Under the Microscope – Sylvain Hubac
On February 24th, 2022, Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, launched a special military operation leading to the invasion of Ukraine in the direction of the capital, Kyiv. By the end of February, Russian forces have taken the city of Bucha located in the suburbs of Kyiv and occupied the field for a month. […]
Under the Microscope – Cheryl Carreiro and Sevasti Papakanakis
The CT Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) Division of Scientific Services (DSS) Forensic Laboratory has successfully established a Rapid DNA Law Enforcement program for crime scene samples. Rapid DNA technology delivers lab-quality DNA profiles and database matches in ninety (90) minutes, as opposed to weeks or months when submitted to the laboratory […]
Meet ISHI Exhibitors: Parabon NanoLabs
Travis sits down with CeCe Moore, Chief Genetic Genealogist at Parabon NanoLabs. They discuss her first speaking engagement at ISHI in 2014 when she introduced the power of genetic genealogy to a law enforcement audience. CeCe shares how the partnership was formed with Parabon NanoLabs and the number of successes they’ve had on previously […]
Under the Microscope – Nathan Scudder
Forensic/Investigative Genetic Genealogy (F/IGG) offers a powerful yet evolving capability for human identification, with its use by law enforcement having far-reaching implications for the criminal justice system internationally. While forensic genetics and law enforcement intelligence/investigations have developed their own best practice guidelines and, in some cases, standards and oversight, these still have to be developed […]
Under the Microscope – Tim Kalafut
In his presentation at ISHI 33 this year, Tim Kalafut will describe an interlaboratory DNA interpretation experiment using data from eight forensic biology laboratories and the probabilistic genotyping system STRmix™. Each laboratory contributed twenty mixtures of two to four contributors from their validation studies along with their STRmix™ parameters including STRmix™ kit files and stutters. […]
Simplifying Statistics in Forensic DNA: An Interview with Mike Coble
In this interview, Travis talks with Mike Coble, Associate Professor and the Associate Director of the Center for Human Identification at the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Mike has attended ISHI since 1998 and has been sharing his knowledge on probabilistic genotyping and statistics with attendees as a presenter. […]
Unearthing History: How Forensic Analysis of a Racial Massacre is Bringing Closure to a Community 100 Years Later
Today’s blog is written by guest blogger Jordan Nutting, Promega. Reposted from The ISHI Report with permission. On October 19, 2020, in a corner of what was once the African American section of the Potter’s Field in Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery, a backhoe begins scraping away layer after layer of red Oklahoma earth. Workers in […]
Leading the Lab: Working in a Senior Position in Forensic Science
While all leadership roles come with their own unique challenges, those in management roles in the forensic biology field face the difficult task of reducing backlogs, maintaining quality assurance standards, applying for grant funding, and keeping their staff current on training while addressing current caseload requirements and bringing on the latest technologies. Less than 10% […]
Debunking Myths Surrounding Law Enforcement’s Use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy
In 2018, a new technique named Joseph DeAngelo as the Golden State Killer when a small team of investigators uploaded his DNA profile into a publicly available DNA database to reverse engineer his identity based on familial relations. As a part of his 19-year career with the FBI, from 2018 to 2021, former SA […]
