Success Story: Maximizing the Use of Mitochondrial DNA in Identifying Remains and Aiding Missing Persons Casework

National Institute of Justice and the American Registry of Pathology Date April 2018 Overview Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) serves as an important tool in situations where traditional nuclear DNA analysis is unlikely to yield probative information. mtDNA sequencing has traditionally focused…

Success Story: NIST’s Dogs and Sensor Subcommittee Builds on Achievements by SWGDOG

National Institute of Justice and Florida International University Date April 2018 Overview Dog “detector teams” support law enforcement and first responders in a variety of applications ranging from drug and contraband interdiction to locating human remains. Dogs offer a useful…

Success Story: Forensic Epigenetics – Markers for the Identification of Body Fluids

National Institute of Justice and Florida International University Date February 2018 Overview The identification of body fluids recovered from crime scenes can provide valuable information to further aid investigations. The biological origin of body fluids can facilitate the identification of…

Rapid DNA Technology Forum

Report Date November 2017 Report Summary The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) hosted the Rapid DNA Technology Forum in Alexandria, VA on August 15–17, 2017. Rapid DNA technology has advanced quickly over the past several years, with the development…

Familial DNA: A series of reports released by the National Institute of Justice [2017]

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) published several reports related to Familial DNA in August 2017. The topics of these reports include Studies of Familial DNA Searching Policies and Practices-Case Studies, Studies of Familial DNA Searching Policies and Practices – National…

2016 TechBeat Articles Featuring the FTCoE

Sexual Assault Policy Symposium Issue: Nov/Dec 2016 Page: 16 Click here to read the article Forensics Training Tool Takes “Real World” Approach to Using New Technology Issue: Nov/Dec 2016 Pages: 13-15 Click here to read the article Road Map Leads to Increased Efficiency, Improved Function…

2015 TechBeat Articles Featuring the FTCoE

Gunshot Residue Analysis Featured in New ftcoe Report Series Issue: Sep/Oct 2015 Pages: 3-8 Click here to read the article Familial DNA Project: Engaging Stakeholders, Sharing Opinions Issue: May/Jun 2015 Pages: 13-14 Click here to read the article Cutting-Edge Vacuum Technology: Locates hard to find…

In-Brief: Applying Internal Validation Guidelines for Expanded STR Loci Kits

Report Date January 2017 Report Summary The familiar ‘13 Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) core loci’ expanded to ‘20 CODIS core loci’ as mandated by the FBI on January 1, 2017. Because of this FBI mandate, participating CODIS laboratories will need…

A Guidance Document on the Forensic Application of Massively Parallel Sequencing

Report Date December 2016 Purpose This report describes the fundamentals of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) for the application to forensic analysis. Also included within this report is a comprehensive summary of the webinar series which discussed the strength of the technology…

A Landscape Study of DNA Mixture Interpretation Software

Report Date October 2015 Purpose Practical applications and implementation strategies for adoption of a DNA mixture interpretation software tool to assist with the challenges of complex mixture interpretation and statistical analysis. Report Summary Due to the influx of complex mixture…