The Science of DNA Profiling: A National Expert Forum

Speaker Biographies (in alphabetical order):

Simon Ford, Ph.D. is the principal of Lexigen Science and Law Consultants, Inc., in San Francisco. Born in England, Dr. Ford holds a Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics from the University of Leeds, also in the United Kingdom. He has been working with DNA for twenty-five years as a researcher, teacher, writer, and consultant, specializing in forensic and environmental applications of DNA technology. Simon has worked as a consultant in several hundred cases involving DNA evidence, and his related consulting work has been his primary means of support for over a decade. ford@bioforensics.com

Christine Funk is a criminal defense attorney and adjunct professor at William Mitchell College of Law. She has been a criminal defense attorney for over 12 years, has been dealing with forensic DNA issues in the courtroom for almost as long. Funk has been with the public defender's office her entire career. Her current job with the State of Minnesota's Public Defender's Office is to handle and/or assist other attorneys with complex litigation. She also focuses on forensic issues for the office, including DNA evidence as well as other scientific disciplines in the courtroom. Christine Funk has presented DNA education to lawyers and lay persons across the country. Christine.Funk@state.mn.us

Jason Gilder, Ph.D. is a Systems Engineer at Forensic Bioinformatics, Inc. is a Systems Engineer at Forensic Bioinformatics, Inc. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering from Wright State University in 2001, a Master's degree in Computer Science from Wright State University in 2003, and a Ph.D. in Computer Science and Engineering from Wright State University in 2007. Jason is the first full-time employee of Forensic Bioinformatics and he is the primary author of the Genophiler® automated software analysis system. He has used Genophiler® to analyze the electronic data in more than 700 DNA cases over the past six years. Jason has provided testimony and gives several talks a year at CLE seminars. Jason continually performs research in the area of forensic DNA interpretation and has published multiple articles in the Journal of Forensic Sciences. gilder@bioforensics.com

Keith Inman holds a B.S. and M. Crim., both from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a Fellow of the American Board of Criminalistics. In his professional career he has been employed as a criminalist by the Orange County Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Los Angeles County Chief Medical Examiner-Coroner, and the Oakland Police Department. Mr. Inman curently works an Assistant Professor at Cal State East Bay and a Senior Forensic Scientist at Forensic Analytical Sciences, Inc., in Hayward, California. He has co-authored a book that has become the preeminent reference for both attorneys and crime laboratories, and a book aimed at practicing criminalists. He has taught in the Criminal Justice Administration department at California State University, Hayward, and currently teaches a variety of general forensic science and forensic DNA courses for the University of California at Berkeley Extension and on-line. kinman@ix.netcom.com

Rebecca Just received her BA in Biology and Sociology from Hamilton College in 2000, and her MFS in Forensic Science from George Washington University in 2002. Since 2002, Ms. Just has been working in the Research section at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). Her research projects have included entire mitochondrial DNA genome sequencing of common mtDNA types to identify forensically informative SNPs, design and optimization of multiplex mtDNA SNP assays, and, most recently, work on non-CODIS mini-STR multiplexes for use with highly degraded forensic samples. rebecca.s.just@us.army.mil

Roger Koppl, Ph.D. is a professor of Economics and Finance in the Silberman College of Business at Fairleigh Dickinson University and Director of the Institute for Forensic Science Administration (IFSA). Roger conducts research in forensic science administration. His work includes a series of experiments funded by the National Science Foundation and the Earhart Foundation. Much of this work has been conducted at the University of Pennsylvania's PLEEP lab, where he is a Senior Researcher. Forensic science administration studies how error rates in forensic science may be affected by institutional and organizational structures. Roger's Erdös number is 6. koppl@fdu.edu

Dan Krane, Ph.D., graduated with a Bachelor's degree for a double major in Biology and Chemistry from John Carroll University in 1985 and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Penn State University in 1990. From there he did post-doctoral research at Washington University and Harvard before accepting a faculty appointment at Wright State University in 1993. His research interests are primarily in the areas of molecular evolution and the way that gene frequencies change over the course of time in populations of organisms. His research group has recently developed a technique that allows quick and precise measurement of the amount of genetic diversity that a population harbors at a molecular level. Since high levels of genetic diversity better allow groups of organisms to respond to stresses they encounter in their environments it is also an excellent measure of the population's vigor and productivity. Environmental insults such as pollution can significantly diminish a naturally occurring population's genetic diversity however and this methodology is now being used to more closely examine the true impact of such events. Along with Professor Michael Raymer, he is co-author of one of the first primarily undergraduate textbooks in bioinformatics. Since 1991 he has also testified as an expert witness in more than 60 criminal trials in which DNA evidence has been presented. dan.krane@wright.edu

Larry Mueller, Ph.D., Dr. Mueller is a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of California, Irvine. He has testified in nearly five hundred criminal cases, primarily on issues pertaining to population genetics and the statistics associated with forensic DNA profiling. ldmuelle@uci.edu

Gabriel S. Oberfield, J.D. joined the Innocence Project’s Policy department in October 2005 as its first Research Analyst. At the Innocence Project, Gabriel combines his backgrounds in law and in investigative journalism to lead the policy department’s efforts on the reform of forensic sciences. He also monitors the nation’s post-conviction DNA testing statutes and advises the Innocence Project on issues connected with lobbying and electioneering. Gabriel is a graduate of Brown University (A.B., 2000) where was editor-in-chief of the Brown Daily Herald, he received his Juris Doctor from the Fordham University School of Law (2004) and he secured a master’s degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism (2005). Gabriel is licensed to practice law both in New York State and in Washington, D.C. goberfield@innocenceproject.org

David R. Paoletti, Ph.D. has joined Penn State Beaver as assistant professor of computer science. Before his arrival, Paoletti was head software engineer for Clarity LLC and IC-Tech in Michigan where he also worked as software projects manager for OmniLink Communications. He has taught at Wright State University and Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, and was a teaching assistant at Michigan State University. In addition, he has co-authored six professional publications and received a variety of fellowships and awards, including National Merit Scholar and the Michigan Technological University Board of Control Scholarship. He holds bachelor's degrees in computer science and electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University; a master's degree in computer science from Michigan State University and a doctorate in computer science from Wright State University. drp15@psu.edu

D. Michael Risinger, J.D. is a professor of law at Seton Hall Law School. He holds a B.A., magna cum laude, from Yale University, and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School. He clerked for the Honorable Clarence C. Newcomer of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He is a past chair of the Association of American Law Schools Section on Civil Procedure, the chair-elect of the AALS Section on Evidence, and a life member of the American Law Institute. He is also a member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Evidence, which was responsible for the current version of the New Jersey Rules of Evidence. Professor Risinger came to Seton Hall Law School in 1973. He served as a visiting senior fellow on the law faculty of the National University of Singapore from 1985-1986. Professor Risinger has published in the areas of evidence and civil procedure. He is the co-author of Trial Evidence, A Continuing Legal Education Casebook and the author of two chapters in Faigman, Kaye, Saks and Sanders, Modern Scientific Evidence (“Handwriting Identification” and “A Proposed Taxonomy of Expertise”). Professor Risinger was selected as one of Seton Hall’s two inaugural Dean’s Research Fellows (2002-2004). His scholarship has recently concentrated on wrongful convictions as well as expert evidence issues. risingmi@shu.edu

William Thompson, J.D., Ph.D. is Professor and Chair of the Department of Criminology, Law & Society at the University of California, Irvine. He has a Ph.D. in psychology from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is well known for his research on the way people interpret (and sometimes misinterpret) scientific and statistical data and has written extensively about the use and misuse of DNA evidence. Although primarily an academic, he occasionally represents clients in cases involving novel scientific and statistical issues. He argued the first case concerning the admissibility of DNA evidence before the New Mexico Court of Appeals and Supreme Court, and was the first attorney in California to successfully challenge the admissibility of an FBI DNA test. He was a member of the "dream team" that represented O.J. Simpson during his criminal trial. He has consulted with police departments, coroners and lawyers on a variety of cases involving scientific evidence in the US, the UK, and Australia. He served as Reporter for the American Bar Association Standards Committee Study Group on DNA Evidence and was a member of the ABA Task Force on Biological Evidence. He currently co-chairs the Forensic Evidence Committee of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). thompson@bioforensics.com

Sandy Zabell, Ph.D., As a Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at Northwestern University, Dr. Zabell conducts research pertaining to mathematical probability and Bayesian statistics. He also participated in the first blue ribbon panel called by the National Research Council to discuss DNA testing in 1993 and has testified on statistical issues pertaining to forensic DNA testing across the United States. zabell@mac.com

Last modified: 01/15/09