Leading American twin researcher and author, Dr Nancy Segal, is in Australia this month as a guest of the ATR. She tells us how she came to devote her life to studying twins, especially twins raised apart.

"I am a fraternal twin and was always fascinated by the differences between my sister and me. I then wrote a college paper on twins and enjoyed the research so much."

So began Dr Nancy Segal's life-long interest in twin research.

Today Dr Segal is a Professor of Psychology at California State University and Director of the Twin Studies Center that she founded in 1991.

She has authored more than 200 scientific articles but is probably best known for her awarding-winning books about twin lives including her latest: Born Together – Reared Apart.

Earlier this year, she helped to reunite the longest-separated twins on record - fraternal twins who had been apart for 78 years, living in the UK and USA respectively.

"Twins who have been reared apart present a fascinating natural experiment, since they share genes but differ in environment, allowing researchers to identify how much of our behavior and physical traits are guided by each factor."

She will be sharing her findings on twins raised apart and what they tell us about human behavior as the keynote speaker at this month's ATR-hosted conference, Healthier Kids: Insights from twin research.

Next she is planning to study more twins raised apart from different countries. So if you have a story to tell, Dr Segal would love to hear from you!

Register here to attend Dr Segal's keynote address at the Healthier Kids Conference. But hurry as places are limited.