Technology Opportunities

Efficient forensic identification method

Highlights

• New method to establish the presence or absence of an individual’s DNA in a mixture of DNA (such as found at the scene of a crime) comprising up to ten individuals
• There is no current efficient method for identifying individuals in DNA mixtures containing more than two contributors.
• The new method is highly accurate under a wide range of actual forensic conditions, meeting court admissible standards.

Specific advantages:

• Efficiently allows the exclusion of relatives, preventing from the defence to claim that the suspect’s relative is represented in the mixture.
• Does not requires accurate allele frequency data for an appropriate reference population, which might not be available.
• Does not require accurate estimates of allele frequencies in the DNA mixture, only a robust estimation about the presence or absence of each allele.

Our Innovation

Genotyping a specially designed panel of 1,000-10,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), each with a relatively low (<0.1) minor allele frequency (MAF). Any individual will carry a specific set of dozens of rare alleles and the DNA mixture will carry this particular set only if the one individual is represented in the DNA mixture – the individual signature in the DNA mixture.

Key Features

• Robust (the technology tests for presence or absence of alleles, it does not estimate allele frequencies), cost-effective method
• Specifically designed for forensic work, which requires the highest statistical standards
• Can accurately identify the number of individuals in the mixture – not possible with any current method

Development Milestones

• Theoretical framework developed and published in FSI:Genetics.
• An NIJ funded project has been completed (manuscript under revision) proving that the theoretical framework can be efficiently implemented in a laboratory setting.
• Seeking company in the industry to develop and commercialize product

The Opportunity

• May be used in forensic laboratories to identify suspects at the scene of a crime
• May be used in identification of individuals in mass disasters