NGS for Forensics Customer Videos

Forensic DNA Phenotyping for When the Case has Run Cold

Within the Forensic DNA community, the development of technology for Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP) is rapidly growing due to the unique intelligence it can provide for criminal investigations, missing persons cases and disaster victim identification. FDP involves the inference of an individual’s genetic ancestry (BGA) and of externally visible characteristics (EVCs), for example, eye, hair or skin color. Queensland Health Forensic DNA Analysis completed research which demonstrated that the use of Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) to predict BGA and EVCs would be operationally effective for criminal investigations to prioritize persons of interest (POI), utilizing the Ion Chef and Ion GeneStudio S5 Plus instruments.

Forensics in the Service of History – Implementing DNA into the Process of Identification of German Soldiers Fallen in World War II

A group of experts from Munich and Innsbruck, working with the Association for the Recovery of the Fallen in Eastern Europe, decided to utilize cutting-edge forensic techniques to help identify the killed soldiers. From golden standard STR typing with capillary electrophoresis to mitochondrial whole genome sequencing and forensic DNA phenotyping with Next Generation Sequencing – all methods are evaluated in their capacity to assist the process.

Massively Parallel Sequencing as an Investigative Tool

Luke Ryan, Queensland Health, Forensic, and Scientific Services, discusses the usefulness of biogeographical ancestry and externally visible traits using NGS for generating investigative leads in criminal casework.

Solving the unsolvable?

Dr. Marta Diepenbroek, Institute of Legal Medicine, Munich, describes her validation of the custom Molecular identi-kit, which combines ancestry-informative autosomal and Y-chromosomal SNPs with phenotype prediction.

Executive Director Soizic Le-Gunier discusses how Institute Genetics Nantes Atlantique (IGNA) uses the various technology options and how SNP genotyping will have an impact in the future.

Jennifer Churchill, PhD, Research Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas, provides guidance for bringing mtDNA analysis into casework operations.

Walther Parson, PhD, from the Institute of Legal Medicine, Innsbruck Medical University, discusses a number of cases his lab has worked on using mtDNA analysis to make critical identifications.

Dr. Pedro Barrio, a DNA expert with the National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences in Madrid, Spain, describes his experience working with mixtures using NGS to get more information from his samples.