Dr Lucas Calais-Ferreira was appointed Director of Twins Research Australia, one of the largest volunteer-based twin registries for scientific research in the world, in November 2025. Lucas joined TRA in 2014 as a PhD Candidate. He is a Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. He is also affiliated with the Centre for Adolescent Health at the Royal Children’s Hospital & Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and the Justice Health Group at the enAble Institute, Curtin University. His research focuses on applying genetic epidemiology and data linkage methods to improve population health, with a focus on twin and family studies. Read more
Professor Jeff Craig is a Professor of Epigenetics and Cell Biology at Deakin University’s School of Medicine and a strong advocate for families with twins and multiples. He is Deputy Director of Twins Research Australia and Patron of the Australian Multiple Birth Association (AMBA) and previously served as President of the International Society for Twin Studies (ISTS). Trained in genetics in the UK, he has more than 20 years of research experience at Melbourne’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. His research focuses on how early-life experiences influence health over time, drawing on a long-running study of mothers and their twin children. Read more
Dr Sue Malta began her research career as a qualitative health researcher, joining CEB at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, the University of Melbourne in 2016, before becoming Manager/Researcher with TRA in 2019, Senior Manager/Researcher in 2021 and Deputy Director, Partnership Development, in December 2023. From 2021-2025, she was also the Program Manager of the My Breast Cancer Risk (MyBRISK) Centre of Research Excellence. Prior to joining TRA, she spent six years with the National Ageing Research Institute as Project Manager/Researcher and Stream Leader. Read more
Lynette Walker has been a Stakeholder Communications and Engagement Specialist with Twins Research Australia for over 10 years. She undertakes this role for a number of research centres within the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. Her responsibilities include the TRA website, eNews, news media, special events and working with the TRA team on study promotion and member engagement. She was appointed a TRA Deputy Director in 2023.
Jess Tyler is a Research Liaison and Project Manager at the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. She completed her Master of Public Health at the University of Melbourne, majoring in epidemiology and biostatistics. She has worked for Twins Research Australia, Generation Victoria and the Genetic Epidemiology Research Alliance in study coordination roles for seven years. She is passionate about enabling research and is drawn to large-scale data projects that focus on complex health conditions and interactions.
Alison Wright provides research project and administrative support to the team at Twins Research Australia, at the Centre for Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne. She completed her Bachelor of Applied Science in Human Biology at RMIT, and worked with University of Melbourne and University of New South Wales in research roles focusing on Gestational Diabetes and HIV Epidemiology, before taking time off to raise her family. She has worked for Twins Research for five years and is passionate about connecting Researchers with twins, who can help them to answer a myriad of health questions.
Alex Campbell is a PhD student at Melbourne University where he is studying the genetic epidemiology of mental illness and addiction. He started working as a research assistant at TRA with Lucas Calais Ferreira and John Hopper after his Master of Public Health. Alex uses large administrative datasets to make research more accurate, representative, and easier for twins to participate in. Alex hopes someday to have twins of his own.
