Upcoming Webinar Series: Serology, DNA and Probabilistic Genotyping Evidence

Please use this link to register for the series. Prior to the program, you will receive the link to connect to the webinar. If you have questions, please contact Sarah.R.Olson@nccourts.org.

NC Indigent Defense Services and ForensiGen, LLC will offer a free-to-attend 3-part webinar series on serology, DNA, and probabilistic genotyping evidence. Dr. Max Noureddine will educate attorneys about the latest in blood and bodily fluid analysis, DNA analysis, and probabilistic genotyping software. This program will prepare attendees to understand complex biological evidence in their cases. It is being made available to NC criminal defense attorneys and NC criminal defense investigators through NC Indigent Defense Services.

The program will take place over 3 weeks in July. Attendees may attend at either 1:00 pm on Thursdays or 3:00 pm on Fridays. Each week, same content will be covered in the Thursday and Friday sessions. Two sessions are being offered to accommodate schedules. It is strongly recommended that participants attend all three sessions. Each session will build on the content covered in the previous session. Session 2 should be considered a prerequisite for Session 3, unless the participant already has an advanced understanding of DNA evidence.

These topics will be covered in the three sessions:

Session 1 – Serology (July 9 at 1 pm and July 10 at 3 pm)

This session will focus on serology analysis (identification of bodily fluids) and the forensic tests available for fluids such as semen, saliva, and blood. The audience will learn more about false positives and false negative results, presumptive and confirmatory tests, the reliability of such tests, and implications of the results. Recent updates to serology testing procedures will be discussed. 

Session 2 – DNA (July 16 at 1 pm and July 17 at 3 pm)

This session will focus on forensic DNA testing and data analysis. A brief overview of DNA testing theory will be presented, followed by a description of modern DNA forensic testing platforms that are currently in use (STR and Y-STR). The audience will learn more about conventional mixture DNA profile interpretation, recent updates and limitations, and statistical analysis reflecting the weight of DNA evidence. Relevant laboratory standard operating procedures and interpretation protocols will be discussed.

Session 3 – Probabilistic Genotyping (July 23 at 1 pm and July 24 at 3 pm)

This session will focus on the theory of mixture DNA interpretation using computer-based probabilistic models, the power and limitations of probabilistic genotyping software, and the challenges in confronting that type of DNA results in court cases. This presentation will build on a foundation of knowledge about DNA evidence interpretation issues and will incorporate actual case examples.

Speaker Bio:

Dr. Max Noureddine is molecular geneticist with extensive background in scientific research in human genetics and expertise in DNA forensics. He earned his Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Duke University Medical Center (The Center for Human Genetics), where he published many articles on the genetics of Parkinson Disease and other human genetic disorders. His expertise includes specialized training in complex genomics, DNA fingerprinting, mitochondrial genome analysis, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism studies, and state of the art methodologies in gene structure and function studies. Currently, as a recognized forensic DNA expert and President of the forensics consulting company ForensiGen, LLC, Dr. Noureddine provides services and expert consultation to law professionals on DNA and serology evidence in criminal and civil cases, as well as consulting services to the public in the area of genetic testing.

Each session will last 90 minutes. We anticipate that the program will be approved for CLE credit, but the application is still pending.

Please use this link to register for the series. Prior to the program, you will receive the link to connect to the webinar. If you have questions, please contact Sarah.R.Olson@nccourts.org.