocol David Haas, MD, MS Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology Co-director of Cochrane Pregnancy Childbirth US Satellite 14:20 -15:00                 Defining a review question Tiffany Duque Cochrane US Network Senior Officer 15:00- 15:40 Small group activity – Defining a review question for your review  (Four facilitators, each group will have 5 participants and one facilitator) 15:40- 15:55                Introducing screening software-Covidence Isha Taneja MBBS, MPH Cochrane Fellow, Tufts University, Affiliate of Cochrane US 15:55- 16:30        Assessing risk of bias Donal O’Mathuna, BSc (Pharm), MA, PhD Associate Professor, College of Nursing, The Ohio State University This workshop will be continued in Workshop Session 4A, Friday.
Workshop 2B    13:00 – 16:30	Twin Statistics – Part 2 More than heritability: Diverse designs, outcomes and statistical approaches for data from twins – Part 2    (continuation of Workshop 1B) Co-organisers: Jacob Hjelmborg, Katrina Scurrah, Márton Piroska, (Levi Littvay, Instructor) This is a continuation of Workshop 1B. Session 3: Time to event analysis of data from twins Prof Jacob B Hjelmborg, PhD Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark jhjelmborg@health.sdu.dk This session will illustrate extension of the methods for survival time data described in the previous session to allow for twin data, and how such models can be used to assess causation. Session 4: Contributed studies - what can we learn?
Workshop 2C    13:00 – 16:00	Twin Birth Cohorts Co-organisers: Jeff Craig, Sonia Brescianini Chairs: Jeffrey Craig, PhD The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Australia Sonia Brescianini, PhD Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy Summary: Longitudinal twin birth cohorts are able to link early life risk factors with risk for chronic conditions and provide valuable information for twin growth and development and health of the mothers of twins. They also enable the collection and reporting of chorionicity and zygosity, vital for twin research and families of twins. This workshop brings together the major stakeholders in twin birth cohorts: twins advocates, medical researchers, and clinicians. We also welcome researchers seeking to include twins in studies of the early life origins of health and disease and twin researchers wanting to find out more. The aim of this workshops is to: 1.    highlight the work of existing longitudinal twin birth cohorts; 2.    assist in the creation of new twin birth cohorts through shared knowledge and expertise; encourage data and sample harmonisation and analysis; 3.    encourage collaboration between twin pregnancy researchers such as gynaecologists, obstetricians, ultrasonologists and neonatologists, and non-clinical health researchers; 4.    seek opportunities for collaboration and replication; and 5.    seek the input from stakeholders. We invite representatives to talk about their twin cohorts (~3 minutes each) and there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. Details of the speakers will be updated up to the conference. Speakers: The Peri/postnatal Epigenetic Twin Study (PETS) Jeffrey Craig, PhD The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Australia Babytwins Study Sweden (BATSS) Ana Maria Vaz Portugal Da Silva Centre for Psychiatry Research, Karolinska Institutet and Stockholm Health Care Services, Stockholm, Sweden The East Flanders Prospective Twin Survey (EFPTS) Eline Meireson Department of Human Structure and Repair, University of Gent, Belgium TwinLife Sophie Groene Leiden University Medical CenterLeiden, The Netherlands Gemini Moritz Herle, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College, London TWOBIOME Jordana Bell Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College, London
19:00-20:00	ISTS BOARD MEETING For members of ISTS Board CANCELLED

FRIDAY 12 November

Time zones are CET times.

Workshops - Session 3
Workshop 3A 09:00 – 12:30	ICOMBO – Future directions for ICOMBO Hosted by: Monica Rankin Chairperson, International Council of Multiple Birth Organisations (ICOMBO) chair@icombo.org In this session, members will discuss possible research projects, ways to facilitate more sharing of resources and communication, and other topics of interest to members. A review of the Declaration of Rights and Statement of Needs of Twins and Higher Order Multiples will be conducted. ICOMBO Strategic Plan 2021 – 2023 Monica Rankin Chair, ICOMBO ICOMBO Research and activities 2022/2023 Dr Carolyn Lister PhD Vice Chair & Research Director, ICOMBO Presentation of New Education Resource - www.twineducation.org John Mascazine PhD Prof. Dr. Pat Preedy
Workshop 3B 09:00 – 12:30	Imaging methodological workshop - Part 1. Program (pdf) 9:00-9:30 Basics of imaging methods (X-ray, US, mammography, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine) A/Prof. Adam Domonkos Tarnoki, MD, PhD &  A/Prof. David Laszlo Tarnoki, MD, PhD Medical Imaging Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary 9.30-10:00 Mammographic analytic methods in twin studies John Hopper, AM NHMRC Senior Research Fellow Melbourne School of Population & Global Health University of Melbourne, Australia 10:00-10:30 Imaging the genetics of brain structure and function Katrina L Grasby, Sarah E Medland QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia 10:30-11:00 Neuroimaging methods in twin studies Justine Gatt Dr. Haeme Park Gatt Resilience Group, Neuroscience Research Australia, School of Psychology, UNSW, Australia 11:00-11:20 Neural mechanisms for individuality in the brain - fMRI study methods in twins and epigenetics Shunsuke Toyoda Center for Twin Research, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University 11:20-11:50 fMRI in twin studies & methods used in Peri/postnatal Epigenetic Twin Study (PETS) Marc Seal Group Leader, Developmental Imaging, Murdoch Children's Research Institute Principal Research Fellow, Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia 11:50-12:30 Discussion with the speakers
Workshop 3C   09:00 – 12:30	Epigenetics Co-organisers: Joohon Sung, Namitha Mohandas, Jordana Bell This workshop will provide some general information regarding epigenetics studies, and some examples of epigenetic studies in twins Speakers: Value of lifespan approach in twin and family studies of epigenetics Dr Shuai Li Victorian Cancer Agency Early Career Research Fellow & Senior Research Fellow University of Melbourne, Australia Epigenetic profiles in monozygotic twins Jenny van Dongen, PhD Assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, department of Biological Psychology, The Netherlands DNA methylation heritability and methylation QTLs Sergio Villicaña King’s College, London DNA methylation studies of type 2 diabetes Colette Christiansen King’s College, London Mendelian randomisation and methylation QTLs to gain insight into the DNA methylation profiles of type 2 diabetes and its kidney complications Johoon Sung, MD, MPH, PhD Genome and Health Big Data Lab, School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea Live Q & A with speaker panel and organisers

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  Workshops - Session 4
  Workshop 4A 13:00 – 16:30	Twin Systematic Reviews – Part 2. (continuation of Workshop 2A) Co-Chairs:  Shayesteh Jahanfar, David Haas, Donald O'Mathuna, Isha Taneja, Tiffany Duque, Joel Gagnier This workshop is a continuation of the workshop held on Thursday afternoon. 13:00-13:30                Small group activity: Appraising the risk of bias in a trial  (Four facilitators; each group will have 5 participants and one facilitator) 13:30-14:10        Analysing dichotomous outcomes Joel Gagnier, PhD Professor University of Michigan Member of Cochrane Method Group 14:10-14:50                   Analysing continuous outcomes Joel Gagnier, PhD Professor University of Michigan Member of Cochrane Method Group 14:50-15:30        Introduction to meta-analysis Shayesteh Jahanfar, PhD Associate Professor, of Public Health and Community Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine Director of Tufts University, Affiliate of Cochrane US Co-director of Cochrane Pregnancy Childbirth US Satellite 15:30-16:00                   Introduction to Revman and forest plot Shayesteh Jahanfar, PhD Associate Professor, of Public Health and Community Medicine Tufts University School of Medicine Director of Tufts University, Affiliate of Cochrane US Co-director of Cochrane Pregnancy Childbirth US Satellite 16:00-16:30                    Heterogeneity Donal O’Mathuna, BSc (Pharm), MA, PhD Associate Professor, College of Nursing, The Ohio State University
  Workshop 4B 13:00 – 16:30	Imaging methodological workshop - Part 2. (continuation of Workshop 3B) Program (pdf) 13:00-13:30 Novel ultrasound imaging methods (elastography, stiffness, IMT, plaque etc) in twin studies Anita Hernyes, MD Medical Imaging Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary 13:30-14:00 Available radiomics softwares (brain volume measurement, WMH, Whole Brain etc) Bianka Forgo MD, PhD Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden 14:00-14:20 3D reconstruction of cerebral vessels Laszlo Szalontai, MD Medical Imaging Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary. National Institute of Oncology,  Budapest, Hungary 14:20-14:40 DTI methods and other novel neuroimaging methods Lajos Kozák MD, PhD Ádám Békéssy-Szabó MD Medical Imaging Centre, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary 14:40-15:10 The Heritability of Cortical Folding: Measurement methods and experiences from the Human Connectome Project J. Eric Schmitt MD, PhD University of Pennsylvania (UPenn), Philadelphia, PA, USA   and Michael C. Neale, PhD Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA 15:10-16:00 Discussion with the speakers

  
  

• Conference Opening Session
  19:00 – 19:10	Opening remarks Professor Jeffrey Craig, Dr Asma Khalil, Dr. Ádám & Dávid Tárnoki, other speeches and entertainment
  19:10 – 20:00	Keynote: L Scott Forbes, PhD “The Evolutionary Biology of Twinning in Humans” Introduction: Nancy L Segal, PhD
  20:00 – 20:45	BOOK PANEL summary (pdf) Discussion: Five recent and forthcoming books on twins – Live discussion and Q & A with the authors and editors Co-chairs: Nancy L Segal, PhD & Professor Jeffrey Craig Twin Studies in Behavioral and Health Research: Current Status, Prospects and Applications, São Paulo, Brazil: Digital book in open access: USP Open Books Portal, 2021 Tania Kiehl Lucci PhD, E. Otta and T.K. Lucci (Eds.): University of São Paulo, Brazil Why Are Monozygotic Twins Different: From Genetics to Environment London: Elsevier. A. Matias, & I. Blickstein (Eds.) Alexandra Matias, MD, PhD University of Porto, Portugal Deliberately Divided: Inside the Controversial Study of Twins and Triplets Adopted Apart, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2021 Nancy L. Segal, PhD California State University, Fullerton, USA Twin Research for Everyone: From Biology to Health, Epigenetics, and Psychology, New York, NY: Elsevier (in press). Tarnoki, A.D. Tarnoki, D.L., Harris, J.R., & Segal, N.L. (Eds.) David L. Tarnoki, MD, PhD:    Semmelweis University, Hungary Flyer of the book (Elsevier) Twins - Superstitions and Marvels, Fantasies and Experiments, Reaktion Books, London, 2021. William Viney, PhD Department of Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London Flyer of the book (pdf)

• SATURDAY 13 November

• Time zones are CET times.

• 09:00-10:30	Session 1 COVID-19 Co-chairs: John  Hopper, Catherine Bennett 9:00-9:15 Gene-by-crisis interaction for optimism and meaning in life: the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic Lianne de Vries Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , The Netherlands 9:15-9:30 Genetic and environmental influences on Quality of Life and Self-Rated Health: the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment Margot van de Weijer Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam , The Netherlands. 9:30-9:45 Twins Research Australia COVD-19 Knowledge, Experience, Reaction and Resilience Study (TRACKERR) Dr Lucas Calais Ferreira Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics & Justice Health Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne Twins Research Australia 9:45-10:00 Covid-19 and TwinsUK: Becoming a national core study Dr. Claire Steves Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, Kings College, London 10:00-10:05 Stress, anxiety, and change in alcohol use during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings among adult twin pairs Glenn Duncan, PhD, RCEP Professor & Chair, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Director, Washington State Twin Registry, Seattle, USA 10:05-10:15 Is COVID-19 keeping us up at night? Stress, anxiety, and sleep among adult twins Glenn Duncan, PhD, RCEP Professor & Chair, Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology Director, Washington State Twin Registry, Seattle, USA 10:15-10:30 Mental health impact of Covid-19: a longitudinal study on Italian twins Emanuela Medda Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
  11:00 – 12:30	Session  2 Longitudinal twin birth cohorts Co-chairs: Jeff Craig, Sonia Brescianini This session will include talks about longitudinal twin registries from around the world, including those studying the early life origins of health and disease.  Co-Chairs: Jeffrey Craig, PhD The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT), Deakin University, Australia Sonia Brescianini, PhD Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy Program: 11:00-11:15 Prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke is associated with placental biomarkers of ageing Esmee Bijnens, PhD Department of Human Structure and Repair, University of Gent, Belgium 11:15-11:30 Building a twin pregnancy cohort in China for longitudinal biological studies Professor Richard Saffery, PhD Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia 11:30-11:45 Bitwin cohort - the first Portuguese birth cohort of twins Elisabete Ramos, PhD Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto (ISPUP), Portugal 11:45-12:00 The Multiple Birth Cohort Study: a birth cohort within the Italian Twin Registry Sonia Brescianini, PhD Center for Behavioral Sciences and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy 12:00-12:15 Prevalence of twinning - mother’s age and fertility Andras Pari JD University of Pecs (PTE), Doctoral School of Demography and Sociology Pazmany Peter Catholic University (PPKE), Institute of Sociology The Maria Kopp Institute for Demography and Families (KINCS), Bureau for Research 12:15 – 12:30 Short talks Utilizing birthweight discordant monozygotic twins to investigate the effect of the in vivo early embryonic environment on DNA methylation Rebekka Koeck Maastricht University & Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands Peri/postnatal epigenetic twins study (PETS) cohort: Double-one years Jane Loke Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia
  13:00 – 14:30	Session  3 Bulmer session: The Biology of Twinning Co-chairs: Nils Lambalk, Catherine Derom Description This symposium deals with the biology and genetics of the twinning phenomenon and is named after Michael Bulmer, who wrote in 1970 this fascinating book “the Biology of Twinning in Man”. This session deals with every aspects of twinning from the frequency of twinning in humans, the genetics of DZ and MZ twinning,  the development of the human embryo and how normal embryogenesis takes place... Co-Chairs: Prof. dr. Cornelis (Nils) Lambalk, MD PhD Division of Reproductive Medicine, Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam Catherine Derom, PhD Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ghent University Hospitals, Ghent, Belgium Program: 13:00-13:15 Identical twins carry a persistent epigenetic signature of early genome programming Jenny van Dongen, PhD Assistant professor at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, department of Biological Psychology, The Netherlands 13:15-13:30 Update on the genetics of DZ twinning Hamdi Mbarek, PhD Qatar Genome Program, Qatar Foundation Research Development & Innovation Research, Doha, Qatar Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands Amsterdam Reproduction and Development (AR&D) Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 13:30-13:45 Study of twin pedigrees to investigate mechanisms of male microchimerism in females Brandon Johnson, PhD candidate Avera Institute for Human Genetics, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center, Sioux Falls, SD, USA Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 13:45-14:00 Determinants of MZ twinning in ART Professor Anja Pinborg, MD, DMSc Fertility Department, section 4071 Rigshospitalet Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark 14:00-14:15 Tracing human twinning process using somatic mutations Christopher J Yoon Washing University School of Medicine, St Louis MO, USA 14:15-14:30 Short talk A transcriptomic-wide association study of spontaneous dizogytic twinning and its relation to the fertility trait number Nikki Hubers Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
  15:00 – 16:30	Session  4 Twin Studies: Psychological, Biological and Social Perspectives summary (pdf) Co-Chairs: Nancy L. Segal, PhD Department of Psychology, California State University-Fullerton Maria Antoinetta Stazi, PhD Center for Behavioural Science and Mental Health, Rome This panel draws together a diverse group of speakers whose presentations are set within a variety of theoretical frameworks. The different topics to be addressed cover a range of behaviors, issues and controversies within the field of psychology, e.g., behavioral genetics, evolutionary psychology, social psychology and other approaches. An underlying theme is that twins can be used to study and inform virtually every measurable behavioral trait. 15:00-15:15 Twin Tempos: Cross-Correlations of Young Twins’ Social and Emotional Skills Lisabeth A. DiLalla, PhD Department of Psychology, University of Southern Illinois 15:15-15:30 Triangulating Genetic Methods to Uncover the Contribution of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skills to Academic Achievement Throughout the School Years Margherita Malanchini, PhD School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University 15:30-15:45 Three Twinship Myths: Setting the Record Straight Joan A. Friedman, PhD Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles 15:45-16:00 Narrowing in on What Really Matters: Testing Criminological Theory Using Twin-Based Methodology" Joseph L. Nedelec, PhD: School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati 16:00-16:15 Exceptional Sibships and Curious Couples: General Intelligence Findings From Chinese Twins Reared Apart and Together and Virtual Twins Nancy L. Segal, PhD Department of Psychology, California State University-Fullerton 16:15-16:30 Short talks The association between saving disposition and financial distress: a genetically informed approach Alexandros Giannelis University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA Genetic covariances underlying associations between Mathematics, Reading and working memory Zhixin Zhu Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA Treating twins as a couple in parental communication Rita Hegedüs Corvinus University of Budapest Zsofia Drjenovszky Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary Heritability of sleep quality across the adult age span. Analysis in two Mediterranean samples Juan J Madrid-Valero University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain & University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain Gene-environment interplays between family chaos and emotional problems among Nigerian adolescents: A twin study Olakunle Oginni Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria
  18:00 – 19:00	E-POSTER session 1 The following presenters will be available to discuss their poster talks. The e-posters are uploaded in video files within the e-poster session. Etiological and comorbidity factors of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in a non-clinical sample of children and adolescents: A twin study Corrado Fagnani Centre for Behvioural Sciences and Mental Health, Instituto Seperiore de Sanita, Rome, Italy Heritability of iris reflectance quantified in a classic twin study Xiaofan Jiang Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London Heritability of retinal rod and cone-driven responses Xiaofan Jiang Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London Disentangling the impact of genetics and environment on brain functional connections: a 3T resting state fMRI study on young twins Emma Tassi Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy The neural bases of social cognitive interference in young twins discordant for psychotic risk Cinzia Molent Genetics of Cognition laboratory, Neuroscience area, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, (Di. Mes) Università degli Studi di Genova, Genova, Italy Same-sex attraction and psychological distress and risky sexual behaviors: Bidirectional causal effects using the Mendelian Randomization-Direction of Causation model Olakunle Oginni Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria Influences of Parental Warmth and Discipline on Five-Year-Old Twins' Intrapair Cooperation Riley Marshall Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, USA
  19:00 – 19:45  20:00 – 20:45	Session 5 19:00-19:45 Discussion: Participant engagement and user involvement in twin research Co-chairs: Carolyn Lister & Petra Zwijnenburg  A panel of researchers, study coordinators and parents of twins will discuss some of the challenges in engaging participants for twin studies and the importance of understanding the perspective of participants and users. Topics covered will include survey design, types of approaches, country & cultural differences, the use of online tools for questionnaires, increasing participation (how best to engage with communities) and disseminating research findings. The session will end with a chance for some questions from the audience. Panellists: Stephanie Ernst-Milner Founder of the TAPS Support Foundation & twin Mum Natasha Fenwick Research and Resources Officer, Twins Trust, UK Prof. Gonneke Willemsen Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universieit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 20.00-20:45 Discussion: Controversial topic(s) in twin research Co-chairs: Professor Asma Khalil & Mark Kilby DEBATES: Zygosity testing should be encouraged for all same sex twins (debate)  For:         Jeffrey Craig PhD                 The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation (IMPACT),                  Deakin University, Australia Against:  Dr Richard Brown, MBBS, FRCOG, FACOG                  Director of the Divisions of Obstetrics, Maternal Fetal Medicine & Ultrasound                  Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada All parents of monochorionic twins should be offered ultrasound screening for twin anemia polycythemia syndrome (Debate). For:         Enrico Lopriore, MD PhD                 Dept. of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands Against:  Myles Taylor BA(Oxon) PhD FRCOG               Centre for Women’s Health,                Royal Devon and Exeter NHS    Foundation Trust

SUNDAY 14 November

Time zones are CET times.

09:00-10:30	Session 6 New twin registries and studies Co-chairs: Yoon-Mi Hur & Bianka Forgo Session information (pdf) This panel aims to present newly established twin registries from across the world. Research aims, methods and recent results from emerging twin registries will be discussed. 9:00-9:15 Major changes and developments in the Hungarian Twin Registry website related to the conversion from a voluntary to a population-based registry Marton Piroska, MD Semmelweis University, Faculty of Medicine, Medical Imaging Centre, Budapest, Hungary 9:15-9:30 TwinLIFE4 Professor Bas Heijmans Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands 9:30-9:45 University of Sao Paulo Twin Panel Professor Emma Otta Institute of Psychology, University of São Paulo, Brazil 9:45-10:00 Isfahan Twin Registry Professor Nizal Sarrafzadegan, MD Distinguished Professor of Medicine/Cardiology Director of Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Institute WHO Collaborating Center in the EMR, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences Affiliate Professor, Faculty of Medicine | School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, Canada 10:00-10:15 The Long-term Effects of selective fetal growth restriction in MONochorionic twins: The LEMON study Sophie Groene Department of Neonatology, Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands 10:15-10:30 Short talks Zygosity and sex based cardiometabolic risk factors in Isfahan Twin Registry Mojgan Gharipour Isfahan Cardiovascular Research Center, Cardiovascular Research Institute, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran Copy effect hypermetropic anisometropia in a pair of monozygotic twins:A Case Report Fatmer Sumer Rize Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Rize, Turkey Global Applied Learning Experience project, a mixed method study protocol Pooja P. Patel Shayesteh Jahanfar Tufts School of Medicine, Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Boston, MA, USA Comparison of Circle of Willis Variants in Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins David Strelnikov Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary Study in Heritability of MRI White Matter Hyperintensities in Twins Amirreza Alijanpourotaghsara Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
11:00 – 12:30	Session 7     Clinical trials Co-chairs: Petra Zwijnenburg, Athula Sumathipala Co-chairs: Petra Zwijnenburg, MD, PhD clinical geneticist, pediatrician, Dept Human Genetics, Amsterdam University Medical Center,  Amsterdam, the Netherlands Athula Sumathipala Director - Institute for Research and Development, Sri Lanka Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, Keele University This session provides a selection of clinical trials in twins. The session demonstrates that the potential power of twins in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has been proven and illustrates that twins can strongly contribute to RCTs, ranging from n=1 studies to large sample sizes. The presentations will address studies in Twin Anemia Polycythemia Sequence (TAPS),  Presentations: 11:00-11:15 Monozygotic twin similarities for AD Biomarkers: The Twin60++ Study Anouk den Braber, PhD Alzheimer Center Amsterdam & Netherlands Twin Register, Amsterdam University Medical Center, VU university, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 11:15-11:30 TAPS trial Enrico Lopriore, MD PhD Dept. of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Centre, the Netherlands 11:30-11:45 FEASST (Food intake and Epigenetic Alteration in Spermatozoa of Singletons and Twins) Study Jessica Preston Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences,  University of Copenhagen, Denmark PhD Student, Barrès Group, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research; University of Copenhagen 11:45-12:00 The value of twins in n=1 trials in (ultra)rare diseases Petra Zwijnenburg, MD, PhD Dept Human Genetics, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 12:00-12:15 Twins and Causal Inference: Leveraging Nature's Experiment Professor Frühling V Rijsdijk PhD Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
13:00 – 14:30	Session 8 Cognition & neurodevelopmental disorders Co-chairs: Jaakko Kaprio & Ida Karlsson Program (pdf) Description This session provides a selection of studies across the life course, from childhood to late-life, within the broad field of cognition and neurodevelopmental disorders. The presentations will address aggression, cognitive abilities, and dementia, as well as the unique methodological opportunities gained from studying twin cohorts. Co-Chairs: Jaakko Kaprio, MD, PhD Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland, University of Helsinki, Finland   Ida Karlsson, PhD Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden Speakers 13:00-13:15 Continuity of genetic risk for aggression across the life-course Camiel M. van der Laan, MSc Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 13:15-13:30 Postmenopausal hormone therapy and dementia Laura Ekstrøm Løkkegaard, MD Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark 13:30-13:45 Educational influences on cognitive aging: Exploring unequal opportunities through genetic propensities and societal change Malin Ericsson, PhD Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden 13:45-14:00 NONAGINTA study – cognition in 90-year-old twins Eero Vuoksimaa, PhD Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland 14:00-14:15 Impaired motor function in children and adolescents with CHD in a direct twin comparison - but young children with CHD better than adolescents Julia Remmele German Heart Center Munich, Technical University of Munich, Department of Congenital Heart Disease and Pediatric Cardiology, Munich, Germany Changes in structural brain development after selective fetal growth restriction in monochorionic twins Sophie Groene Department of Neonatology, Department of Biomedical Data Sciences, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
15:00 – 16:30	Session 9A Chronic Diseases and Cancer Co-chairs: Wendy Cozen & Joohon Sung 15:00-15:15 The Genetics of Chronic Mental Disorders: Depression Floris Huider Department of Biological Psychology, Vrije Universiteit, 1081 BT Amsterdam The Netherlands 15:15-15:30 Phenotypic associations and health outcomes of age-acquited skewed X chromosome inactivitation in humans Dr Amy Roberts, PhD Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology, King’s College London 15:30-15:45 Breast cancer and new model of heritability Professor John Hopper, AM NHMRC Senior Research Fellow Melbourne School of Population & Global Health University of Melbourne, Australia 15:45-16:00 Biology of cancer survivorship in twins with Hodgkin lymphoma Professor Wendy Cozen DO, MPH Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine (primary) Department of Pathology, School of Medicine Department of Epidemiology, Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center University of California at Irvine 16:00-16:15 Differences in DNA methylation based aging within twin pairs discordant for cancer Hannes Frederik Bode Helsinki University, Finland 16:15-16:30 Short talks Factors associated with care-seeking for low back pain when genetics and the familial environment are considered Thomas Patterson Sydney University, Australia Familial Risk and Heritability of Hematologic Malignancies in the Nordic Twin Study of Cancer Signe B. Clemmensen University of Southern Denmark Determinants of age at menarche: a study in the California Twin Program Maryam Salehi University of California, Irvine(UCI), USA Explorative Study of the Epigenetics of Brain and Central Nervous System Cancers in a Population Based Sample of Twins Asmus Cosmos Skovgaard University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, Denmark
15:00 – 16:00	Session 9B ICOMBO Business Meeting Chair: Monica Rankin For all ICOMBO members
18:00 – 19:00	E-POSTER session 2 The following presenters will be available to discuss their poster talks. The e-posters are uploaded in video files within the e-poster session. MZ female’s self- and co-twin assessment: An Actor-Partner Interdependence Model Parshikova Oksana Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Creating Multiple Connections. Exploring experiences of families with twins, triplets or more Nathalie Turville Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre, Birmingham City University, UK Supporting multiple birth families; establishing an evidence base to inform health visitor practice Nathalie Turville Elizabeth Bryan Multiple Births Centre, Birmingham City University, UK Strengthening evidence-based multiple birth family nursing care - literature reviews Kristiina Heinonen Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Health Promotion, Metropolia, Helsinki, Finland Genetic impacts on DNA methylation help dissect the interplay between genetics, epigenetics and gene expression Sergio Villicaña King’s College, London The efficacy of cell-free fetal DNA-based non-invasive prenatal testing in twin pregnancies Maria Butenko FSBSI “The Research Institute of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductology named after D. O.Ott” of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation
19:00 – 19:45 19:45 – 20:00 20:00 – 20:15	Session 10 ISTS AGM & Elections Professor Jeffrey Craig, Professor Asma Khalil Prizegiving Professor Asma Khalil James Shields Award for lifetime contributions to twin research Galton Prize for best student presentation Gedda Prize for best student poster ICOMBO Prize for best ECR paper on research of benefit to multiple birth families to be announced by Monica Rankin, ICOMBO Chairperson Closing Remarks Professor Jeffrey Craig, Dr. Dávid Tárnoki

• PROGRAM SUMMARY (pdf)

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