The largest annual symposium dedicated to forensic DNA kicks off next week! Running October 26 through October 29, the International Symposium on Human Identification (ISHI) brings together more than 900 forensic DNA analysts, laboratory professionals, law enforcement personnel, researchers and other practitioners involved in human identification.
The annual event provides a forum for sharing knowledge, examining developments in forensic science and discussing the challenges facing professionals working to identify individuals and support criminal investigations.
Through educational sessions, presentations and opportunities for collaboration, ISHI connects experts from across the forensic community to exchange practical experience and learn from their peers. The symposium also offers attendees an opportunity to build professional relationships, strengthen their expertise and explore approaches that can help advance forensic DNA analysis and its application in criminal justice.
Here’s a look at some of this year’s exciting sessions:
The keynote on Tuesday, Oct. 27 will be given by Janet Cady (Parabon Labs) and Cristina Valencia (Astrea Forensics). Titled, “From Evidence to Impact: Forensic Firsts in the Courtroom,” the session examines two landmark forensic DNA cases in which evidence types long considered limited for traditional analysis were evaluated using advanced sequencing and computational approaches. This includes a first‑of‑its‑kind U.S. conviction in which ultra‑deep whole‑genome sequencing identified rare somatic mutations to differentiate identical twins—previously considered genetically indistinguishable in forensic analysis. Additionally, the speakers will review a cold case solved using whole‑genome sequencing from a single rootless hair shaft—evidence long considered unsuitable for nuclear DNA analysis.
Also on Tuesday, Colleen Fitzpatrick—widely recognized as the founder of modern investigative forensic genetic genealogy and friend/writer for Forensic magazine—will give a presentation on the Wilseyville Serial Killer Victims. Fitzpatrick will describe efforts over the past five years to apply specialized forensic DNA technologies to the identification of previously unknown Lake and Ng victims, including the technical challenges faced and why more difficult specimens may still be pushed over the finish line through a collaborative development of methods beyond normal, traditional sequencing. She will also detail case successes with the identification of Wilseyville Jane Doe, a young female victim who was identified based on only a single small bone fragment and a rare X-inheritance pattern.
On Wednesday, Special Victims Unit Detective Darrell Diez, Forensic Scientist Megan O'Donnell, Prosecutor Ryan Powell and survivor and victim advocate Ashley Spence will partake in the panel, “The Connective Thread: A Multidisciplinary Conversation on the Role of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner.” Led by Jennifer Degner, an experienced Certified Adult/Adolescent Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (CA-SANE), panelists will explore how trust, communication, and collaboration across disciplines shape not only the quality of evidence collected, but the experience of the survivor at the center of it all.
Also on Wednesday, forensic scientists from the Mesa Public Safety Support Forensic Laboratory will present, “When Innovation Meets Reality: Lessons from a Complete Forensic DNA Workflow Overhaul.” This first-hand account will walk attendees through both the technical and human dimensions of large-scale method transitions: how even well-validated systems can falter without strategic planning, cross-functional communication and leadership support.
On Thursday, just two weeks after the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner made their second 9/11 victim identification using FIGG, criminalist Kevin McKenna will provide an update on the DNA testing done, including the 17,000+ reference samples tested, the 21,905 remains tested, and the efforts to identify the remaining 1,100 people who remain unidentified. It will also focus on the lessons learned from managing this type of event and the type of forensic work that is now being done on everyday missing persons and criminal cases as a direct result of the lessons we learned from 9/11.
Lastly, Mark Perlin will present a session based on his column for Forensic, How Courts Decide When Computer DNA Evidence is Reliable. In March 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued its precedential decision in United States v. Anderson, affirming the admissibility of computer-based probabilistic genotyping evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 702 and Daubert. The opinion provides an unusually detailed explanation of how courts evaluate scientific reliability. The Forensic article distilled the court’s reasoning into a practical educational framework. This presentation expands that framework by examining the court’s analysis prong by prong.