News

Grant for VU research in familial DNA searching

NWO brings the research everybody knows from the CSI series a step closer to reality.

Nine forensic research teams are receiving grants within the NWO program Forensice Science, one of them being the research group of the VU mathematician Ronald Meester. Altogether 3.5 million euros are made available for these research projects.

Searching with relatives

A pending change of law is supposed to make it possible to track suspected felons by using DNA tests to search for their relatives, for instance in a DNA database. This is feasible since the DNA among relatives shows strong similarities. Ronald Meester and his group are studying the statistical and probabilistic aspects of this. They give suggestions for how a search can best be done. They also study ethical aspects of this method.

Press release NWO: Forensisch onderzoek krijgt impuls van NWO (in Dutch)