Just Science Podcast
Special Release Episode | Just Forensic Genetic Genealogy and GEDmatch: Verogen’s Approach
In this Forensic Science Week special episode, Just Science interviews Brett Williams, the CEO of Verogen, about the GEDmatch database, how it can be used by law enforcement to perform forensic genealogy searches for investigative leads, and the short- and long-term plans Verogen has for the widely used database and related services.
Verogen is a spin-off of the Illumina corporation and has grown to be an innovator in the realm of forensic genomic technologies. Since their inception, Verogen has evolved from forensic applications to focus on biometrics-based human identification, as a whole. Following this vision, in December of 2019 Verogen acquired GEDmatch, a crowd-sourced database used by millions of genealogy enthusiasts to trace their family trees, but more recently it has been adopted by law enforcement to aid in cold case investigations.
Listen along with our guest host, Donia Slack, as she and Brett Williams discuss the impact that genetic genealogy and GEDmatch have had on the criminal justice system in this episode of Just Science. Check out the full episode HERE!
Digital Evidence
While the realm of digital evidence is still relatively new, it requires validation and testing like all forensic disciplines. Digital evidence is a dynamic discipline that can often provide greater insight into the investigation of a crime or the defense of the alleged perpetrator. In this season of Just Science, we will be covering the history and interpretation of digital evidence, emerging technologies used in investigation and as evidence, and the validation of digital forensic tools.
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Special Release Episode: Just Applied Leadership for Resiliency in CSIs
In this special release episode of Just Science, we sat down with Ashley Church and Erin West, founders of Gap Science, to discuss stress and resiliency in crime scene investigators.
Traumatic death investigation can have adverse, long-term effects on crime scene analysts. As Ashley Church and Erin West moved through their respective careers, they noticed a lack of training around protecting the psychological well-being of forensic scientists. Gap Forensics is working to fill this void in knowledge and address the challenges that investigators are experiencing every day. Listen along as our guests discuss compassion fatigue, the supervisor’s role in protecting their people, and the impact of violent crime scenes on forensic scientists in this episode of Just Science.
This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [Award 2016-MU-BX-K110].
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