Director: Glen Duncan, PhD

glen.duncan@wsu.edu, 509-358-7875

Dr. Duncan’s academic training is in physical education (BS, 1992, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania) and exercise physiology (MS, 1994, Ball State University; PhD, 1997, University of Tennessee). Following graduate school, he completed postdoctoral research training (1998-2002) and then joined the faculty at the University of Florida (2002-2003), both in the Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. He joined the Core Faculty of the Nutritional Sciences Program, Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington in July 2003. In June 2015, he accepted a position as Professor in the newly established Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, and Chair of the Nutrition and Exercise Physiology program at Washington State University – Health Sciences Spokane, where the Washington State Twin Registry is administratively housed. His major focus is related to macro-level influences (built environment, social environment, policies) on physical activity, nutrition, and chronic disease within an ecological framework.

Assistant Director: Elizabeth Blue, PhD

em27@uw.edu, 206-685-4666

Dr. Blue studied Economics and Anthropology at Indiana University (BS, 2003), and Anthropology at the University of Utah (MS, 2005; Ph.D., 2008). Her graduate work focused on the principles of evolutionary and population genetics. She pursued training in statistical genetics as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington (2008). She joined the faculty at the University of Washington in the Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Genetics (2011). She has been the chair of the Young Investigators committee of the International Genetic Epidemiology Society since 2013, joined the Statistical Genetics Program faculty in 2014, and the Institute of Public Health Genomics faculty in 2015. Dr. Blue’s research focuses on identifying genetic variants influencing complex traits, such as Alzheimer Disease and autism spectrum disorder. Her recent work has delved into the complexities of Mendelian traits as well, including oculocutaneous albinism, familial idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and others.

Scientific Operations Manager: Ally Avery, MS

ally.avery@wsu.edu, 206-708-8605

Ms. Avery studied sociology at Western Washington University (BA, 2009) and received her Master of Science in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University (2016). She has experience with all aspects of twin studies, including grant, budget, and protocol development, building and maintaining study databases, data collection, and data analysis.