RESEARCH SERVICES

Researchers who conduct studies with twins have a range of scientific interests and goals. For this reason, the MATR offers a variety of services to accommodate studies and meet researchers’ scientific needs. We aim to provide excellent collaborative services for our research partners.

Below is a chart that describes services provided by the MATR. For more information on how to access the MATR please see Research Guidelines. 

Service Description or Methods
Data Collection

The MATR conducts large-scale data collection efforts utilizing several survey methods, including:

Online - Twins are contacted by email with a link to their online survey or by mail with a QR code for the survey

Phone - Trained research interviewers conduct interviews by phone using a computer-assisted telephone interview system (CATI)

Mailed - Twins are sent a paper survey to complete and return using a postage-free return envelope
Study recruitment Some research designs need twins to take part in more involved study activities, such as in-person interviews, tasks, lab tests, etc. For such designs, the MATR can carry out recruitment efforts for the study. The MATR team will introduce the study to the twins, conduct preliminary screening if needed, and ask permission for the researcher's team to contact them. Twins who agree can then be contacted by the study team for further enrollment. 
DNA Collection The MATR can collect DNA using a variety of methods, depending upon the scientific goals of the researcher.
Saliva- Collection of saliva samples by mail is the least intrusive method of DNA collection and therefore has high response rates.
Buccal/Cheek Cell Swab- Collection of cheek swabs is also a simple way of collecting DNA samples and can be carried our via mailed kits.
Blood- The MATR has several options for the collection of blood samples from our participants.

MATR newsletter advertisement

The MATR sends out biannual newsletters to the entire registry ad can include IRB-approved advertisements for twin studies. This allows twins to contact us if they are interested in participating.