Veronika Odintsova

Short CV

Research

Dr. Veronika Odintsova, MD, PhD, is a public health scientist and human geneticist specializing in twin research, epigenetics, and early child development. She leads studies on prenatal and perinatal outcomes in multiples, including the ongoing KNAW Ter Meulen 2025 project “Twins and Multiples in Belgium and The Netherlands: How Secular Trends in Birthweight and Gestational Age Shape Pediatric Health (1964–2024)” in collaboration with Ghent University, Belgium. Her research focuses on assisted reproductive technologies, prenatal nutrition, epigenetic age in children, and twinning-related birth outcomes, framed within the “first 1000 days of life” and the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) paradigm.

She is advancing cellular models using a monozygotic discordant twin approach to uncover mechanisms underlying early developmental influences.

Her work has been recognized with awards such as the Galton Prize (ISTS, 2024), Nature Portfolio nomination “Science in Shorts,” and she serves as guest editor for the 2025 Special Issue of Twin Research and Human Genetics titled “Twin Registries in the Era of Biobanks and Register-Based Research.”

Highlighted Publications

Odintsova, V., Willemsen, G., Dolan, CV., Hottenga, JJ., Martin, NG., Slagboom, PE., Ordonana, R., Boomsma, DI. (2018). Establishing a twin register: an invaluable resource for (behavior) genetic, epidemiological, biomarker and «omics» studies. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 21(3): 239-252. https://doi.org/10.1017/thg.2018.23

Odintsova, V., Suderman, M., Hagenbeek, F., Caramaschi, D., Hottenga, J.J., Pool, R., BIOS consortium, Dolan, C.V., Ligthart, L., van Beijsterveld, C.E.M., Willemsen, G., de Geus, E.J.C., Beck, J.J., Ehli, E.A., Cuellar-Partida, G., Evans, D.M., Medland, S.E., Relton, C.L., Boomsma, D.I., van Dongen, J. (2022) DNA methylation in peripheric tissues and left-handedness. Scientific Reports 12, 5606. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-08998-0

Odintsova, V. V., Hagenbeek, F. A., Suderman, M., Caramaschi, D., van Beijsterveldt, C., Kallsen, N. A., Ehli, E. A., Davies, G. E., Sukhikh, G. T., Fanos, V., Relton, C., Bartels, M., Boomsma, D. I., & van Dongen, J. (2019). DNA Methylation Signatures of Breastfeeding in Buccal Cells Collected in Mid-Childhood. Nutrients, 11(11), 2804. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11112804

Hagenbeek, F.A., Hirzinger, J.S., Breunig, S., Bruins, S., Kuznetsov, D. V., Schut, K., Odintsova, V., Boomsma, D. (2023) Maximizing the value of twin studies in health and behaviour. Nature Human Behavior 7, 849–860. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-023-01609-6

van Dongen, J, Gordon, SD, McRae, AF, Odintsova, VV, Mbarek, H, Breeze, CE, Sugden, K, Lundgren, S, Castillo-Fernandez, JE, Hannon, E, Moffitt, TE, Hagenbeek, FA, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Hottenga, JJ, Tsai, PC; BIOS Consortium; Genetics of DNA Methylation Consortium; Min, JL, Hemani, G, Ehli, EA, Paul, F, Stern, CD, Heijmans, BT, Slagboom, PE, Daxinger, L, van der Maarel, SM, de Geus, EJC, Willemsen, G, Montgomery, GW, Reversade, B, Ollikainen, M, Kaprio, J, Spector, TD, Bell, JT, Mill, J, Caspi, A, Martin, NG, Boomsma, DI. (2021). Identical twins carry a persistent epigenetic signature of early genome programming. Nature Communications, 12(1), 5618. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25583-7

Odintsova, VV, Rebattu, V, Hagenbeek, FA, Pool, R, Beck, JJ, Ehli, EA, van Beijsterveldt, CEM, Ligthart, L, Willemsen, G, de Geus, EJC, Hottenga, JJ, Boomsma, DI, van Dongen, J. (2021) Predicting Complex Traits and Exposures From Polygenic Scores and Blood and Buccal DNA Methylation Profiles. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 12:688464. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.688464

Odintsova, V.V. , Roetman, P.J , Pool, R., Ip, H. F., Van der Laan, C.M., Tona, D.K., Vermeiren, R.R.J.M., Boomsma, D. I. (2019) Genomics of human aggression: current state of genome-wide studies and an automated systematic review tool. Psychiatric Genetics. Oct;29(5):170-190. https://doi.org/10.1097/YPG.0000000000000239 

See full list of publications https://research.vu.nl/en/persons/veronika-odintsova