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WORKSHOP DESCRIPTIONS

 

each workshop recording has a 4-hour duration

By clicking the workshop number on the table below, you will be directly guided to the corresponding detailed section.

WS 1.1 WS 4.1 WS 7.1 WS 10.1
WS 1.2 WS 4.2 WS 7.2 WS 10.2
WS 2.1 WS 5.1 WS 8.1 WS 11
WS 2.2 WS 5.2 WS 8.2 WS 12
WS 3 WS 6 WS 9  
WORKSHOP 1.1

Biogeographical ancestry analyses: Basic

TEACHERS

María de la Puente & Christopher Phillips

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • People with an understanding of genetic variation and DNA profiling
  • People considering adopting biogeographical ancestry prediction

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Better understanding on population genetics
  • Statistical prediction frameworks
  • Confidence to run bayes, PCA and genetic clustering algorithms independently

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • FROG-kb
  • Snipper
  • Genogeographer
  • STRUCTURE (CLUMPAK)

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

  • What is ancestry? Public perceptions, ethical considerations, defining populations.
  • Basics on population genetics
  • Introduction to ancestry inference:
  • Public population data
  • Commercial and non-commercial panels for CE and MPS
  • Inference open-access tools
  • Bayesian methods (FROG-kb / Snipper / Genogeographer)
  • PCA
  • STRUCTURE
  • Practical exercises with open access classifiers

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 1.2

Biogeographical ancestry interpretation: Advanced

TEACHERS

Claus Børsting, Vania Pereira & Torben Tvedebrink

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic geneticists that want to apply or have considered using biogeographic estimation(s) in case work
  • Basic understanding of population genetics and forensic genetics

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Ancestry inference versus population assignment
  • Introduction to and practical exercises with the GenoGeographer software
  • Application and set-backs of biogeographic analyses in case work
  • Discussions with fellow piers on relevant hypotheses, interpretation of results, and next steps in forensic biogeographic interpretation

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • GenoGeographer

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

The workshop will provide an introduction to

  • the concepts of population genetics, ancestry inference, and population assignment,
  • calculation of the weight of the evidence, and
  • the GenoGeographer software developed specifically for population assignment of individuals in a forensic genetic context.

Practical exercises with GenoGeographer will make up a large part of the workshop and the participants will be divided into smaller groups with the purpose of discussing relevant hypotheses, interpretation of results, and communication with end-users. The exercises will provide examples of possible applications and limitations of biogeographic analyses in case work. The participants will also be encouraged to discuss what should be the next steps in forensic biogeographic interpretation.

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WORKSHOP 2.1

Inference of relationships: Basic kinship statistics

TEACHERS

Daniel Kling & Andreas Tillmar

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic scientists in general
  • Interest in kinship statistics
  • No background knowledge other than basic forensic genetics

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Understanding of statistics in paternity testing (basic and advanced)
  • Basic understanding of statistics in non-paternity kinship testing
  • Understanding of software and tools for kinship statistics
  • Basic understanding of simulations

SOFTWARE TOOLS

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

The workshop will cover the basics of relationship inference using genetic markers. The first part will cover basic principles of inheritance and how likelihoods for pedigrees can be calculated based on genetic data touching on some advanced topics for paternity testing. In the second part we will introduce software that can be used for such likelihood calculations. This part will also contain guided examples and exercises. Finally, we will explore simulations as a tool to evaluate the information content of a set of genetic markers for a given kinship question.

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WORKSHOP 2.2

Inference of relationships: Advanced kinship statistics

TEACHERS

Daniel Kling & Andreas Tillmar

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic scientists in general
  • Interest in kinship statistics
  • Understanding of genetic markers
  • Basic understanding of kinship statistics

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Understanding of genetic linkage and LD
  • Basic understanding of likelihood calculations for dense marker panels
  • Knowledge of software and tools for advanced kinship statistics
  • Understanding of very dense SNP panels and application to genetic genealogy
  • Understanding of alternative biostatistical methods for very dense marker panels
  • Understanding of models for genotype likelihoods

SOFTWARE TOOLS

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

The workshop will cover advanced topics in relationship inference such as linked markers and genetic genealogy. We will focus on advanced topics such as statistical inference for expanded marker panels and the possibilities to solve distant relationship cases. The workshop will also cover alternative biostatistical approaches, genetic genealogy and concepts like linkage and linkage disequilibrium.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 3

Forensic Epigenetics: Basic concepts, methods and applications

TEACHERS

Athina Vidaki & Hwan Young Lee

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • The workshop is suitable for forensic students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in learning how epigenetics can assist police investigations, for example via the increasingly popular age estimation of unknown individuals.
  • Basic knowledge on forensic DNA typing is essential, while previous knowledge or experience with DNA methylation profiling is not mandatory. Knowledge on common forensic DNA sequencing techniques, such as capillary electrophoresis and massively parallel sequencing as well as standard prediction modelling, such as linear regression is encouraged.
  • In the workshop we will provide you with basic knowledge on epigenetics, teach you how to understand DNA methylation data, and discuss together opportunities for future implementation in forensic casework.

LEARNING OUTCOME

After following this workshop, the participants will be able to:

  • Understand and describe the basic theory of epigenetics and DNA methylation
  • Assess and compare the most popular forensic epigenetic methods and technologies
  • Illustrate and evaluate current and future forensic epigenetic applications

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • Microsoft Excel
  • RStudio

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

Epigenetics is a relatively new but fast-developing field of research within forensic genetics. The increasing interest is mainly driven by the ability of epigenetic profiling to uncover the influence of ageing and various environmental factors on DNA. In particular, forensic DNA methylation studies so far have been developed to study tissue- and age-associated effects in forensically relevant tissues, or even individual differences between identical twins. These insights have been possible by the employment of DNA conversion techniques and a wide range of common but adjusted genotyping methods. However, consensus on research and method design, as well as data interpretation and reporting are still missing.

The workshop will be divided into four modules:

  • Introduction to basic concepts of epigenetics & DNA methylation
  • Overview of current epigenetic methods and assays
  • Promising application in forensics: Tissue identification coupled with age prediction
  • Towards personalized epigenomics: What does the future hold?

Each module will include both lectures and short exercises, enabling you to not only learn important aspects of this new forensic biomarker type, but also apply what you learn in practice. We will achieve this by incorporating quizzes, analyzing small-scale methylation datasets, implementing age prediction models, and critically discussing the benefits and limitations of various forensic epigenetic applications.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 4.1

Pedigree analysis: Basic

TEACHERS

Magnus Dehli Vigeland & Thore Egeland

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Intended for case workers and researchers in forensic genetics
  • Requires basic knowledge of genetics and probability
  • Some experience with R is recommended

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Classical concepts and methods of genetic relatedness
  • Computation of pedigree coefficients
  • Kinship analysis and basic LR calculations in R

SOFTWARE TOOLS

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

The study of pedigrees and genetic relatedness is central in forensic genetics. The aim of this course is to introduce the elegant statistical foundations of relatedness, as well as several forensic applications, with a particular focus on using R for calculations and visualisations. In the basic course we will focus on pedigree coefficients and likelihood ratios for kinship analysis. Lectures and exercises are based on the book Pedigree Analysis in R (Vigeland '21).

DETAILED PROGRAM

Available here

 

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WORKSHOP 4.2

Pedigree analysis: Advanced

TEACHERS

Magnus Dehli Vigeland & Thore Egeland

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Case workers and researchers in forensic genetics
  • Requires basic knowledge of genetics and probability
  • Some experience with R is recommended

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Pedigree reconstruction
  • Disaster victim identification
  • Advanced use of the pedsuite

SOFTWARE TOOLS

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

The advanced session builds on the basic part, delving deeper into applications and implementations of pedigree analysis in forensic genetics. Main topics for this workshop include pedigree reconstruction and disaster victim identification.

DETAILED PROGRAM

Available here

 

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WORKSHOP 5.1

Evaluation of biological results given activity level propositions using Bayesian networks: Basic

TEACHERS

Tacha Hicks & Christophe Champod

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic practitioners, students with an interest in assessing biological results when taking into account transfer, persistence, prevalence and recovery factors
  • Knowledge of evidence evaluation principles required
  • Interest in the use of Bayesian Networks

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Understand how to take into consideration aspects such as transfer, persistence, recovery and background level of DNA
  • Basic use of Bayesian networks
  • Be able to understand how to assign the value of biological results

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • No software required for workshop. Access to Bayesian Network construction software after workshop will be beneficial (such as HUGIN or GeNIe)
  • Students will have access the ShinyApp (tool that is available freely with no installation required, here)

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Acknowledge the importance of propositions
  • Be familiar with the ShinyApp that allows to use Bayesian Networks for biological fluids
  • Recognize the factors (i.e., transfer, persistence, recovery & background) that one needs to account for when assessing transfer evidence.
  • Identify the essential ingredients necessary to build a Bayesian Network
  • Understand the basic construction of Bayesian Networks when the issue regards how or when
  • Know how Bayesian networks can replicate value of evidence formulae and help manage more complex cases.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 5.2

Bayesian networks and activity level reporting: Advanced

TEACHERS

Duncan Taylor & Lydie Samie-Foucart

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic practitioner, or students with an interest in evidence evaluation using Bayesian Networks
  • Knowledge of evidence evaluation principles required
  • Knowledge of basic Bayesian Network construction required

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Participants build on their existing knowledge of evidence evaluation and Bayesian network construction.
  • Users will learn how to use expressions, construct OOBNs, and model dependencies appropriately
  • Users will gain knowledge on how to avoid common errors in BN construction

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • No software required for workshop. Access to Bayesian Network construction software after workshop will be beneficial (such as HUGIN or GeNIe)

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

This workshop works through several aspects of Bayesian Network construction that will extend participant’s existing understanding. The workshop will cover:

  • Dealing with multiple items / results when dependencies exist
  • Creating object-oriented Bayesian Networks
  • Using DNA amounts in a BN
  • Common errors when constructing BNs

The presenters will work through examples of cases using software HUGIN and explain the practical construction, as well as the underlying intuition. There will be time for questions and discussion on the various aspects presented.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 6 (MINI-SYMPOSIUM)

An introduction to and use of microhaplotypes in forensics

TEACHERS

Kenneth Kidd, Christopher Phillips, María de la Puente, Daniel Standage, Brian Young & Daniele Podini

INTENDED AUDIENCE

Forensic genetics practitioners, researchers and students interested in the application of modern sequencing technologies to the analysis of forensic DNA evidence.

LEARNING OUTCOME

Attendees will be able to:

  • Explain what microhaplotypes are and how they can be used for human identification.
  • Understand the locus selection process of microhaplotype panels, the pros and cons of microhaplotypes compared to STRs, and how each marker can complement each other for mixture analysis.
  • Access published microhaplotype panels from open-access genomic data resources.
  • Perform basic haplotype calling by bioinformatic analysis of the sequence read data of microhaplotypes and compare sequence ratios to enable simple mixture de-convolution.
  • Explain the concept of haplotypes as the basis for microhaplotype variation and the use of sequence identifiers for haplotype calling.
  • Describe the potential advantages of probabilistic genotyping with microhaplotypes compared to STRs.
  • Understand the basis of ancestry inference using microhaplotype sequence data.

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • Excel for sequence manipulation
  • Snipper and STRUCTURE (basic overview of this algorithm) for ancestry inference
  • IGV for sequence checks

MINI-SYMPOSIUM SUMMARY

Microhaplotypes (MHs) are an emerging forensic DNA marker characterized by sets of SNPs within a short distance of each other. MHs have a number of advantages over short tandem repeats (STRs), including: having alleles of identical size within a locus; absence of stutter artifacts; significantly lower mutation rates; and, the means to infer a sample donor’s biogeographical ancestry in a simultaneous test to that used for identification. This workshop will review the history of MHs, explain the selection parameters used to choose the best forensic MH loci, discuss phasing tools, and review various panels developed by researchers and the tools to access their genomic data and population variation. The use of microhaplotype data to infer ancestry with Snipper’s multiple-allele classification system and the STRUCTURE genetic cluster algorithm will be briefly outlined. Participants will receive hands-on instruction with bioinformatics analysis tools for allele calling and basic probabilistic genotyping tools for sample processing.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 7.1

Y-chromosome interpretation: extended/new methodologies on Y-SNPs and Y-STRs 

TEACHERS

Arwin Ralf & Sofie Claerhout

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic geneticists
  • Basic knowledge about SNPs and STRs

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Gain knowledge about practical Y-chromosome applications in forensic genetics
  • Learn about the latest Y-chromosome related technological developments
  • Experience to use software tools for Y-chromosome interpretation

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • IGV
  • Male Pedigree Toolbox

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

This workshop will reveal the important role that the human Y-chromosome can play in forensic genetics. The workshop starts by covering the history and the basics of forensic Y-chromosome analysis. There will be a large focus on technological advancements that were made and how these can be applied in forensic case work. Lastly, you will learn about new software tools that are developed in the field and how these tools can be utilized for their own specific needs. The workshop will cover forensic Y-chromosome interpretation though the eyes of two representatives of Generation Y. The workshop is designed in a way that both experienced Y-chromosome investigators and forensic geneticists with little prior knowledge about the potential of the Y will gain practical useful tools that could be incorporated in their personal lab setting.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 7.2

Y chromosome interpretation: standard Y-STRs and the use of YHRD

TEACHERS

Lutz Roewer & Sascha Willuweit

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Persons from law enforcement agencies, academy and private labs using Y-STRs in court cases.

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • This Y-STR workshop provides forensic analysts with a comprehensive understanding of the science and techniques involved in standard Y-STR analysis. By learning about the interpretation of mixtures, the use of kinship calculations, and the use of the YHRD, participants are better equipped to perform accurate and reliable Y-STR analysis in criminal, relationship and missing-person investigations.

SOFTWARE TOOLS

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

Use of the YHRD:

The Y Chromosome Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD) is a database of Y-STR profiles from populations around the world, used to aid in the interpretation of Y-STR profiles in forensic investigations. You will learn how to use the YHRD to compare and analyze Y-STR profiles, as well as how to interpret the statistical significance of any matches. You also learn about the ethical considerations involved in using genetic databases in criminal investigations.

Interpretation of Mixtures:

One of the challenges in Y-STR analysis is interpreting mixtures, which can occur when DNA from multiple individuals is present in a single sample. You will learn how to identify and interpret mixtures using analytical tools and software available at YHRD. You will also learn about the limitations of these techniques and the importance of validating your results.

Use of Kinship Calculations:

Y-STR analysis can also be used to determine the degree of relatedness between individuals, making it a valuable tool in kinship analysis. In this workshop, you will learn about the principles of kinship analysis and how to calculate relatedness using your calculator or YHRD.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 8.1

Mixture interpretation: Basic use of the software EuroForMix and DNAStatistX

TEACHERS

Peter Gill, Øyvind Bleka & Corina Benschop

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Anyone interested in probabilistic genotyping software to aid in the evaluation of mixed DNA profiles can attend, including DNA reporting officers, DNA scientists, DNA analysts, DNA technical leaders, laboratory directors, attorneys and consultants.
  • The workshop is aimed toward an audience familiar with the issues surrounding complex DNA mixture interpretation and having some experience with statistical calculations.

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Understanding of likelihood ratio principles and application to autosomal capillary electrophoresis generated mixture profiles.
  • Hands-on experience using EuroForMix and DNAStatistX for weight of evidence calculations.
  • Knowledge on how to report the results to court.

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • EuroForMix latest version
  • DNAStatistX stand-alone latest version

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

This workshop includes an introduction to the interpretation of DNA mixtures and explanation of likelihood ratio calculations using EuroForMix/DNAStatistX. Hands-on exercises will be performed using the latest versions of EuroForMix and DNAStatistX using provided exercises. To facilitate, we will provide instructions enable users to download the freely available software onto their computers beforehand. How to interpret the results as well as how to report the results will be discussed. The aim of the workshop is to provide sufficient information and support so that users will be able to run EuroForMix and DNAStatistX software and to understand and report the results.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 8.2

Mixture interpretation: Advanced. Using EuroForMix, DNAStatistX and accompanying software

TEACHERS

Peter Gill, Øyvind Bleka & Corina Benschop

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • This workshop is aimed toward an audience familiar with probabilistic genotyping.
  • Some experience (theory/ hands-on) with EuroForMix and/or DNAStatistX is required.

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Insight in functionalities of the various software.
  • Insight in expected trends for EuroForMix/ DNAStatistX.
  • Hands-on experience with the software in complex casework-like situations.

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • EuroForMix
  • DNAStatistX stand alone
  • EFMrep

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

This is an advanced course intended for case-work scientists who have experience with mixture analysis and interpretation. Some experience (theory and hands-on) with EuroForMix and/or DNAStatistX will be required. Prior to the workshop, instructions will be provided to enable users to download the latest versions of the freely available software onto their computers and to run a pre-course exercise to make sure the software is installed correctly.

During the workshop challenging situations will be discussed, such as:

  • The reference profile has many mismatches in comparison to the trace profile.
  • Model validation failures.
  • PCR replicates from the same STR typing kit and replicates obtained using different STR typing kits.
  • Missing loci in reference profiles in comparison to the trace profile.
  • Possible relatedness.
  • MPS data for probabilistic genotyping.
  • Multiple persons of interest.

Expected trends will be discussed and hands-on exercises will be performed for some of the challenging situations. Furthermore, Turing expectation and calibration of models as well as report writing will be discussed.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 9

Wildlife DNA typing

TEACHERS

Adrian Linacre

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic geneticists
  • A basic knowledge of the mitochondrial genome and STR typing

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • How species testing works
  • How to create an STR multiplex
  • Problems in reporting non-human DNA results to a court

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • None – will be demonstrated on the shared screen

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

  • The enormous scale and scope of wildlife crime
  • The legal framework within which accredited and non-accredited wildlife laboratories operate
  • How species testing is performed
  • Generating species specific STR multiplexes
  • Reporting non-human DNA evidence in a statement and at court

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 10.1

Bioinformatics MPS: Basic

TEACHERS

Jerry Hoogenboom & Jonathan King

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Massively parallel sequencing of genetic markers
  • Concept of DNA libraries
  • Understanding of types of DNA variation (e.g., STR repeats and SNPs)
  • Previous experience with first-party software beneficial, but not required

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Get an overview of sequencing platforms and (commercial) kits available
  • Get a broad overview of the lab protocols and software workflows
  • Learn about sequence nomenclature, reported range, compatibility with capillary electrophoresis
  • Learn about online resources such as STRidER and STRseq

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • FDSTools
  • STRait Razor Suite

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

This workshop will focus on the availability of sequencing technologies and commercial kits, the laboratory procedures utilized to generate sequence data, first- and third-party software workflows for data analysis, best practices of reporting sequence data in forensic genomics, and basic analysis of Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) data with the STRait Razor Suite and FDSTools software will be demonstrated. Attendees will be instructed on the usage of primary (STRait Razor v3 and FDSTools2.0) and secondary analysis (STRait Razor Online) tools to analyze data from commercially available kits. The strengths of and rationale behind the different methods will be explored by examining the results. This way, attendees will gain a deeper insight into the powers and challenges (and solutions!) that arise from the application of MPS to forensic samples.

Attendees should have general understanding of massively parallel sequencing of DNA markers including, but not limited to, concepts such as DNA libraries, STR repeats, and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 10.2

Bioinformatics MPS: Advanced

TEACHERS

Jerry Hoogenboom & Jonathan King

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Prior experience using first-party analysis software (e.g., ForenSeq UAS or Ion Torrent Browser)
  • General constructs of DNA markers (e.g., STR repeats and SNPs)
  • Understanding of the format and function of MPS workflow file types (e.g., BED, FASTQ, SAM/BAM)
  • General comfort or willingness to utilize command line interface to install, modify, and/or execute commands

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Get hands-on experience analyzing MPS data with open-source software
  • Learn how to analyze data generated with an in-house developed kit
  • Learn process of alignment, bracketing of repeats, and visualization of reads

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • FDSTools
  • STRait Razor Suite
  • IGV

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

This workshop will focus on employing the STRait Razor Suite and FDSTools software for analysis of Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) data. Attendees will be instructed on the usage of primary (STRait Razor v3 and FDSTools2.0) and secondary analysis (STRait Razor Online) tools to analyze data from commercially available kits. Additionally, guidance will be given for modifying the default settings, developing configuration files for both primary and secondary analysis of laboratory-developed tests (e.g., in-house PCR multiplex assays), and considerations for further processing the output. The strengths of and rationale behind the different methods will be explored by examining the results. This way, attendees will gain a deeper insight into the powers and challenges (and solutions!) that arise from the application of MPS to forensic samples.

Attendees should be familiar with general constructs of DNA markers and formats of standard sequencing data storage file types (e.g., BED, FASTQ, SAM/BAM, etc.). While no formal familiarity with any programming languages (e.g., R, Python, etc.) is required, modification of open-source materials may require some basic understanding of computer programming.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 11

MPS mtDNA: Analysis and interpretation

TEACHERS

Walther Parson & Charla Marshall

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Forensic genetic practitioners and experts
  • Forensic genetic researchers
  • Students with interest for mtDNA in forensic genetics

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Understand analysis and interpretation of mtDNA sequences
  • Learn about the phylogenetic concept of mtDNA
  • Learn how to report mtDNA evidence

SOFTWARE TOOLS

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

The forensic field has witnessed major developments in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis in the past few years, particularly in association with Massively Parallel Next Generation Sequencing (MPS) techniques.

This workshop showcasts the highlights and discusses various issues with the interpretation of MPS-based mtDNA sequences, including validation studies, the interpretation of sequence raw data with particular focus on NUMTs, heteroplasmy, artefacts and mixtures, database searches with EMPOP. The workshop provides a brief introduction to the mtDNA molecule and field and is thus suitable for beginners and experts. Participants are invited to send challenging samples/cases beforehand to be included in the discussion.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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WORKSHOP 12

Body fluid identification with main focus on RNA

TEACHERS

Titia Sijen, Cordula Haas & Margreet van den Berge

INTENDED AUDIENCE

  • Case work professionals in the field of forensic human biology with an interest in body fluid/ organ inference
  • Academic researchers with an interest in forensic body fluid typing or forensic applications of RNA typing
  • Students with knowledge of forensic human biology and an interest in methods for forensic body fluid inference

LEARNING OUTCOME

  • Understand the underlying molecular principles why methods such as mRNA-based analysis can be used to infer body fluid or organ type
  • You will be taken through the full process: from the forensic question at hand, the evidentiary stain collection, the molecular analysis, the (statistical) interpretation and reporting of results to the handling and perception in court
  • We will introduce new possibilities with forensic RNA typing such as the association of donor and cell type

SOFTWARE TOOLS

  • None

WORKSHOP SUMMARY

DNA matching the victim is found on an item or body part allegedly inserted into the victim’s intimate parts. The suspect claims there was only social contact. Can we show the presence of vaginal cell material? By what methods? How do we report results and how are results handled in court? Likewise for a knife on which blade cell material is present: does it present a DNA-match with a wounded victim and can we infer organ type to address whether it fits the wounding of the victim? We will discuss the molecular methods such as mRNA typing that are available and used in case work (since 2012). We will also explore further applications such as the association of donor and cell type that will become available in the near future.

DETAILED PROGRAM

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