Abstract

The degradation of DNA in forensic genetic genealogy can hinder timely results in victim or perpetrator identification. Identification of an unidentified victim, a “Doe”, involves analyzing the degraded DNA against reference genomes. Organizations like the DNA Doe Project and Identifinders currently manually compares the genomes in a spreadsheet with data input slowing down the investigative process. I propose a program to automate the data input and comparison to increase the speed at which Identifinders can continue their research into identifying victims. Comparative DNA Degradation Automation (CDDA) automates the process of creating a simulated degraded DNA profile in less than a second on average. This program could be used not only by organizations like Identifinders and the DNA Doe Project, but also used in future research where natural DNA decomposition is not possible.

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Genetic genealogy; DNA--Testing

Publication Date

8-8-2021

Document Type

Thesis

Student Type

Graduate

Degree Name

Bioinformatics (MS)

Department, Program, or Center

Thomas H. Gosnell School of Life Sciences (COS)

Advisor

Gary R. Skuse

Advisor/Committee Member

Colleen Fitzpatrick

Advisor/Committee Member

Feng Cui

Campus

RIT – Main Campus

Plan Codes

BIOINFO-MS

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