Fundamentals of Forensic DNA Typing

John M. Butler is a NIST Fellow and Special Assistant to the Director for Forensic Science, Office of Special Programs, at the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology, in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Dr. Butler earned his PhD from the University of Virginia while doing DNA research in the FBI Laboratory's Forensic Science Research Unit. He has won numerous scientific awards, including being named Science Watch’s #1 world-wide high-impact author in legal medicine and forensic science over the last decade (July 2011). He has over 150 publications in this field and is a frequent presenter on the topic of DNA typing, and has authored four other DNA Typing books including Advanced Topics in Forensic DNA Typing: Methodology. For a detailed CV, visit http://www.cstl.nist.gov/strbase/butler.htm.

"There is perhaps no individual better suited to author a foundational survey of forensic DNA typing than John Butler. As with past editions, Butler’s knowledge, along with his organizational and communication skills make Fundamentals of Forensic DNA Typing a must read for students, forensic practitioners and trial attorneys. This text provides the reader with insightful and understandable explanations necessary to comprehend the underpinnings of forensic DNA analysis. It continues in the tradition of its predecessors as the premier textbook on the forensic DNA subject."-- Richard Saferstein, Ph.D. Author and Forensic Science Consultant"When ScienceWatch.com, a Thomson Reuters web resource for measuring and analyzing science trends, recently listed the most influential institutions and researchers in forensic science based on journal citations, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and one of its researchers, John Butler, were among the leaders."-- ThomasNet.com"Intended as the companion to the 2010 publication, Fundamentals of Forensic DNA Typing, this title contains 18 chapters with four appendices providing up-to-date coverage of essential topics in the field of DNA analysis. The book includes new information on DNA databases, low-level DNA, and validation; a comprehensive listing of alleles for the 23 STR loci present in commercial kits, and coverage of familial searching."--Evidence Technology Magazine, July-August 2012, page 4

• Foreword IntroductionAcknowledgmentsAbout the author 1 Overview and History of DNA Typing 2 Basics of DNA Biology and Genetics3 Historical Methods4 Sample Collection, Storage and Characterization5 DNA Extraction6 DNA Quantitation7 DNA Amplification (The Polymerase Chain Reaction)8 Short Tandem Repeat Markers9 Fundamentals of DNA separation and Detection10 STR Genotyping and Data Interpretation11 Statistical Interpretation: Evaluating the Strength of Forensic DNA Evidence12 DNA databases13 Quality Assurance14 Forensic Challenges: Degraded DNA, Mixtures, and LCN15 Additional Loci and Non-Human DNA Testing16 Lineage Markers: Y Chromosome and mtDNA Testing17 Applications of DNA Typing18 Future TrendsAppendix 1 Glossary of Terms2 Useful Websites3 Probability and Statistics