UP Diliman's 3rd Forensic Science Symposium set on May 16-17

• Source:http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=13&rid=884650
• Thursday, May 12, 2016

By Ma. Cristina C. Arayata [(PNA), SCS/MCCA]

MANILA, May 12 (PNA) -- University of the Philippines Diliman's (UPD) 3rd Forensic Science Symposium (FSS) is set on May 16-17 at the SEAMEO Innotech along Commonwealth Ave., Quezon City.

Organizers DNA Analysis Laboratory, Natural Sciences Research Institute (UPD-NSRI-DAL), Institute of Biology, College of Science (UPD-CS-IB) and the Program on Forensics and Ethnicity of the Philippine Genome Center (PGC-FnE) have combined the 3rd FSS with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of UPD-NSRI-DAL on May 16.

DAL,formerly known as the Genetic Engineering Laboratory of the Natural Sciences Research Institute (UPD-NSRI), was established on May 16, 1996 as a research facility for human population genetics and forensic DNA analysis.

Currently, the UPD-NSRI-DAL is involved in numerous scientific projects involving DNA analysis from various forensic casework samples as well as establishment and expansion of Philippine genetic database using capillary electrophoresis-based and next generation sequencing technologies.

In addition, the laboratory also offers DNA testing services for parentage (paternity and maternity) and human identification as part of their extension and public service work.

With the theme, "DNA as a Catalyst for Change," the symposium will have speakers who were especially selected from among the institutional collaborators of the UPD-NSRI-DAL, as well as those who gave invaluable support in their own professional capacities from 1996 to 2016.

"The lectures would take us back to 1996 when DNA forensics was relatively unknown in the Philippines, through the years of struggle to engage the various stakeholders in activities aimed at demonstrating the utility of forensic science, and finally to the present when different scientific fields such as genetics, environmental biology, pathology, anthropology and medicine are being utilized to help criminal investigations, to settle civil disputes and/or to aid Philippine courts by providing objective evidence relevant to a particular case," the organizers said.

Four international experts will share their insights on the contribution of forensic science in strengthening the criminal justice system in different parts of the world.

They are George Sensabaugh Jr., professor emeritus, Forensic and Biomedical Sciences, University of California, Berkeley; Christopher Asplen, former director of the United Nations National Commission on DNA Evidence, and currently the attorney in charge, Life Sciences Practice, Hill Wallack LLP; Nor Aidora Saedon, head of the Crime Unit, DNA Forensics Section, Department of Chemistry, Malaysia; and Sheila Dennis, former assistant director, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, New York City, and currently a Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD) Balik Scientist at the UPD-NSRI-DAL.

For inquiries regarding registration and fees, one may contact the organizers at https://www.facebook.com/ForensicsScienceSymposium.

Meanwhile, UPD-IB first offered Biology 397 Forensic Biology Seminar Series as a graduate course in November 2012. The course covered fundamental topics in forensic sciences which included DNA analysis, botany, microbiology, crime scene investigation and legal/ethical issues in forensics.

Bio397 also provided opportunities for students to work with the UPD-NSRI-DAL and PGC-PFnE to co-organize a forensic symposium that was open to the public.

The 1st FSS was held in 2014 and carried the theme “Forensic Science in the Philippines: Status, Challenges and Opportunities.” Last year, the 2nd FSS had the theme "The Next Generation/The Now Generation" and focused on the use of DNA technology in disaster victim identification.