DNA profiling is subject of two-day expert forum at Wright State

Using science to determine guilt or innocence

As an accepted forensic tool for determining guilt or innocence, using DNA evidence to exonerate defendants has found its way into headlines and pop culture. From the witness stands at the O.J. Simpson and Unabomber trials to CSI and Court TV, DNA experts have come out from behind their microscopes and into the public's eye.

Nearly a dozen of the country's leading DNA experts will meet Friday and Saturday, Aug. 29–30, at Wright State University for "The Statistics of DNA Profiling," an expert forum co-sponsored by Forensic Bioinformatics Services.

Topics to be discussed include: random match probability, declarations of identity, implications of flawed databases, paternity indices, factoring in error/examiner bias and the significance of cold hits. Presenters include:

Dan Krane, Ph.D., associate professor of biology, Department of Biological Sciences at Wright State University, and founder and CEO of Forensic Bioinformatic Services.
Michael Raymer, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Wright State University and bioinformatics expert.
William Shields, Ph.D., professor of biology, State University of New York, Syracuse, has testified as an expert on DNA typing in more than 200 criminal trials including the Unabomber and the ongoing Green River, Wash., serial murder trial.
Ron Ostrowski, Ph.D., associate professor of genetics, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, and president of Professional Consulting Services, has run a sickle cell anemia blood testing lab and consulted in hundreds of cases including the World Trade Center bombing trial.
Sandy Zabel, Ph.D., professor of mathematics and statistics, Northwestern University, participated in the first blue ribbon panel called by the National Research Council to discuss DNA testing in 1993.
Dr. Larry Mueller, Ph.D., professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine, has testified in nearly 500 criminal cases, usually on issues pertaining to chances of coincidental matches.
David Lynch, J.D., assistant public defender in Sacramento, Calif., has litigated some of the most prominent cases involving DNA evidence in northern Calif.
William Thompson, J.D., Ph.D., professor in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society, University of California, Irvine, and a member of the California Bar, was one of the key DNA defense attorneys for O.J. Simpson and has been prominently featured in the media for his recent work on faulty convictions that resulted from faulty DNA testing by the Houston Police Department Crime Lab.
Jennifer Friedman, J.D., deputy public defender and forensic science coordinator, and founder and former head of the Los Angeles County Innocence Project.

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For details about the forum, go to www.bioforensics.com all Carrie Rowland at Forensic Bioinformatics, 937-426-9270 or by e-mail at carrie.rowland@wright.edu.

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