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BIT 495/595: DNA Forensics

Overview:

  • Students will be introduced to applications of next-generation sequencing (NGS) to human and non-human forensic evidence, along with steps for implementation into casework
  • Students will gain hands-on experience in generating and analyzing NGS data from mock-forensic cases

Lecture Topics:

  • Introduction to forensic science and evidence collection
  • Current DNA analysis approaches used in human & nonhuman DNA casework
  • Benefits of NGS to the analysis of forensic evidence
  • Current and novel applications of NGS to the analysis of human and non-human DNA evidence
  • Steps for validating NGS for casework
  • Ethics and legal implications of NGS in forensic science

Labs: 

  • Traditional human DNA forensic analysis
  • Mock case: Ancestry prediction for human investigative leads
  • Identifying variable mitochondrial regions for discrimination of wolves
  • Mock case: Fish metabarcoding – assessing seafood fraud/mis-labelling
  • Case report discussion on ethics and legal implications of genetic genealogy