Dr. Tim Kalafut has recently received three grants to research ways to improve DNA mixture interpretation.
Kalafut, Associate Professor in the Forensic Science Department, who graduated with his Ph.D. in Toxicology from Texas A&M, began his career at the Dallas County Crime Lab as a DNA Examiner. After working in Dallas for a few years, Dr. Kalafut spent almost 20 years working in the US Army’s crime lab, providing his expertise at courts martial when needed to help with military cases. During his time at the US Army, he positioned the agency to explore groundbreaking research on DNA mixtures. Kalafut enjoyed the numerous teaching and training opportunities that came with the project, which influenced his decision in becoming a professor. He decided to apply for a position with the Forensic Science Department at SHSU and began teaching classes in the fall of 2020.
Through his research and practice at the US Army Crime Lab, Kalafut gathered profound knowledge of complicated DNA mixtures. He later arranged a trip to New Zealand, where he met a research group with software to help better understand DNA. Because of this trip, the US Army Crime Lab was the first laboratory to go live with probabilistic genotyping in the United States. With this new tool active in the forensic science community, experts can better help ordinary citizens to understand complicated DNA, which is vital when it comes to court proceedings. With the first grant of $6,000 from the American Academy of Forensic Science, Kalafut looks to address some difficult questions about probabilistic genotyping. He intends to use the same software he used in New Zealand to compare internal DNA mixtures with other laboratories. He is also being funded $25,000 by the Forensic Science Foundation to investigate several Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) DNA issues. This project will allow forensic scientists to have a deeper layer of information to assist in the separation and identification of DNA from multiple donors mixed in the same sample. Dr. Kalafut is also being funded $160,000 by The National Institute of Justice in partnership with the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Their research will address the concerns that many practitioners have with probabilistic genotyping likelihood ratios, specifically when the statistical numerical values are small. This often happens for low-level DNA mixtures of multiple donors. Dr. Kalafut plans to recruit laboratories, have them report DNA samples, using the protocols that each lab has, and then try again with new tools.
With all the grants and research, Dr. Kalafut still credits his colleagues for their support, saying, “I worked for the Federal Government, we gave grants, we didn’t write grants, we didn’t compete for grants, I knew nothing about them when I started at SHSU. I’m very thankful that the atmosphere in the Forensic Science Department is so supportive. The professors who were already here have helped me navigate through uncharted waters. I have no idea how I would’ve survived (without them). It is a group effort by far, and I am very grateful for my colleagues.”
Dr. Kalafut, who has also recently been appointed to serve on the Forensic Science Standards Board to prepare guidelines for report writing and oral testimony, has used his background and experience to conduct quality research, vital to the court process. His dedication to his projects will affect the future of forensic science and could influence policy changes. We are excited to see the results of his research and the impact it will have on society.
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