MSU Twin Registry Receives Inaugural Shared Research Infrastructure Award

January 21, 2025 - Shelly DeJong

The MSU Twin Registry is co-directed by Dr. Kelly Klump and Dr. S. Alexandra Burt in the Department of Psychology in the College of Social Science. Congratulations to the Michigan State University Twin Registry for receiving one of the inaugural Shared Research Infrastructure Program Awards from the Office of Research and Innovation at MSU. These awards support investments in specialized research infrastructure that support and advance cutting-edge research at MSU.

This award allows for the expansion of the MSU Twin Registry, which is a large-scale, population-based registry of twins and their families, designed to facilitate both immediate research and long-term subject recruitment. The MSU Twin Registry is co-directed by MSU Foundation Professor Kelly Klump and SSC Diamond Distinguished Professor S. Alexandra Burt in the Department of Psychology in the College of Social Science.

By continuously gathering health, behavioral, and environmental data on thousands of twins, the MSU Twin Registry enables MSU faculty and outside collaborators to efficiently identify and recruit participants for new projects, especially for low-prevalence conditions that are otherwise difficult to study.

This resource has already supported over a dozen research groups on and off campus, generated over 200 publications and helped secure 48 funded grants totaling more than $46 million. The MSU Twin Registry will continue to serve as a unique, cost-effective platform that fosters innovative research, strengthens grant competitiveness, and enhances MSU’s reputation as a leader in understanding the biological and environmental factors that shape human health and development.

"We are so grateful to the Office of Research and Innovation for recognizing the MSU Twin Registry with this award. We are eager to have an even broader impact on individual and public health,” said Dr. Burt.

The Office of Research and Innovation has been conducting a comprehensive review of campus research infrastructure, which included a call for proposals for the new Shared Research Infrastructure Program (SRIP). The SRIP program was created to advance MSU’s research priorities by making strategic investment decisions that best enable cutting-edge research. It will be funded through existing budget allocations to OR&I made possible through the generosity of the MSU Research Foundation.

“To advance our research infrastructure, we need to understand where investment opportunities are and the SRIP program allows us to do just that. We want to have the maximum impact for as many researchers and students as we can to continue advancing innovative research for the long term at MSU. From geography to health to engineering, this first round of SRIP awards will impact a broad range of researchers on campus,” said Kay Connelly, Associate VP for Research.

A full list of recipients can be found on the Office of Research and Innovation website.