There’s automated forensic DNA extraction. And then there’s true walk-away automation.
At ISHI 2026, Thermo Fisher Scientific will unveil the new Applied Biosystems™ PrepStudio™ Express DNA Extraction System—a benchtop system designed to bring true walk-away automation to forensic DNA sample preparation.
Designed to fully automate lysis and DNA purification for forensic casework and sexual assault samples, including differential extraction, the PrepStudio Express is built around a remarkably simple experience: Load your samples. Start the run. Walk away.
Be among the first to see the PrepStudio Express System in action at ISHI Booth 214.
Tackling one of forensic DNA’s toughest workflows
Mixed casework samples continue to present significant challenges for forensic DNA laboratories, and those challenges begin well before interpretation.
Sexual assault samples are a particularly important example. Differential extraction has traditionally required multiple manual processing steps to separate cellular fractions before downstream DNA analysis.
PrepStudio Express brings full automation to this challenging workflow, including on-deck lysis, separation and purification of sexual assault samples.
But don’t just take our word for it.
Visit Thermo Fisher Scientific Booth 214 for the unveiling of PrepStudio Express and experience what “Load. Start. Walk away.” means for forensic DNA sample preparation.
Then go behind the innovation at our ISHI 2026 Vendor Showcase, where we’ll explore advances to address the challenge of DNA mixtures – from differential extraction through probabilistic genotyping and interpretation.
Innovation that matters for real forensic casework
At our ISHI 2026 Vendor Showcase, Erin Hanson, PhD, of the National Center for Forensic Science (NCFS) at the University of Central Florida, will share data from testing and evaluation of the new PrepStudio Express system. This includes results from multiple challenging forensic casework sample types – not only sexual assault, but also environmentally compromised, low input, hair and touch samples.
Because sample preparation is only the beginning
Once DNA is recovered and analyzed, another challenge begins: interpretation.
Renowned forensic geneticist Bruce Budowle, PhD, will take the conversation downstream with a thought-provoking exploration of probabilistic genotyping beyond the likelihood ratio.
He’ll examine contributor number, conditioning, model assumptions, and an element technology can never remove from the equation: the critical role of analyst review and scientific judgment in interpretation and reporting.
Together, the presentations will examine an important question for today’s forensic DNA laboratories:
How can innovations across sample preparation, differential extraction, and probabilistic genotyping help laboratories address challenging DNA mixtures from sample to interpretation?
See what’s next in forensic DNA analysis at ISHI 2026