Speakers

Michael Baird Ph.D

Michael L. Baird Ph.D. received his doctorate in genetics from the University of Chicago. He was a postdoctoral fellow for one year at the University of Michigan in the department of human genetics where he studied sickle cell anemia. He next joined Columbia University as a Research Associate in the department a human genetics and medicine […]

Jack Ballantyne

Dr. Jack Ballantyne is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and the Associate Director for Research at the National Center for Forensic Science in Orlando, Florida. He possesses a B.Sc. (with Honours) in Biochemistry from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, a M.Sc. in Forensic Science from the University of Strathclyde, […]

Charles Brenner

Charles Brenner is the author of the widely used DNA⋅VIEW software for DNA identification, and has published on various mathematical aspects of forensic DNA including the seminal 2006 Science article on familial searching Finding Criminals Through DNA of Their Relatives. Dr. Brenner graduated from Stanford and UCLA with degrees in mathematics. He is a Visiting […]

Jo-Anne Bright

Jo-Anne Bright is a Senior Science Leader within the Forensic Biology group at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR) New Zealand, where she has worked since 1999. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at Victoria University of Wellington in 1998 and Master of Science degree in Forensic Science at the University of Auckland […]

Michael Capuzzo

Michael Capuzzo is the author of the critically acclaimed New York Times bestseller, The Murder Room, the story of forensic psychologist and consulting detective Richard Walter, “the living Sherlock Holmes,” and the Vidocq Society of Philadelphia. The Murder Room was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, was shortlisted for the 2011 Gold Dagger […]

Michael Chamberlain

Mike Chamberlain is a Deputy Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the California Department of Justice. He has been a state prosecutor since 2002. Before joining the AG’s Office, he served as a Deputy District Attorney in San Diego and Contra Costa counties. Mike splits his time between litigation of felony appeals and serving […]

Abirami Chidambaram

Abirami Chidambaram received her Bachelor of Science degree in Botany (with ancillary Chemistry and Zoology). Additionally she has a Bachelor of Education degree with focus on Biology, Education of Exceptional Children and teaching English as a second language. She received her Ph.D. in Human Genetics from the Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, […]

Michael Coble

Dr. Michael Coble is a Forensic Biologist in the Applied Genetics Group at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Dr. Coble received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Appalachian State University, his Master’s Degree in Forensic Science and his Ph.D. in Genetics from the George Washington University. Prior to working at NIST, Dr. Coble was […]

Phillip Danielson

Professor Danielson, has over 24 years of experience in molecular analysis of biological samples. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Sturm College of Law (Denver, CO) and Fellow of the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (Willowgrove, PA). His experience includes both the review of forensic casework and research in forensic genetics […]

Marsha Deitz

Marsha Deitz has worked for AABB as the staff Lead Assessor for Relationship Testing since January 2010. Marsha is a Certified Quality Auditor with ASQ, a certified lead auditor for ISO/IEC 17025, a forensic scientist and licensed Medical Technologist. She completed her undergrad at California State University in Fullerton, CA and earned an MBA from […]

Toni Diegoli

Toni Diegoli is a Research Scientist within the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Defense Forensic Science Center. She completed her undergraduate degree at Harvard University, a M.F.S. at George Washington University and her PhD at Flinders University. Toni has been a part of the Office of the Chief Scientist at DFSC for over […]

Oskar Hansson

Oskar Hansson earned a Master of Science in Biology degree from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and is currently completing a Ph.D. at the University of Oslo. He is employed at Oslo University Hospital in the Section for Forensic Biology where he is a leader in the Unit for reporting officers and research. Oskar has a […]

Douglas Hares

Dr. Douglas Hares is the National DNA Index System Program Manager in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s CODIS Unit. He joined the DNA Analysis Unit II of the FBI Laboratory in 2000 as a Forensic Examiner. In 2006, Dr. Hares transferred to the CODIS Unit where he accepted his current position as NDIS Custodian. Dr. […]

Rockne Harmon

Rockne P. Harmon is currently employed as a consultant to numerous law enforcement agencies dealing with such issues as cold case investigation and other issues related to forensic DNA typing. He is currently an Instructor at U.C. Davis in the Masters in Forensic Science program. He retired in 2007 after a 33 year career as […]

Chuck Heurich

Chuck received his Bachelor of Science in Biology from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania and his Masters of Forensic Science from the George Washington University. He began his career in forensics by spending 3 years as a crime scene technician in Baltimore City where he processed over 2000 crime scenes. He then spent almost 12 […]

Amy Jeanguenat

Amy Jeanguenat has spent her career working in the private forensic industry supporting efforts world-wide to prevent and eliminate DNA backlogs, refine operational logistics, and provide quality and technical system support. As a former laboratory director and technical leader, she managed a staff of 100+ forensic DNA scientists completing over 14,000 cases and 80,000 database […]

Igor K. Lednev

Dr. Lednev earned a Ph.D, M.S., and B.S. from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russian Federation. His research is focused on the development and application of novel laser spectroscopy for biomedical and forensic purposes. Lednev served as an advisory member on the White House Subcommittee for Forensic Science. He is a Fellow and […]

David Kaye

David H. Kaye is Distinguished Professor of Law and a member of the graduate faculty in Forensic Science at the Pennsylvania State University as well as Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Law and Life Sciences, Arizona State University. He holds degrees in law (Yale University), astronomy (Harvard University), and physics (MIT). Professor Kaye’s publications include over […]

Pam King

Pam King was appointed to the bench in the 3rd Judicial District of Minnesota, in October 2015 and was elected in October 2016. Prior to being appointed to the bench, Ms. King worked full-time as an attorney for the Minnesota Public Defender. In this role, Ms. King handled cases involving complex litigation and/or forensic science. She consulted with […]

Kevin Legg

Dr. Kevin Legg earned a BS degree in Bioinformatics and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Denver. Dr. Legg’s dissertation research focused on applying comparative proteomics techniques to forensic serology. While in school, Dr. Legg was awarded several grants and awards including the Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Institute of Justice. […]

Amy McGuckian

Amy McGuckian received her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Siena College in Loudonville, New York and her Master of Science in Forensic Science from the George Washington University in Washington, DC. She is currently employed by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office where she has served as the Technical Leader of the Forensic Biology […]

CeCe Moore

CeCe Moore is an independent professional genetic genealogist who is considered an innovator in the use of DNA for genealogy. She currently works as the genetic genealogy consultant for two PBS television series, “Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” and “Genealogy Roadshow.” She is the co-founder of the Institute for Genetic Genealogy, an […]

Tamyra Moretti

Dr. Tamyra R. Moretti is currently the Supervisory Examiner for the DNA Support Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory. She earned her Ph.D. in Genetics from the George Washington University. From 1989 to 1996 she conducted research at the National Institutes of Health to identify genetic variants for linkage studies of disease susceptibility loci. […]

Erin Murphy

Erin Murphy’s research focuses on technology and forensic evidence in the criminal justice system. She is a nationally recognized expert in forensic DNA typing, and her work has been cited multiple times by the Supreme Court. Her new book, Inside the Cell: The Dark Side of Forensic DNA, was released in October 2015 (Nation Books). […]

Philip Nase

Philip Nase earned a BS, Biology and MS in Forensic Science and Law from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. He is employed as a Forensic Biologist at the Defense Forensic Science Center. Philip has been at DFSC/USACIL for 8 years, having served as a casework examiner for the majority of that time. He also spent 8 […]

Rachel Oefelein

Rachel Oefelein is currently the Quality Assurance Manager/Senior DNA Analyst at DNA Labs International (DLI). She received her MSc in Forensic Science from the University of Strathclyde, and her BS in Criminal Justice, with a Forensic Science Minor, from Loyola University of New Orleans. Rachel worked at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) for nearly […]

Karen Olson

Karen Olson attended the University of Wisconsin in La Crosse where she earned a BS in Chemistry. She completed a Ph.D in Biology at the University of California in San Diego. Ms. Olson is currently a Research Scientist: Envistacom contractor at the Defense Forensic Science Center. In this role she manages internal and external research […]

Michael Saunders

Captain Michael Saunders joined the Washington State Patrol in 1986, and currently serves as the Division Commander of the Office of Professional Standards. He has over 34 years of combined law enforcement experience, with 4 years military service and 30 years with the Washington State Patrol (WSP). As a State Trooper, Captain Saunders has worked […]

Sarah Seashols-Williams

Sarah Seashols-Williams earned a BS in Biology from The College of William & Mary, a MS in Criminal Justice from Virginia Commonwealth University and a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University where she is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forensic Science. Prior to her current position, she worked for 4 […]

Donald Siegel

Dr. Siegel received his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the Department of Neuroscience at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and did his postdoctoral work in molecular genetics at the Rockefeller University. He was on the faculty of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and New York Medical College. In 2007 he moved to the Molecular […]

Melissa Smrz

Melissa Smrz is currently a Staff Assessor for the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors – Laboratory Accreditation Board. She received her M.S. in Criminalistics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, a Certificate in Medical Technology from the University of Iowa, and her B.S. in Zoology from the University of Iowa. In the 1980’s, Melissa worked as a forensic serologist […]

Beccy Stafford-Allen

Beccy Stafford-Allen earned a MSc in Forensic Science from King’s College London and a BSc in Human Sciences from University College London. She is currently an Applications Scientist for the Para DNA Product Development Group at LGC. Beccy has been part of the ParaDNA group at LGC for almost 7 years, in which time she’s worked […]

Joel Sutton

Joel Daniel Sutton is the DNA Casework Technical Leader for the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory Defense Forensic Science Center. He received a B.S. in Biology and M.S. in Forensic Sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. A native Texan, Joel Sutton has over twenty years experience working in federal, state, and private DNA laboratories conducting forensic […]

Ulises Toscanini

Ulises Toscanini is the head of the laboratory PRICAI-FUNDACIÓN FAVALORO in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has been the President of the Spanish and Portuguese Speaking Working Group of the ISFG (GHEP-ISFG) since 2016 and will continue to be through 2018. He was a member of the Advisory Commission of the Forensic Laboratories Network, Ministry of Science, Technology […]

Charlotte Word

Charlotte Word is currently a consultant in Human DNA Identification testing. She joined Cellmark Diagnostics in Germantown, MD (later called Orchid Cellmark) in 1990 and over the 15 years she worked there had several titles, including Deputy Director and Senior Manager, Forensics and Laboratory Director. She has performed technical reviews on many 1000’s of cases […]