Newswise — A cutting-edge DNA lab at North Dakota State University, Fargo, has been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to perform crime-fighting work. The Justice Department has placed the NDSU Forensic DNA Facility on its list of approved DNA vendor laboratories eligible for work through the Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program. The notification was announced by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D.
NDSU's Forensic DNA Facility utilizes high-tech equipment and methods for use in criminal and civil court cases. The lab joins just 24 others in the nation eligible for similar work through the DNA Backlog Reduction Program, which received $151 million in federal funding this fiscal year.
"Approval by the National Institute of Justice as a DNA laboratory vendor to receive casework from law enforcement agencies, under the Forensic DNA Backlog Reduction Program, is a major accomplishment for our facility," said Dr. Berch Henry, director of the NDSU Forensic DNA Facility. "This achievement acknowledges that our program has successfully met the highest standards of our profession."
The NDSU Forensic DNA Facility uses state-of-the-art methods to perform evidence analysis on both criminal and civil cases. The Facility is engaged in basic and applied forensic research. The NDSU Lab provides the criminal justice system with forensic DNA analysis to help solve cases, assist government laboratories, and provide reanalysis of casework evidence.
The NDSU Forensic DNA Facility is accredited by Forensic Quality Services — International Division of the National Forensic Science and Technology Center. This accrediting agency inspects U.S. laboratories for adherence to standards set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISC) and the DNA Advisory Board (established by the Director of the FBI). The NDSU Forensic DNA Facility complies with the requirements of ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and Forensic Requirements for Accreditation (FRA 1).
The NDSU research team focuses on the trickiest of DNA identification cases and on training others in DNA forensic science. The group studies ways to maximize results from the smallest amounts of DNA evidence. The NDSU scientific team's experience includes extensive work at major metropolitan, county and state police forensic laboratories, as well as in private sector laboratories.
NDSU, in association with efforts from Sen. Byron Dorgan and the Red River Valley Research Corridor, received $3.5 million in grant awards from the National Institute of Justice to establish the Forensics DNA Facility. The Facility is among the first in the country to combine teaching with a functioning forensic DNA lab. Under development is a Ph.D. track to provide doctoral students in biochemistry with an emphasis in forensic DNA technology—among the first program of its kind in the nation.
The NDSU Forensic DNA Facility team includes board-certified members (American Board of Criminalistics) who possess more than 50 years combined experience in forensic serology and DNA analysis — from identification of biological fluids to DNA profiling. Its scientists are members of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, The Association of Forensic DNA Analysts and Administration, and The Midwestern Association of Forensic Scientists. www.ndsu.edu/dna
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