From Training to Trial: A Reflection on Nearly Three Years of Probabilistic Genotyping
This webinar covers the progress of probabilistic genotyping from training and implementation to casework results and courtroom experiences.
Summary
Forensic science is on the cusp of change across not only the United States but also the world as increasingly more laboratories transition to analyzing and reporting DNA mixtures as a likelihood ratio (LR) utilizing probabilistic genotyping software systems.
In this webinar, Alicia Casenas and Rachel Oefelein of DNA Labs International (DLI) will focus on two key topics, training and implementation as well as casework results and courtroom experiences including:
- The original training, validation and implementation of STRmix™ as well as the challenges and lessons learned with validation and implementation
Probabilistic genotyping to analyze mixtures that may have previously been reported as inconclusive - The effects of the implementation of STRmix™ software on DNA mixture analysis of profiles obtained from firearms, sexual assaults and other commonly mixed DNA samples
- The experiences encountered as these cases make their way through the court systems with adjustments to report writing, courtroom testimony and Daubert/Frye challenges
Speakers
Alicia Cadenas
Laboratory Supervisor/Technical Leader
DNA Lab International
Alicia Cadenas is currently the Laboratory Supervisor/Technical Leader at DNA Labs International (DLI). She received her MS in Forensic Science from Florida International University and her BS in Biology from Nova Southeastern University. Alicia previously worked at the Virginia Department of Forensic Science in the Forensic Biology section for over six years. She also participated in a research appointment at the FBI’s Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit as a Visiting Scientist. As Technical Leader, Alicia was involved in the validation and implementation of STRmix at DLI and has analyzed multiple casework samples since its inception.
Rachel Oefelein
Quality Assurance Manager/Senior DNA Analyst
DNA Lab International
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 five years and previously interned at Instytut Ekspertyz Sądowych, the Forensic Laboratory in Krakow, Poland. Her courtroom experience includes testimony in four Florida counties, two states and three countries including misdemeanor and felony trials as well as both Arthur and Daubert hearings. Rachel is actively involved in animal rescue, an avid traveler and enjoys golf and yoga in her free time.