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Research & Innovation

The Twins Early Development Study (TEDS)

The Twin Early Development Study (TEDS) is one of the leading large-scale twin studies in the world. Starting in 1994, it has followed twins born in England and Wales throughout their childhood and adolescence and has now continued into early adulthood. Over 16,000 pairs of twins originally signed up for the study and more than 10,000 families remain involved to the present day. TEDS' main goal is to gain better insights into the roles of genes and environment in shaping who we are. The study is headed by Professor Robert Plomin, who is ranked among the 100 most influential psychologists. An overview of the project can be found here.

The twins and their families help our research by completing questionnaires and taking part in interviews about different environmental and individual factors that might have been influencing them throughout their lives. We have also collected DNA samples from 12,500 twins and are using them together with the rest of the data to better understand how genes affect abilities and behaviours. A parallel study has also been launched, The Children of TEDS, or CoTEDS, which collects data from the children of our now grown-up original cohort of twins to establish how different behaviours and traits are passed down through generations. We hope that our scientific contributions will help families, teachers, policy makers and individuals themselves better understand the challenges we face when we grow up and how to deal with them in a more effective way.

Members

Andrea Allegrini

Research student

Shannon Bristow

Shannon Bristow

Research Associate

Rosa Cheesman

Research student

Thalia Eley

Professor of Developmental Behavioural Genetics

Laurie Hannigan

Laurie Hannigan

Alumnus

Radhika Kandaswamy

Radhika Kandaswamy

Research Associate

Andrew McMillan

Data Manager

Damien Morris

Research student

Rachel Ogden

Coordinator

Amy Packer

Research Assistant

Robert Plomin

Professor of Behavioural Genetics

Kaili Rimfeld

Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellow

MacIej Trzaskowski

MacIej Trzaskowski

Alumnus

Monika Waszczuk

Monika Waszczuk

Alumna

Louise Webster

Research Administrator

Children of TEDS (CoTEDS) Study

The aim of this project is to explore the origins of the development of emotional disorders.

The Twin Early Development Study (TEDS)

Find out more on the TEDS website

CoTEDS Thumbnail 17-10-17

The Children of TEDS Study (CoTEDS)

A parallel study has also been launched, headed by Dr Tom McAdams.

You can find out more about the CoTEDS Study here

The Children of TEDS (CoTEDS) Study website

Does private education make nicer people? The influence of school type on social-emotional development
Stumm, S. & Plomin, R., 25 Jun 2020, In : British Journal of Psychology. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12462
Preschool Verbal and Nonverbal Ability Mediate the Association Between Socioeconomic Status and School Performance
Stumm, S., Rimfeld, K., Dale, P. S. & Plomin, R., 1 May 2020, In : Child Development. 91, 3, p. 705-714 Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.v91.3
School quality ratings are weak predictors of students' achievement and well-being: Ofsted ratings and student outcomes
Von Stumm, S., Smith-woolley, E., Cheesman, R., Pingault, J., Asbury, K., Dale, P. S., Allen, R., Kovas, Y. & Plomin, R., 4 Jun 2020, In : Journal of child psychology and psychiatry. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13276
School quality ratings are weak predictors of students' achievement and wellbeing
Von Stumm, S., Smith-Woolley, E., Cheesman, R., Pingault, J-B., Asbury, K., Dale, P., Allen, R., Kovas, Y. & Plomin, R., 6 May 2020, In : Journal of child psychology and psychiatry. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article
Evidence for a unitary structure of spatial cognition beyond general intelligence
Malanchini, M., Rimfeld, K., Shakeshaft, N. & Plomin, R., 20 Apr 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : npj Science of Learning. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article
Genetic Associations between Childhood Psychopathology and Adult Depression and Associated Traits in 42998 Individuals: A Meta-Analysis
Akingbuwa, W. A., Hammerschlag, A. R., Jami, E. S., Allegrini, A. G., Karhunen, V., Sallis, H., Ask, H., Askeland, R. B., Baselmans, B., Diemer, E., Hagenbeek, F. A., Havdahl, A., Hottenga, J. J., Mbarek, H., Rivadeneira, F., Tesli, M., Van Beijsterveldt, C., Breen, G., Lewis, C. M., Thapar, A. & 15 others, Boomsma, D. I., Kuja-Halkola, R., Reichborn-Kjennerud, T., Magnus, P., Rimfeld, K., Ystrom, E., Jarvelin, M. R., Lichtenstein, P., Lundstrom, S., MunafÃ², M. R., Plomin, R., Tiemeier, H., Nivard, M. G., Bartels, M. & Middeldorp, C. M., 1 Jan 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : JAMA Psychiatry. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0527
Comparison of Adopted and Nonadopted Individuals Reveals Gene-Environment Interplay for Education in the UK Biobank
Cheesman, R., Hunjan, A., Coleman, J. R. I., Ahmadzadeh, Y., Plomin, R., McAdams, T. A., Eley, T. C. & Breen, G., 1 Jan 2020, (Accepted/In press) In : Psychological Science. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620904450
Monozygotic twin differences in school performance are stable and systematic
von Stumm, S. & Plomin, R., Nov 2018, In : Developmental Science. 21, 6, e12694. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12694
Harmonizing behavioral outcomes across studies, raters, and countries: application to the genetic analysis of aggression in the ACTION Consortium
Luningham, J. M., Hendriks, A. M., Krapohl, E., Fung Ip, H., van Beijsterveldt, C. E. M., LundstrÃ¶m, S., Vuoksimaa, E., Korhonen, T., Lichtenstein, P., Plomin, R., Pulkkinen, L., Rose, R. J., Kaprio, J., Bartels, M., Boomsma, D. I. & Lubke, G. H., 1 Jan 2020, In : Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines. Research output: Contribution to journal - Article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13188
Cognitive ability and education: How behavioural genetic research has advanced our knowledge and understanding of their association
Malanchini, M., Rimfeld, K., Allegrini, A. G., Ritchie, S. J. & Plomin, R., 1 Apr 2020, In : Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 111, p. 229-245 17 p. Research output: Contribution to journal - Review article. DOIs: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.01.016

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Contact us

teds-project@kcl.ac.uk

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