ANZFSS NSW – Biogeographical Ancestry Prediction in Forensic Investigations with Felicity Poulsen

Felicity is a Research & Development Scientist within the Forensic DNA Unit at the NSW Health Pathology Forensic & Analytical Science Service (FASS) and a part-time PhD candidate at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Centre for Genomics and Personalised Health. Felicity’s research has focused on emerging DNA analysis technologies and their application to forensic investigations. Felicity’s current work relates to the use of biogeographical ancestry prediction to provide intelligence to investigators in criminal and coronial casework, which is the topic of her PhD project.

The project is a collaboration between FASS and QUT and aims to investigate potential sources of error within BGA prediction workflows and develop a robust methodology for evaluating and comparing the performance of BGA analysis methods. It is anticipated that the findings will help to inform improvements to current methods, with the aim to provide more accurate, reliable and actionable BGA predictions for casework.

In 2024, Felicity was awarded the Eric Murray Professional Achiever’s Award which supported a trip to Santiago de Compostela, Spain to present her work at the 30th Congress of the International Society of Forensic Genetics and visit the University of Santiago de Compostela to meet with leading international researchers on the topic of Forensic BGA prediction.

Felicity will discuss her PhD work and share how the Eric Murray award has helped support the project and her professional development as an early career researcher.

Date: 19th February

Time: 6pm doors will open, 7pm presentation starts. Zoom broadcast will begin at 7pm.

Location: Lancer Barracks, 2 Smith Street, Parramatta. Please note, if you arrive after 7pm you will be unable to enter.

Price: Free for members. $10 for non-members.