Speakers

Speaker 

Title

Biographies

Jeremy Boone, MSFS

Sr. Field Application Scientist- HID

Jeremy Boone is a Senior Field Application Scientist with Thermo Fisher Scientific.  He has been with Thermo Fisher since early 2019.  As a Field Application Scientist, Jeremy supports forensics customers through training on new instrumentation and software, aids in troubleshooting, and provides onsite wetwork for validation services. 

Prior to joining Thermo Fisher, he worked at the Richmond of the VA Department of Forensic Science as a DNA analyst for approximately 10 years.  Jeremy began his forensics career at the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner.  He holds a Master’s Degree in Forensic Science from the University of Central Oklahoma and Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from West Virginia University. 

Sarah Cavanaugh, MSFS 

Senior Research Scientist at Bode Technology

Sarah holds a Master of Science in Forensic Science from Towson University in Towson, MD and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. Ms. Cavanaugh has been a member of the Bode Research and Development team for over 13 years. While at Bode, she has focused on efforts to evaluate, develop, and implement massively parallel sequencing (MPS) methods for a variety of forensically relevant issues from mixture deconvolution to Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy. Her work has been funded through multiple awards from IWTSD/TSWG and NIJ. Ms. Cavanaugh also serves as a member of the NVTIC Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Technology Validation Working Group, Laboratory Technology Validation subcommittee.

Dr. Katherine Gettings

Research Biologist (NIST)

Katherine began working in the field of human identity testing in 1998, and obtained her M.S. in Criminal Justice, specializing in Forensic Science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001. She trained and worked in the Forensic DNA Casework section of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, and later became the Technical Leader of Forensic Operations at Bode Technology. Katherine earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the George Washington University in 2013, and then began her work with the Applied Genetics group at NIST. Katherine's background serves as a useful foundation as she leads the Applied Genetics group's efforts to develop next-generation sequencing infrastructure for the forensic community.

Dr. Ellen Greytak

Director of Bioinformatics at Parabon NanoLabs

Dr. Greytak is the Director of Bioinformatics at Parabon NanoLabs, where she leads the development of novel genomic analysis technologies for forensic and medical applications. She leads Parabon’s Snapshot® operational division, which performs genetic genealogy, phenotyping, and kinship analyses of forensic casework samples, which has resulted in more than 300 identifications. She developed a novel mixture deconvolution technique for SNP microarray genotyping data that has been used in dozens of cases. Her continued research on Snapshot uses innovative software tools for prediction of traits and relationships from challenging DNA. Additional projects include software to determine the kinship between severely degraded DNA samples, which is being validated to help identify fallen soldiers from past conflicts; kinship analysis and pedigree reconstruction software for the Fx Forensic Analysis Platform; prediction of Alzheimer’s Disease risk; and prediction of antimicrobial resistance phenotypes from metagenomic samples. Dr. Greytak holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University.

Dr. Douglas Hares

Rapid DNA Implementation Advisor (FBI)

Dr. Hares is the Rapid DNA Implementation Program Advisor for the FBI’s Biometric Analysis Section.  He joined the DNA Analysis Unit II of the FBI Laboratory in 2000 as a Forensic Examiner.  In 2006, he transferred to the CODIS Unit where he served as the NDIS Custodian until November 2019.  He is an invited guest and participant in the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) and the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI).  He also has served as a member and advisor to Interpol’s DNA Monitoring Expert Group.

Dr. R. Austin Hicklin

Director of the Forensic Science Group at Noblis

Austin is the Director of the Forensic Science Group at Noblis, a non-profit research company. He has been involved in a broad range of biometric/forensic projects for various government agencies since 1995, including evaluations of forensic examiners, biometric and forensic standards, AFIS engineering and interoperability, video analytics, fingerprint quality metrics, evaluations of biometric identification systems, and designing and developing forensic software. Dr. Hicklin was previously the chair of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) Physics/Pattern Evidence Scientific Area Committee, and a member of the OSAC Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB). He has a BA from the University of Virginia, a MS from Virginia Tech, and a PhD from the University of Lausanne.

Kevin Kiesler, MS

Research Biologist (NIST)

Kevin Kiesler has worked as a Research Biologist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) since September of 2011. His research at NIST has focused on characterizing the performance of commercial kits and providing reference materials for measurement assurance in the use of next generation sequencing for human identification applications in the U.S. legal system. 

Kevin holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a Professional Science Master’s in applied biosciences, both from the University of Arizona. Prior to NIST, Kevin held R&D positions in two private sector companies developing genome measurement platforms, the University of Arizona’s Genomics Core (a full-service high throughput genomics facility), and an academic Biochemistry laboratory engineering and purifying proteins. His career focus on genetic measurement technologies adds to the core competencies of the Applied Genetics Group at NIST. 

Benjamin Krenke

 Sr. Global Product Manager, Genetic Identity, Promega Corporation

Benjamin Krenke is a Senior Global Product Manager for Genetic Identity at Promega Corporation. Ben has over two decades of experience developing and commercializing new DNA typing assays, instrumentation, and software for human identification. Most recently, Ben has focused on the development and launch of the first 8-color, capillary electrophoresis system (CE) for the forensic community. Ben is excited to see the impact on difficult case samples provided by the next generation of 8-color DNA typing kits enabled by this new CE system.

Amber McManus, MS

Technical Sales Manager HID & Forensics North America (Northeast) (QIAGEN)

Amber McManus is currently an HID and Forensics Technical Account Manager at QIAGEN covering the Northeast region of the United States. She has been with QIAGEN since 2015, joining the company as a Forensic Applications Scientist. Prior to joining QIAGEN, Amber spent nearly nine years at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) as an Assistant Training and Education Manager and Nuclear DNA Analyst. Amber got her start in forensics as a High Throughput DNA Analyst at Bode Technology in 2004.

Erica Romsos, MSFS

Research Biologist (NIST)

Erica Romsos has been a member of the Applied Genetics Group at NIST since 2009 focusing on rapid DNA testing, development and optimization of digital PCR assays, and managing the Human DNA quantitation standard.  Erica’s work in digital PCR supported the release of the next iteration of the Human DNA quantitation standard (SRM 2372a) employing digital PCR as a primary characterization method.  Her work in Standard Reference Material characterization has assisted the creation of many SRMs produced by NIST and the creation of a Research Grade Testing Material (RGTM 10235) for the forensic DNA community.  Additionally, Erica is the Leader of the Forensic Science Quality Assurance Program, supporting method testing, validation, and technology performance across the different modalities within the NIST Special Programs Office portfolio.

Dr. Peter M. Vallone

Leader, Applied Genetics Group (NIST)

Over the last 24 years at NIST, Dr. Vallone has developed multiplex PCR assays for the detection of genetic variation, developed methods for the rapid amplification of STR loci, and has been involved in the development and characterization of nucleic acid-based reference materials. As the leader of the Applied Genetics Group at NIST since 2013, Dr. Vallone works with a team of researchers producing DNA reference materials and assessing emerging techniques such as next generation sequencing and digital PCR.  The group’s efforts provide research and training that supports the forensic DNA typing community.  Dr. Vallone is an author on over 90 peer-reviewed articles in the areas of DNA thermodynamics, human identity testing, and clinical standards. He is also a member of the International Society for Forensic Genetics and is an associate editor for the journal: Forensic Science International (FSI) Genetics.