

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.

“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.
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
Speakers

Prof. Dr. Walther Parson
Medical University of Innsbruck
Keynote

Prof. Denise Syndercombe Court
Kings College London
Keynote

Jeppe Dyrberg Andersen
Application Spotlight

Kristiaan van der Gaag
Application Spotlight

Jerry Hoogenboom
Application Spotlight

Sabrina Ingold
Institute of Forensics, University of Zurich
Application Spotlight

Francois-Xavier Laurent
Institut National de Police Scientifique, Lyon.
Application Spotlight

Gabriella Mason-Buck
King's College London
Application Spotlight

Michelle Peck
Application Spotlight

Jordan Beasley
Lightning talk

Ferran Casals
Lightning talk

Theresa Gross
Lightning talk

Christian Sell
Lightning talk

Viktorija Sukser
Lightning talk
Presentations
KEYNOTE ADDRESSES
Collaboration is Key in Forensic Genomics
Prof. Walther Parson, Institute of Legal Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck.
Click to watch video
Aspects of Phenotyping and Ancestry – and How Should We Report?
Prof. Denise Syndercombe Court, King’s College London
Click to watch video
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.
Click to watch video
Challenges and MPS Solutions in Large Scale Missing Persons Identification
Michelle Peck, International Commission on Missing Persons.
Click to watch video
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.
Click to watch video
Molecular Autopsy for Sudden Unexpected Death Victims.
Jeppe Dyrberg Andersen, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen.
Click to watch video
LIGHTNING TALKS
Analysis of Ancient and Forensic Samples with the MiSeq FGx®
Ferran Casals, Head of Genomics Core Facility, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Click to watch video
Massively Parallel Sequencing of Whole Mitochondrial DNA: Croatian Population Study
Viktorija Sukser, DNA Expert, Forensic Science Centre “Ivan Vučetić”.
Click to watch video
Exploring Sequence-Based Allelic Variation of Forensic STRs in Different Populations
Theresa Gross, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Legal Medicine, University Hospital Cologne.
Click to watch video
Sequence Variation in flanking regions of STR Markers
Christian Sell, Postdoctoral Researcher, BKA Germany (Federal Police Office).
Click to watch video
Towards Combatting Wildlife Crime Using MPS
Jordan Beasley, PhD Student, University of Leicester.
Click to watch video
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