Nick Martin is a pioneer in recognizing the need for large sample size to study the complex, heterogeneous and polygenic disorders of common mental disorders. In the predigital era, questionnaires were mailed to thousands of twin pairs around Australia. Always quick to adopt new technology, Nick’s studies progressed to phone interviews and then online. Moreover, Nick was early to recognize the value of collecting DNA samples. As genotyping technologies improved over the years, these twin and family cohorts were used for linkage, candidate gene and genome-wide association studies. These cohorts have underpinned many analyses to disentangle the complex web of genetic and lifestyle factors associated with mental health. With characteristic foresight, Nick is chief investigator of our Australian Genetics of Depression Study, which has recruited 16,000 people with self-reported depression (plus DNA samples) over a time frame of a few months — analyses are currently ongoing. The mantra of sample size, sample size, sample size has guided Nick’s research over the last 30 years and continues to do so.

中文翻译：

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尼克马丁和抑郁症的遗传学：样本量，样本量，样本量

Nick Martin 是认识到需要大样本量来研究常见精神障碍的复杂、异质和多基因障碍的先驱。在前数字时代，问卷被邮寄给澳大利亚各地的数千对双胞胎。尼克总是快速采用新技术，他的学习进展到电话采访，然后是在线。此外，尼克很早就认识到收集 DNA 样本的价值。随着基因分型技术多年来的改进，这些双胞胎和家庭队列被用于连锁、候选基因和全基因组关联研究。这些队列支持了许多分析，以解开与心理健康相关的遗传和生活方式因素的复杂网络。尼克具有独特的远见，是我们澳大利亚抑郁症遗传学研究的首席研究员，该研究招募了 16 名，在几个月的时间范围内，有 000 名自我报告的抑郁症患者（加上 DNA 样本）——目前正在进行分析。样本量、样本量、样本量的口头禅在过去 30 年中指导了尼克的研究，并将继续这样做。