Elise Valdes, a PhD student in the School of Aging Studies, was invited to do research at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. Elise is learning more about the Swedish Twin Registry as part of the USF Education Abroad Program. Elise states in her blog that studying twins is a great way to explore neurodegenerative disorders that are associated with older age such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease because you can account for the impact of genetics allowing for a more clear investigation of environmental and potentially modifiable risk factors.