These are the topics that will be discussed during the workshop:

1. Forensic DNA and RNA profiling;

2. An introduction to kinship analysis and applications for use;

3. Mitochondrial DNA as a lineage marker and to study population genetics;

4. An introduction to ancestry in forensics;

5. Statistics in population and forensic genetics.

 

If you wish to attend you can register online.

The Programme is now available.  

 

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The Keynote speakers are:

Prof. Denise Syndercombe Court

Denise is a scientist, academic, statistician, editor and author of medical and forensic textbooks and peer-reviewed scientific papers, with over thirty years’ experience giving evidence in court as a forensic geneticist. Previously a Senior Lecturer in Forensic Haematology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, she is now a Professor in Forensic Genetics at King’s College London. Her expertise relates to DNA analysis for identification, both analysis and interpretation and she specialises in the use of modern molecular biology techniques to provide kinship analysis and genetic intelligence, including age assessment, for use in civil and criminal justice. She is a member of many scientific bodies and heads an analytical laboratory in human identification as part of King’s Forensics, forming the UK arm of a European expert network in forensic genetics. As a member of the UK Home Office Biometrics and Forensic Ethics Group she also has an active interest in promoting an ethical view of science, and especially in the use of DNA in justice to a wide audience.

Prof. Michael Nothnagel 

Professor Michael Nothnagel has studied Mathematics and Biology and subsequently received his PhD in Statistical Genetics from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. He spent extended research visits at the Rockefeller University, New York, NY, and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA. He received his habilitation in Medical Statistics from the University of Kiel, Germany, and assumed his professorship for Statistical Genetics/Bioinformatics at the University of Cologne in 2012. Professor Michael Nothnagel's work covers a range of statistical aspects in the analysis of (mostly human) genetic data, including both methods development and application, based on sequence and genotype data. This includes topics in genetic epidemiology and applications to epilepsies, Dupuytren's diseases, and other diseases, population genetic studies of Europeans, Native South Americans, Iranians and collections of ancient DNA (aDNA) samples, and also statistical aspects in forensic genetics.

 

 

Ms Lena Ewers

Lena is reading for a PhD at the Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck. Lena studied forensics in Uppsala University and has been working in forensics and with Prof. Walther Parson for the past 5 years. She is a very skilled and motivated scientist and is gathering lots of experience in mitochondrial DNA forensic genetics. Lena is currently taking the lead in evaluating the collaborative EDNAP study on heteroplasmy detection and is Prof. Parson's ‘right-hand’ in an ongoing EU research project (SCORE) that deals with forensic mitochondrial DNA detection in single cells.

 

 

Mr Maximilian Neis

Maximilian Neis is a forensic scientist with over seven years of experience at the Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne, Germany, where he worked under the supervision of the late Prof. Peter M. Schneider for five years and has continued under Prof. Cornelius Courts for the past two. During this time, he developed extensive expertise in kinship analysis, forensic DNA/RNA methodologies, and trace analysis for criminal investigations. Currently finalising a PhD in Forensic Molecular Genetics at the University of Cologne, his research focuses on mRNA-based body fluid identification and contributor assignment using massively parallel sequencing (MPS/NGS) (More details). Known for his happiness, precision, and motivation, Maximilian believes in national— and especially international—collaboration to advance forensic molecular genetics.

Dr María de la Puente

Dr María de la Puente completed her PhD thesis at the Institute of Forensic Sciences of the University of Santiago de Compostela, focused on the development of forensic tools for ancestry prediction, analysis of DNA mixtures and individual identification, both in capillary electrophoresis and in massive parallel sequencing. During her postdoctoral studies at the Institute of Legal Medicine of the Medical University of Innsbruck, María focused on the developmental of forensic DNA intelligence tools and the research of microhaplotype markers. These markers constitute a new resource for forensic genetics, with advantages in identification and kinship, in the analysis of mixtures and degraded DNA. Currently, she is back in Santiago, collaborating with the routine of the Institute of Forensic Sciences and working on the implementation of third generation sequencing technologies in forensics and the validation of statistical models for mixture interpretation.