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Mix & match: Getting comfortable with DNA reporting
M.W. Perlin, "Mix & match: Getting comfortable with DNA reporting", Duquesne University Forensic Fridays, Pittsburgh, PA, 16-Oct-2015.
Talk
PowerPoint presentation with live audio of Dr. Perlin's talk.
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Abstract
Juries regularly hear DNA testimony about TrueAllele® match statistics on complex DNA evidence. This talk shows how to explain TrueAllele in court, using demonstrative aids and a case report. The aids introduce DNA mixtures and their STR data, describe how the computer separates mixture data into genotypes, and show how comparing genotypes calculates a match statistic.
The running case example is People of New York v. Casey Wilson, a serial rape trial from September, 2014 in Elmira, NY. In that case, TrueAllele separated a DNA mixture from a purple glove into three components, providing match information. By connecting the victim, elimination, and defendant all to one item, the glove mixture supported the prosecutor's theory of the case.
Announcement
Duquesne University will be offering a Forensic Friday CLE and professional education seminar on Friday, October 16th, 2015 from 1:00 - 4:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh, PA on "What’s in a 'Match'?: How to Read a Forensic DNA Report".
Although long known as the "gold standard" of forensic identification, DNA analysis is actually far more complicated than it seems. When experts speak of finding a "match," what exactly does that mean? Is the likelihood a billion to one? A million? How do we know? And does it really matter?
Please join Sara Bitner, forensic biology manager/technical leader at the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office; Dr. Mark Perlin, CEO and chief scientific officer of Cybergenetics; and Arthur Young, a forensic biology specialist at Guardian Forensic Sciences, for this highly practical examination of the statistical underpinnings of forensic DNA analysis.