Lowers barriers to entry
Shared infrastructure reduces the burden of navigating separate access processes, agreements, and analysis environments for each cohort.
In Development
Controlled Access
Global Academic Initiative
Building shared infrastructure for twin, adoption, and family-based science
The Extended Twin and Family Biobank is an early-stage global academic initiative working toward a secure, controlled-access resource that integrates genetically informative family cohorts, harmonized phenotypes, and genomic data to support more powerful, transparent, and reproducible research.
Why This Is Needed
The scientific case for shared infrastructure
Twin, adoption, and extended-family cohorts have delivered decades of insight into genetic and environmental influences on human behavior, health, and development. Yet these datasets remain scattered across institutions, governed independently, and difficult to combine at scale.
Harmonizes phenotypes
Harmonization pursued where scientifically appropriate; cohort-specific measures preserved when harmonization would reduce scientific value.
Increases power and supports replication
Combining independently collected cohorts enables more robust, reproducible findings that no single cohort can support alone.
Enables new genomic methods
Within-family GWAS, indirect genetic effects models, and extended pedigree analyses require large samples that no single cohort can provide.
Explore
Explore the initiative
Learn more about the science, how to get involved, and how the initiative is being built.
For Cohort Leaders
Learn how twin, adoption, and family study leaders can contribute to a shared scientific resource — and what participation might offer in terms of scientific reach, harmonization support, and governance input.
Cohort participationFor Researchers
Discover the scientific questions the resource is designed to support — from within-family genomics and assortative mating to developmental change and cross-cohort replication. Future data access will be controlled and project-based.
Research opportunitiesAbout
The scientific case for shared infrastructure, the data flow pipeline, and research use cases.
Learn moreGovernance & Access
How the resource is designed around controlled access, consent, and responsible data use.
Our approachTeam
Leadership, working groups, and the people building the initiative's scientific and governance foundations.
Meet the teamContact
Questions about cohort participation, funding, data access, or collaboration? Get in touch.
Get in touchGet involved or stay informed
The initiative is in early development and welcomes conversations with cohort leaders, researchers, funders, and collaborators.