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Cybergenetics October 2015 Newsletter
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Cybergenetics named a finalist for Pittsburgh Technology Council's "Tech50" Award |
The Pittsburgh Technology Council's Tech 50 Awards honor southwestern Pennsylvania's most successful and visionary technology companies. The awards represent transformative technology centers of excellence with tech companies at all stages of growth.
Cybergenetics has been named a finalist for the 2015 "Solution Provider of the Year".
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Interpret DNA evidence on the TrueAllele Cloud |
TrueAllele Casework objectively interprets complex DNA evidence. Starting from laboratory data, TrueAllele quickly separates mixtures to produce accurate match statistics. The technology resolves degraded and touch DNA, and mixtures with many contributors or relatives. TrueAllele routinely makes DNA identifications for police, prosecutors, defense lawyers, crime labs, and actual innocence.
The TrueAllele Cloud lets anyone test DNA evidence. Forensic scientists and students can learn about TrueAllele on the Cloud. Crime laboratories use the TrueAllele Cloud for validation, training, and extra computer capacity. Defense lawyers and experts can confirm TrueAllele case reports. To start testing DNA mixtures on the TrueAllele, please contact Lisa for a no cost trial.
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Dr. Susan
Greenspoon and her Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS) coauthors published a paper on "Establishing the limits of TrueAllele® Casework: a validation study." The Journal of Forensic Sciences
article assessed DNA mixtures containing up to four contributors, and measured TrueAllele sensitivity and specificity. The study also examined mixture weight accuracy, and the system's ability to exclude close relatives. According to the DFS authors, TrueAllele "demonstrated great accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity."
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Virginia man pleads guilty in two child sex abuse cases
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Former Falls Church political leader Michael Gardner
pleaded guilty to molesting young girls in two separate cases. He was on trial for molesting a twelve year old female relative in 2009, soon to be retried for molesting three girls at his daughter's slumber party in 2011. The trials ended when Gardner abruptly pleaded guilty to all charges. He will serve 20 years in prison.
Cybergenetics TrueAllele® Casework
linked Gardner's DNA to the girls clothing at the slumber party. TrueAllele
separated mixture evidence from underwear into genetic types that strongly matched both Gardner and his victim, implicating him in the crime. Dr. Mark Perlin
testified at the 2012 Arlington trial that led to Gardner's initial conviction and a 22 year sentence.
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TrueAllele helps convict Louisiana man of molesting young girl
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Cybergenetics Dr. Mark Perlin recently testified about a DNA mixture swabbed from the inside of a ten year old girl's training bra. TrueAllele computer processing had separated the mixture into three genetic components. Perlin said that the major part of the bra mixture was from the girl, while a minor 20% fraction was connected to Henry Lewis, Jr. with a match statistic of half a billion.
The same day the unanimous Ascension Parish jury found Lewis guilty of child molestation. "The DNA experts were crucial with their testimony in securing Lewis' guilty verdict," said prosecutors Joni Buquoi and Amy Colby of the 23rd Judicial District Attorney's Office. Lewis faces at least 25 years in prison.
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rueAllele helps Indiana Innocence Project with DNA mixture
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In June the Indiana Court of Appeals granted client Darryl Pinkins the right to pursue a successor state post-conviction action. Professor Francis Watson at the Indiana University McKinney Wrongful Conviction Clinic spearheaded this effort. Professor Watson presented analysis and conclusions prepared pro bono by experts Dr. Mark Perlin of Cybergenetics and Professor Greg Hampikian of the Idaho Innocence Project.
This progress was
announced by IU McKinney School of Law during their commemoration of international Wrongful Conviction Day. TrueAllele Casework is an automated computerized DNA interpretation system that rapidly infers genetic profiles from all types of DNA evidence samples. Importantly, by virtue of TrueAllele science and the Indiana court's authorization to proceed to an evidentiary hearing, Darryl Pinkins has the opportunity to establish his innocence. Moreover, the genotypes of the real perpetrators are available for the pursuit of justice.
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Cutting edge DNA evidence seminar for Pennsylvania defense lawyers
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The Pennsylvania Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (PACDL) held a full day seminar on Forensic Science and Criminal Law. Cybergenetics Dr. Mark Perlin
spoke about "Cutting Edge DNA Strategies" at the continuing legal education program.
Crime laboratories have been reporting on DNA mixture evidence using
unreliable match statistics. Dr. Mark Perlin discussed how to challenge unreliable match statistics in court, reviewing expert qualification, relevance, reliability and post-conviction relief.
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Did New York State Police scapegoat its crime lab scientists?
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The Albany Times Union reviewed government records from the New York State Police alleged "cheating" scandal. These documents raise questions about whether DNA analysts were wrongly accused of cheating. The front page Sunday news
article interviewed many people, including Cybergenetics Chief Scientist Dr.
Mark Perlin.
"The students did their own work," Perlin said. "Everybody gets their own data. It's a laboratory. The numbers you get are different from everybody else's numbers." At the request of the Times Union, Perlin analyzed the test results of the scientists accused of cheating and compared them with two control groups that also completed the same exams, including one from outside New York.
"There was no statistical significant difference on the examinations between any of these three groups," he said. "It's clear that they did talk and they did share, but over 90 percent (if not more) of what they were doing was their own work. ... The bottom line is they actually learned it quite well."
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Announcements
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The American Investigative Society of Cold Cases (AISOCC) welcomes new consulting member, Cybergenetics' Dr. Mark W. Perlin, to the Forensic Science Subcommittee.
The American Investigative Society of Cold Cases is a non-profit, volunteer based organization of professional investigators whose sole mission is to assist in solving cold cases. The AISOCC uses crime scene reconstruction, crime scene assessments, inductive/deductive criminal profiling and reasoning to look towards finding resolutions for cold cases. They offer advice and suggestions to law enforcement professionals for furthering their cases. |
| Cybergenetics would like to introduce our new National Sales Manager, Lisa Wennersten. You will be hearing more from her in the coming months. |
Cybergenetics offers a no cost TrueAllele evaluation of challenging or inconclusive DNA mixtures from criminal cases. To find out the real identification information in your DNA evidence, contact Lisa.
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Sincerely,
Lisa Wennersten
National Sales Manager
160 North Craig Street, Suite 210
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
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Copyright © 2015 Cybergenetics. All Rights Reserved.
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