DEII DNA Evidence to Investigative Insights
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Share Experience. Gain Insights.

DEII 2018 brought together leading forensic scientists from 37 institutes and 19 countries to share their experiences in all aspects of massively parallel sequencing (MPS) and its implementation into routine forensic operations.

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“A huge thank you for organizing such a nice scientific day”

“I really liked the open discussions that were made possible by the structure of the meeting”

“The opportunity to present the work of my lab and discuss issues we are facing with leading forensic experts was especially useful.”

“The small number of participants enabled lots of interaction and discussion with people I did not necessarily know before.”

“I enjoyed the meeting in Barcelona very much. It was well organized and a good selection of different topics and talks.”

“I really valued the speakers being young people.”

“It was very useful to talk directly to Verogen staff about the future developments.”

 

“The lightning talks were a great way of having more information in a shorter time.”

“The whole atmosphere was most inspiring and really focused and has started some discussions that will surely bear fruit in the very near future.”

In an informal setting, members of the forensic community came together to showcase their research and give an overview of the work that is being done in many different fields. As well as an opportunity to hear about the latest developments in forensic genomics, it allowed those at the forefront of leveraging MPS methods for forensic investigations to share their stories and facilitate the efforts of other laboratories interested in following a similar path. Designed to be small, friendly and collaborative, this event encouraged interaction and built collaborations with and between members of the forensic community and Verogen.

Keynote Speakers: Walther Parsons and Denise Syndercombe Court provided insight and inspiration based on their experience, highlighting how important good practice and collaboration are to this community.

Application Spotlights: Two dynamic sessions of presentations and open discussion exploring the implementation and wider potential of MPS in forensic genomics.

Lightning Talks: From ancient DNA to wildlife crime, five quick fire presentations gave the audience a taste of the exciting research programmes underway across Europe.

Poster Session: Attendees had the chance to find out more about the projects discussed in the lightning talks, meet other scientists working in their field and share experiences.

MPS Clinic: Our experts were on hand for one-to-one help and advice.

Evening Reception: Many insights and experiences were discussed over canapes and drinks!

To view or download the presentations from DEII 2018, please visit the ‘Presentations’ tab.

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09:00 Coffee and Registration

09:30 Welcome & introduction: Driving Forensic Genomics Forward - Together

Nicola Oldroyd Clark, Regional Director – Europe, Middle East, Africa, Verogen

10:00 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Collaboration is Key in Forensic Genomics

Prof. Walther Parson, Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck

10:30 Verogen R&D: In Conversation

Cydne Holt, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder, Verogen

An open forum with the Verogen Chief Scientific Officer to speak openly about the challenges associated with developing MPS products for forensic applications and how Verogen is collaborating with the forensic community to meet those challenges head on

11:20 LIGHTNING TALKS

11:20 Analysis of Ancient and Forensic Samples with the MiSeq FGx®
Ferran Casals, Head of Genomics Core Facility, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

11:28 Massively Parallel Sequencing of Whole Mitochondrial DNA: Croatian Population Study
Viktorija Sukser, DNA Expert, Forensic Science Centre “Ivan Vučetić”

11:36 Exploring Sequence-Based Allelic Variation of Forensic STRs in Different Populations
Theresa Gross, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne

11.44 Sequence Variation in flanking regions of STR Markers
Christian Sell, Postdoctoral Researcher, BKA Germany (Federal Police Office)

11:50 Towards Combatting Wildlife Crime Using MPS
Jordan Beasley, PhD Student, University of Leicester

12:00 Networking Lunch & Lightning Talk Poster Session

13:15 KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Aspects of Phenotyping and Ancestry – and How Should We Report?

Prof. Denise Syndercombe Court, King’s College London

13:45 APPLICATION SPOTLIGHT SESSION I: FORENSIC CASEWORK

Session Chairs: Chris Philips, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain and Jonathan Tabak, Director, Market Development, Verogen, USA

Accredited MPS Implementation for Casework at the NFI: mtDNA First, More to Come.
Kristiaan van der Gaag and Jerry Hoogenboom, Netherlands Forensic Institute.

Challenges and MPS Solutions in Large Scale Missing Persons Identification
Michelle Peck, International Commission on Missing Persons.

Routine Use of ForenSeq® Solution on Casework Samples: Feedback One Year After Lab Implementation
Francois-Xavier Laurent, Institut National de Police Scientifique, Lyon.

Open Discussion: Use of MPS methods in forensic casework

15:15 Break & Verogen Technical Clinic

15:45 APPLICATION SPOTLIGHT SESSION II: APPLICATION EXPANSION

Session Chairs: Wojciech Branicki, Jagellonian University, Krakow, Poland and John Walsh, Head, Technical Marketing, Verogen, USA

RNA Profiling for the Identification of Body Fluids Using MPS.
Sabrina Ingold, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich.

Investigative Intelligence: A Metagenomic Approach.
Gabriella Mason-Buck, King's College London.

Molecular Autopsy for Sudden Unexpected Death Victims.
Jeppe Dyrberg Andersen, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen.

Open Discussion: Expansion of application capabilities using MPS technology

17:15 Closing Remarks: Forensic Genomics – Today & Tomorrow

Cydne Holt, Chief Scientific Officer, Verogen

18:00 Evening Reception

19:30 Event Close

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Speakers

Photo_Parson

Prof. Dr. Walther Parson

Institute of Legal Medicine
Medical University of Innsbruck
Keynote
MPS is broadening the forensic genomics toolbox and making research in new fields of application, like predictive DNA analysis, possible. I’m really looking forward to sharing new data from our research collaborations that demonstrates the range of applications of MPS in forensic genomics and highlights the importance of collaboration.
Prof Denise Syndercombe Court

Prof. Denise Syndercombe Court

Professor of Forensic Genetics
Kings College London
Keynote
The choice and solutions that MPS technology offers the field of forensic genomics makes it a compelling choice for the future. At DEII 2018 I look forward to sharing and discussing good practice in reporting complex issues.
Jeppe

Jeppe Dyrberg Andersen

Assistant Professor, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen
Application Spotlight
MPS has made molecular autopsy possible and this may be the key to resolving many unexplained sudden deaths which can leave relatives with uncertain family health histories. I will be sharing the results of the comprehensive molecular investigations we have carried out for sudden unexplained death victims, including targeted gene sequencing, whole genome sequencing, and whole transcriptome sequencing and discussing the benefits of this information together with the challenges associated with handling the quantity of data generated.
Kris

Kristiaan van der Gaag

Researcher, Netherlands Forensic Institute
Application Spotlight
Jerry and I will be sharing our experiences at the NFI in acquiring accreditation for MPS and for implementing MPS mtDNA analysis in casework. We also want to share the steps we are taking towards the implementation of STR sequencing in our laboratory. We believe that MPS will expand the possibilities for the analysis of mixtures, by providing a larger number of loci and more quantitative analyses suitable for much more standardised and highly automised analysis.
Jerry

Jerry Hoogenboom

Researcher, Netherlands Forensic Institute
Application Spotlight
Kristiaan and I will be sharing our experiences at the NFI in acquiring accreditation for MPS and for implementing MPS mtDNA analysis in casework. We also want to share the steps we are taking towards the implementation of STR sequencing in our laboratory. We believe that MPS will expand the possibilities for the analysis of mixtures, by providing a larger number of loci and more quantitative analyses suitable for much more standardised and highly automised analysis
Sabrina

Sabrina Ingold

PhD Student
Institute of Forensics, University of Zurich
Application Spotlight
A major impact and advantage of MPS is broadening the field of Forensic Genetics to Forensic Genomics by combining hundreds of markers in one assay for analysing not only DNA but also RNA. I`m excited to share results from our targeted RNA sequencing assay for body fluid identification which provide quantitative results and enable the use of probabilistic approaches for data interpretation.
Francois

Francois-Xavier Laurent

Head of R&D Team,
Institut National de Police Scientifique, Lyon.
Application Spotlight
MPS is enabling forensic scientists to decipher more complex DNA samples and create new leads for police and justice forces. In my talk I will highlight the real advances we have made at INPS in the implementation of MPS technology for real casework.
Gabriella

Gabriella Mason-Buck

DNA Forensic Scientist
King's College London
Application Spotlight
MPS has accelerated progression within forensic genomics. The large amount of information that can be obtained within a short timeframe speeds up the ability to answer the difficult questions we face and opens new avenues for discovery. I'm excited to share a novel approach to forensic metagenomic analysis and a method that can be deployed as an investigative intelligence tool.
Michelle Peck

Michelle Peck

DNA Validation and Development Coordinator, International Commission on Missing Persons
Application Spotlight
MPS will make generating data for the less commonly used marker types (e.g. SNPs, mtDNA) more accessible to laboratories. The power of these markers combined with traditional STR markers equips labs with a powerful toolkit for identifications. I am excited to share how this increased capacity will enhance our ability to identify missing persons.
Jordan

Jordan Beasley

PhD Student, University of Leicester
Lightning talk
MPS technology will allow us to gain so much more information about each sample we analyse and greatly increase our multiplexing capabilities. It will be great to talk about the applications of MPS in a non-human context and how it can be used to combat wildlife crime.
Ferran Casals

Ferran Casals

Head of Genomics Core Facility, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Lightning talk
MPS technology is providing us with more exhaustive information and the ability to solve sample mixtures at reduced costs. I am excited to share with you at DEII 2018 our ability to detect second degree relatives in degraded samples, and to describe their phenotype and ancestry.
Theresa Goss

Theresa Gross

Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne
Lightning talk
The standardization of sequence-based STR analysis is a continuous and complicated process. The major benefit of MPS for the forensic community - more information from limited DNA amounts – can be difficult to extract and use its full potential. I am excited to share and discuss results of a collaborative effort to build a reference population data base and its application to complex casework.
Christian Sell

Christian Sell

Postdoctoral Researcher, BKA Germany (Federal Police Office)
Lightning talk
The amount of data gained from MPS improves the information content of current methods and allows new approaches to get more detailed knowledge of forensic samples, e.g. phenotype reconstruction. I will be showing that the ability to determine sequence variation in STR flanks depends on the information available for the primer sequence used.
Viktorija Sukser

Viktorija Sukser

DNA Expert, Science Centre “Ivan Vučetić”
Lightning talk
MPS is already recognized as an invaluable tool, able to delve deep into both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. With such extensive insight into genomic sequences, MPS provides firmer forensic intelligence, ultimately leading to more efficient casework solving. I will be sharing our experience of MPS of whole human mtDNA, and discussing some interesting results from population studies, which MPS enabled us to uncover.
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Presentations

KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

Collaboration is Key in Forensic Genomics
Prof. Walther Parson, Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck.

Aspects of Phenotyping and Ancestry – and How Should We Report?
Prof. Denise Syndercombe Court, King’s College London.

APPLICATION SPOTLIGHT SESSION I: FORENSIC CASEWORK

Accredited MPS Implementation for Casework at the NFI: mtDNA First, More to Come.
Kristiaan van der Gaag and Jerry Hoogenboom, Netherlands Forensic Institute.

Challenges and MPS Solutions in Large Scale Missing Persons Identification
Michelle Peck, International Commission on Missing Persons.

Routine Use of ForenSeq® Solution on Casework Samples: Feedback One Year After Lab Implementation
Dr. Francois Xavier Laurent, Head of Research and Development, Institut Nationale de Police Scientifique, Lyon.

Click to watch video

APPLICATION SPOTLIGHT SESSION II: APPLICATION EXPANSION

RNA Profiling for the Identification of Body Fluids Using MPS.
Sabrina Ingold, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Zurich. NOT AVAILABLE.

Investigative Intelligence: A Metagenomic Approach.
Gabriella Mason-Buck, King's College London.

Molecular Autopsy for Sudden Unexpected Death Victims.
Jeppe Dyrberg Andersen, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen.

LIGHTNING TALKS

Analysis of Ancient and Forensic Samples with the MiSeq FGx®
Ferran Casals, Head of Genomics Core Facility, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.

Massively Parallel Sequencing of Whole Mitochondrial DNA: Croatian Population Study
Viktorija Sukser, DNA Expert, Forensic Science Centre “Ivan Vučetić”.

Exploring Sequence-Based Allelic Variation of Forensic STRs in Different Populations
Theresa Gross, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne.

Sequence Variation in flanking regions of STR Markers
Christian Sell, Postdoctoral Researcher, BKA Germany (Federal Police Office).

Towards Combatting Wildlife Crime Using MPS
Jordan Beasley, PhD Student, University of Leicester.

DEII 2017
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Presentations

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Conference Report

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