The first Human Identification Solutions Conference was held in Madrid from 3-4 March, 2015. It was the first conference organised by Thermo Fisher Scientific grouping together people operating in routine DNA forensics labs and those working in research.

The conference provided an exciting programme of inspiring presentations and the 245 delegates from 51 different countries, that attended the event, were able to find out about new technologies and solutions.

We brought together 19 international leading forensic experts whodiscussed paradigm innovations in human identification and shared their research and insights with the forensic community. The conference also offered a unique opportunity for the delegates to meet with key opinion leaders, network among peers and colleagues, and visit the booths of the sponsoring companies, as well as the poster area, to learn about the latest cutting-edge technologies.

The 19 international speakers presented and discussed the following topics:

• Next generation sequencing (NGS) for human identity applications

• Crime scene DNA collection

• Y-STR haplotypes in forensics

• Update on global databases and policies

Overview of HIDS 2015thermofisher.com/hids

All content is available at: thermofisher.com/hids

REGISTER FOR HIDS2016

10-11 MayBarcelona

More than 50% of the participants interviewed after HIDS 2015 stated they found the event very inspiring to the extent that they would look to implement a new method or solution in their laboratories in the coming months. Feedback has been extremely positive, below are some examples of the comments received:

“Speakers were so interesting, felt positive when leaving conference - very impressed”

Private Company, South Europe

“Really well organised, speakers were amazing and great that major scientists from all fields were in one place. Good to hear about latest technology”

Central Europe Private Company

“Really useful, good conference, more scientific content which is great, liked the fact it covered good global reach and not just Europe in terms of the presentations, workshop on PGM very helpful”

Forensic Science Unit, North Europe

“Very useful and interesting, met up with old acquaintances and made new ones”

Government Forensic Expert, Eastern Europe

“Excellent, incredible, been to many conferences around the world, was Life Technologies first time and seemed to have nailed it. Speakers were great (ones he saw)”

Government Agency, North America

All content is available at: thermofisher.com/hids

Keynote speakers interviews

Dr. Antonio Alonso: High discrimination power of GlobalFiler™ kit impresses Key words: GlobalFiler kit

Prof. Ballantyne: Forensic labs should use Y-STR analysis in sexual assault casesKey words: Sexual assault investigations

Prof. Manfred Kayser: Using Rapidly Mutating Y-STRs for Human Identification Key words: Y-STR genotyping

All of the video interviews above and additional interviews on HID Ion Torrent™ Solutions are posted on the HIDS interview page.

Dr. Stefano Venarecci: How does the Italian National Police use QuantiFiler™ Trio kit? Key words: QuantiFiler kit

Prof. Lutz Roewer: Highly sensitive Y-STR kits contribute to golden age of Y-genotypingKey words: Y STR genotyping

All content is available at: thermofisher.com/hids

Presentations

The following presentations from HIDS 2015 are available to download and review on our website.

Prof. Dr. Bruce Budowle Professor, Executive Director of Institute of Applied Genetics

Title of presentation:

Perspectives on the future of forensic genetics

Dr. Stefano Vernarecci Forensic Genetics Laboratory of Rome - Italian National Police

Title of presentation:

Quantifiler™ Trio kit and forensic samples management: A matter of degradation

Prof. Walther Parson Institute of Legal Medicine, Austria

Title of presentation:

Massively parallel sequencing in forensic genetics

Dr. Antonio Alonso National Institute of Toxicology and Forensic Sciences, Madrid, Spain

Title of presentation:

Improving DNA data exchange: Validation studies of a global STR System

Prof. Niels Morling Director of the Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen

Title of presentation:

SNP and STR analysis using NGSs

Dr. Thomas Parson International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), Bosnia and Herzegovina

Title of presentation:

The potential of forensic genetics in resolving the fate of the missing

Dr. Andrea Carbonaro Thermo Fisher Scientific

Title of presentation:

CPA200™ & CPA300™ - Next generation punch system technology

Mr. Tim Schellberg President of the Gordon Thomas

Title of presentation:

The impact of new DNA technologies on the future of criminal offender DNA databases

Dr. SallyAnn Harbison Institute of Environmental Science and Research Limited (ESR), Auckland, New Zealand

Title of presentation:

Massively parallel sequencing—integrating the Ion PGM™ sequencer into your forensic laboratory

Prof. Dr. Cindy Harper Director of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory, Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Pretoria, South Africa

Title of presentation:

The Rhinoceros DNA database: A forensic tool that can help save a

Dr. Christopher Phillips Full-time researcher in the Forensic Genetics Unit, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Title of presentation:

Validation of identity and ancestry SNP panels

Prof. Jack Ballantyne, Ph.D. Professor, Department of Chemistry. Associate Director (Research)

Title of presentation:

Why Y chromosome markers are an ever expanding essential tool in sexual assault investigations

Prof. Dr. Peter Schneider University of Cologne, Germany

Title of presentation:

Forensic genetics in the 21st century—meeting the challenges of biological evidence

Prof. Angela Gallop CEO Axiom International; Professor at the Centre for Forensic Science at Northumbria University

Title of presentation:

Needles in haystacks—finding DNA traces to test in complex, historic cases

ANALYSEHIGHLY DEGRADED

OR TRACE DNA

Identity-informative solution

ANALYSE DNA MIxTURES MORE

EFFICIENTLY

Next-generation technology

ANALYSE REMAINS OR

MISSING PERSONS

Mitochondrialsolution

GENERATEMORE INVESTIGATIVE

LEADS

Ancestry-informative solution

ANALYSEFAMILIAL AND

KINSHIP CASES

Lineage-informative solution

HID solution, including the Ion Chef™ automated sample preparation system, the fast and scalable Ion PGM™ sequencer and the recently launched HID-Ion Ampliseq™ Identity and Ancestry panels.

Also discussed at the booth were the Applied Biosystems™ DNA quantification solutions, with the new

™ kits to evaluate sample quality and quantity in a single reaction.

Products exhibited

Other discussions were held around the trusted Applied Biosystems AmpFℓSTR™ kits, the high-performance Applied Biosystems 3500 series Genetic Analyzers and software, in-depth training and on-site technical assistance and how it all works together to help ensure your success and maximise your productivity.

We are confident that the HIDS 2015 conference provided the forensic community with insight and perspectives on technologies and solutions that will significantly improve the forensics outcome.

Due to the success of this event, we have confirmed a second conference to be held on 10-11 May 2016. If you would like more information or to pre-register to secure your place please visit thermofisher.com/hids.

All content is available at: thermofisher.com/hids

For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. ©2015 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of Thermo Fisher Scientific and its subsidiaries unless otherwise specified. CO210316 0815

™

™

™

Of particular interest to the customers was the recentlylaunched Applied Biosystems™ GeneMapper™ Software ID-X v1.5, that increases productivity, expands the data review capabilities and expands its networks capabilities in a single, trusted platform.

Also on display where the high quality collection solutionsthat Thermo Fisher Scientific offers through its Applied Biosystems™ Forensix™ product line and its partnership with Copan Flock Technologies, both leaders in manufacturing sample collection and DNA preservation tools. On display were the semi-automated Copan CPA200™ punch instrument and the fully automated CPA300™ punch instrument, as well as their full range of sample collection devices.