On July 21, NCIP partnered with the Scientific Collaboration, Innovation & Education Group (SCIEG) to present an innovative training on the Santa Clara University campus: Interpreting Mixtures: Probabilistic Genotyping for Attorneys. The training educated attorneys and investigators on probabilistic genotyping (PG), a method of DNA profile interpretation for samples containing low-levels of DNA and/or mixtures of DNA from multiple individuals. Laboratories across the nation are implementing this state-of-the-art technique and attorneys and investigators need to become well-versed in the general approach to PG, as well as the capabilities and limitations of specific PG software programs.
Dr. Norah Rudin and Professor Keith Inman, co-founders of SCIEG, led the 6-hour training, which was attended by 21 attorneys from the across the West Coast, including prosecutors, defense attorneys, and innocence attorneys, all of whom are using or encountering PG in their cases.
As part of the training, NCIP attorneys Kelley Fleming and Melissa O’Connell led a 1-hour discussion on ethical issues surrounding probabilistic genotyping.
On October 13, an additional training was held in the East Bay with an additional partner, Cal State East Bay. The East Bay Training, held at Cal State East Bay’s Oakland Center, offered the four attendees the opportunity for a personalized round-table discussion led by the SCIEG co-founders.
We are grateful to everyone who attended the trainings and to SCIEG and Cal State East Bay for their partnership.
Dr. Norah Rudin explains the ins and outs of probabilistic genotyping to a full classroom full of attorneys.
