Ally Avery

The pervasive, damaging nature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) presents enormous clinical challenges. Understanding the relationship between patients’ perceptions of PTSD symptoms and resilient coping strategies may prompt investigation of clinical interventions that improve adaptive, resilient coping skills. In this study, we examined whether changes in resilient coping were related to changes over time in […]

This survey is being sent to parents of twins age 13 and younger. This survey will examine how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting families.

The purpose of this survey study is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding social restrictions in place on the daily life and feelings of WSTR twin pairs. Given the widespread statewide social restrictions put in place, it is possible that people’s perceptions and normal interactions within their neighborhoods may have changed. […]

Purpose of the study In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding social restrictions to society, we followed up with a sample of our participants to see how they are impacted by the recent events. We would like to thank the WSTR twins for their participation and continued support of the […]

In our recent COVID-19 survey, we asked participants several questions about their exposure to the COVID-19 virus. Most participants reported not having been diagnosed with COVID-19, with very few participants reported having household and/or family members diagnosed with COVID-19. However, 42.69% participants reported knowing at least one friend (and/or classmate) who was diagnosed with COVID-19. More […]

Using a twin study design, we explored the extent to which affectionate communication is a heritable behavioral trait. Participants (N = 928) were 464 adult twin pairs (229 monozygotic, 235 dizygotic) who provided data on their affectionate communication behaviors. Through ACE modeling, we determined that approximately 45% of the variance in trait expressed affectionate communication is heritable, whereas 21% […]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many social restrictions have been put in place in the hopes to slow down the spread of the virus. As a result, many of us have had to make changes in our daily lives accordingly. We examined whether self-perceived change in the amount of physical activity and sleep is […]

We were interested in examining the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic affects mental health. Participants were asked to respond to a number of survey items designed to assess depression, stress, and anxiety.

Background: There has been increased interest in the interplay of genetic and environmental factors in the development of problematic alcohol use, including socioeconomic conditions of the neighborhood. Using a co-twin design, we examined the extent to which contributions of genetic, shared environmental, and unique environmental influences on hazardous drinking differed according to levels of neighborhood […]

This research study is being done to examine the impact of COVID-19 on daily activities such as sleep and physical activity. In addition to the risk of COVID-19 infection, statewide restrictions such as stay-at-home orders have resulted in drastic impacts to people’s daily lives. We will collect one week of data 10 times over a […]

In March 2020 we developed a survey to collect information about COVID-19 from all adult members enrolled in the Washington State Twin Registry. The first survey completed is the baseline survey, and a follow-up survey will be sent out beginning in April 2020.

Purpose of the study In light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding social restrictions to society, we aimed to examine the extent to which participants in WSTR are impacted by the recent events. Here is a brief summary of selected results. We would also like to thank the WSTR twins for […]

Asthma is the most prevalent chronic lung inflammatory disorder characterized by reversible airflow obstruction, affecting 358 million people worldwide, with aggravating factors like obesity, attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder, socioeconomic status like poor healthcare affordability and facility, smoking and alcohol intake. RNA sequencing (RNA‐seq) in atopic asthma, childhood asthma and adult‐onset severe asthma has improved our understanding of cellular and […]

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and insomnia are comorbid clinical conditions that are thought to result from genetic and environmental effects. Though studies have established the heritability of these disorders independently, no study to date has examined the genetic contributions to the relation between insomnia and PTSD symptoms (PTSS). The present study assessed this gap in […]

Background and objectives: The purpose of this project is to evaluate the association between twin sex discordance and menstrual characteristics. We hypothesize that sharing the uterus with a male twin can change ovulation programming, hence changing the menstrual cycle characteristics during adulthood. This project could be novel in discovering new physiological mechanisms of hormone exposure […]

The closest airport to Everett Community College is the Paine Field airport, which is about 10 miles south. SeaTac International Airport is 46 miles south of Everett Community College. There are several hotels within a 10-minute drive of Everett Community College. Closest hotel: Red Lion Inn & Suites, only a 10-minute walk Near the waterfront: […]

The contact information update form sent out during the 2018 thank you mailing received many responses from twins indicating that they wanted an event where they could meet other twins and learn about research being done by the WSTR. On June 19, 2019 we held the first Twins Get Together event at WSU Everett. 47 […]

Aging is intimately linked to system-wide metabolic changes that can be captured in blood. Understanding biological processes of aging in humans could help maintain a healthy aging trajectory and promote longevity. We performed untargeted plasma metabolomics quantifying 770 metabolites on a cross-sectional cohort of 268 healthy individuals including 125 twin pairs covering human lifespan (from […]

Not only is it the end of 2019, it’s also the end of a decade of incredible growth for the Washington State Twin Registry (formerly the University of Washington Twin Registry). Below we summarize some highlights of the past 10 years, as well as the past year. Have you participated in one of our studies? […]

DNA methylation plays an important role in major depressive disorder (MDD), but the specific genes and genomic regions associated with MDD remain largely unknown. Here we conducted genome-wide profiling of DNA methylation (Infinium MethylationEPIC BeadChip) and gene expression (RNA-seq) in peripheral blood monocytes from 79 monozygotic twin pairs (mean age 38.2 ± 15.6 years) discordant on lifetime […]