Episode Eighty | Just ASCLD Rapid DNA Committee
Just ASCLD Rapid DNA Committee
In episode five of the Forensic Advancement season, Just Science interviews Katie Fetherston, Brian Hoey, and Jeremy Triplett, the Laboratory Supervisor for Kentucky State Police to discuss the ASCLD Rapid DNA committee efforts. In addition to implementing Rapid DNA technology in law enforcement units for investigative leads, the technology can be used in disaster victim identification (DVI). The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) recognizes that the forensic science community can aid these efforts. Listen along as Katie Fetherston, Brian Hoey, and Jeremy Triplett discus how the Law enforcement, DVI, and forensic laboratory subcommittees of the ASCLD Rapid DNA Task Force provide coordination and oversight, assisting in facilitating communication, along with developing best practices and guidance documents.
This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [Award 2016-MU-BX-K110].
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Katie Fetherston began her career in 1993 at the first private forensic laboratory in the state of Colorado to conduct DNA analysis through PCR. In 1996, Katie began with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation in DNA databasing, then to DNA casework, and is now the Laboratory Director of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation – Denver Forensic Science Laboratory. During her career, she has seen the rise and fall of RFLP, combined probability of inclusion, and nickel-sized bloodstains necessary for DNA typing results. She has helped to change legislation to include mandatory submission of sexual assault kits, developed a DNA laboratory dedicated to streamlined DNA analysis of property crimes, designed and built a new lab, and watched an ever-expanding DNA database provide hundreds of investigative leads all while witnessing first-hand the continual change of forensic DNA. Now with the advent of rapid DNA changing the landscape of DNA analysis once again, Katie is committed to staying at the forefront of this new technology.
Brian Hoey is the director of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Crime Laboratory Division. Hoey joined the Patrol on January 1, 1993, as a criminalist in the DNA Profiling Section. He transferred to the Serology Section on April 26, 1996. Hoey was promoted to criminalist supervisor and assigned to the DNA Casework Section on July 1, 2004. On August 22, 2010, he was promoted to crime laboratory manager with oversight responsibility for the DNA Casework, Latent Prints, Firearms, and Trace sections of the Crime Laboratory Division. During that same time, he served as the DNA technical leader, a position required for CODIS laboratories. Hoey was named assistant director of the Crime Laboratory Division on March 20, 2016. Director Hoey was born and raised in the Chicago, IL, area. He earned a Bachelor of Science in biology from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, IL in 1990. He earned a Master of Science in biology from Northern Illinois University in 1992. In 2015, he earned a Master of Business Administration from William Woods University in Fulton, MO. Hoey is a member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) and serves on its Rapid DNA Committee. He is also a member of the Midwestern Association of Forensic Sciences (MAFS) where he served as president in 2013.
Jeremy Triplett is the drug chemistry supervisor at the Kentucky State Police Central Forensic Laboratory in Frankfort, KY, where he is also served as the drug chemistry technical leader for all six of the Kentucky State Police laboratory branches from 2007 – 2016. He has more than thirteen years of experience in forensic drug chemistry analysis and has testified in local, state and federal courts. As technical leader, Jeremy oversaw training programs, policy and procedure revisions, and internal audits for the Kentucky State Police drug chemistry laboratories, statewide. Jeremy regularly interfaces with policymakers in Kentucky regarding controlled substances issues facing the Commonwealth. In addition to his work with the Kentucky State Police, Jeremy currently serves on the Board of Directors of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD), an organization of crime laboratory directors and managers dedicated to providing excellence in forensic science through leadership and innovation. In the fall of 2014, Jeremy was appointed to the Forensic Science Standards Board of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC), where he was subsequently elected chairman. OSAC is an initiative sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that seeks to coordinate the development of standards and guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of work in the forensic science community. Jeremy is certified as a Fellow in the area of drug analysis by the American Board of Criminalistics and is a Member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He is also a certified technical assessor in drug chemistry for ASCLD/LAB and has participated in several assessments of forensic science laboratories both inside and outside of the United States. Jeremy received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Kentucky and an M.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Florida.
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