Peter M. Vallone received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1999.  Afterwards, he was awarded an NRC postdoctoral fellowship that brought him to the Biotechnology Division at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).  Over the last 24 years at NIST, Dr. Vallone has developed multiplex PCR assays for the detection of genetic variation, developed methods for the rapid amplification of STR loci, and has been involved in the development and characterization of nucleic acid-based reference materials. As the leader of the Applied Genetics Group at NIST since 2013 Dr. Vallone works with a team of researchers producing DNA reference materials, assessing emerging techniques such as next-generation sequencing and digital PCR.  The group’s efforts provide research and training that supports the forensic DNA typing community.  Dr. Vallone is an author on over 90 peer-reviewed articles in the areas of DNA thermodynamics, human identity testing, and clinical DNA standards. Over his career at NIST, Dr. Vallone has been awarded the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) Gold Medal three times as well the DOC Silver Medal. He is also a member of the International Society for Forensic Genetics and acts as an associate editor for the journal: Forensic Science International (FSI) Genetics.