Parabon NanoLabs announced the company has received a forensic laboratory permit from the New York Department of Health (NYS DoH) to employ its Snapshot Advanced DNA Analysis technologies on forensic DNA samples originating in New York. The permit was granted following an extensive review by NYS DoH of the forensic validation results for Snapshot's procedures. Additionally, officials from the NYS DoH conducted an inspection of the company's facilities and conducted an on-site audit as part of this process. It is the first permit issued by NYS DoH for use of genetic genealogy and other Snapshot technologies for forensic investigations.
"Having developed these tools over most of the past decade, it is gratifying for our team to receive this permit after passing NYS DoH's stringent review process" said Ellen Greytak, Director of Bioinformatics at Parabon. "I can remember when nobody believed SNP genotyping would ever work on degraded DNA samples." With funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, Parabon's scientists have pioneered the use of genome-wide SNPs for highly degraded samples and mixed samples from law enforcement cases. Parabon's innovative methodology allows the Snapshot tools to work with as little as 1 nanogram of DNA and with mixtures.
Since Parabon's creation of its investigative genetic genealogy (IGG) division in May 2018, which is led by renowned GG investigator CeCe Moore, the Snapshot team has generated leads for police agencies across the country from crime scene DNA that have resulted in over 100 positive identifications — a rate of more than one per week. The accomplishment is particularly noteworthy given that most of the cases were unsolved for decades prior to the introduction of Snapshot (an average of 25.4 years cold), although its use is trending toward more recent cases.
"Parabon's pioneering work in forensic DNA analysis, which includes SNP genotyping, mixture deconvolution, phenotyping, and genetic genealogy has truly revolutionized the field. I have not seen anything so game-changing in my 29 years working in DNA forensics. It's exciting to be able to bring these technologies to New York investigators in an attempt to solve both cold and active cases," said retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent Dr. Mark Wilson, now Director of Forensic Science at Parabon, who led the certification effort.
Detectives with unsolved violent criminal cases with DNA evidence are invited to contact Parabon at: https://snapshot.parabon.com/request-info
Republished courtesy of Parabon Nanolabs.