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21-Sep-2016
Cybergenetics President Ria David Receives Commendations from City Council and Governor Tom Wolf
Dr. Ria David is recognized on Women In Bio Day of P.O.W.E.R.
PITTSBURGH, PA, September 21, 2016
On September 20, 2016 Pittsburgh City Council declared the day to be "Women In Bio Day of P.O.W.E.R." in the City of Pittsburgh. They also recognized and honored Dr. Ria David, president and co-founder of Oakland-based Cybergenetics.
The Pittsburgh chapter of Women In Bio was launched in 2012. Yesterday, a 10 a.m. proclamation ceremony at Pittsburgh City Council celebrated their third annual P.O.W.E.R. (Pittsburgh’s Outstanding Women Entrepreneurs Rally) event, which focused on women using science and technology to prevent and prosecute sexual violence.
The Pittsburgh City Council proclamation states, "Twenty years ago, Dr. David and her husband, Dr. Mark Perlin, adapted their TrueAllele technology to automate STR DNA interpretation. This proprietary tool has been used many times to protect women from harm. Most notably, TrueAllele was used to convict, with statistical certainty, a Pittsburgh offender who committed a gruesome double-homicide."
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf also issued a commendation, stating, "Dr. David has been instrumental in developing new technologies that improve forensic science, helping to prosecute the guilty and exonerate the innocent."
In response, Dr. Ria David said, "I was most pleasantly surprised to receive these honors from the city of Pittsburgh and the state of Pennsylvania. I greatly appreciate the support of the Women in Bio organization and our elected government representatives."
Dr. David continued, "Better DNA science means better justice. Thank you to everyone at Cybergenetics, whose TrueAllele work helps protect women from violent crime."
Councilwoman Darlene Harris sponsored the Pittsburgh City Council proclamation ceremony.
Women In Bio’s P.O.W.E.R. event occurred at 6 p.m. in conjunction with Thrival Innovation and Music Festival. Dr. Ria David spoke on how Cybergenetics’ TrueAllele technology is being used to untangle DNA from multiple contributors and corroborate victims’ stories. She received the 2016 Pittsburgh Women In Bio P.O.W.E.R. award for her work in developing DNA technology used in sexual assault cases.
Other P.O.W.E.R. speakers included Janet Necessary, Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney; Jennifer Elliot, senior manager of forensic science applications group at Thermo Fisher Scientific; Elizabeth Miller, chief, division of adolescent and young adult medicine and professor of pediatrics at Children’s Hospital of UPMC; and Cara Jones, COO and co-founder of Marinus Analytics.
