Household dust, soil and leather – exploring new avenues for forensic science genetics research
Event Details
📅 Date: 20th May 2026
🕕 Doors Open: 6:00 PM
🕖 Talk Starts: 7:00 PM
📍 Location: 1PSQ, Western Sydney University, Room 1.5.39, Parramatta City Campus
Speaker
Associate Professor Kelly Meiklejohn
Western Sydney University
Dr. Kelly Meiklejohn is an Associate Professor in Forensic Science at Western Sydney University. Prior to joining WSU, she was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit at the FBI Laboratory and spent nearly eight years as an academic at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on applying advanced genetics and genomics approaches to recover information from challenging forensic samples and previously overlooked biological evidence. She completed her PhD at the University of Wollongong, studying forensically important Australian flesh flies.
About the Talk
Biological materials such as blood, saliva, bone, teeth, and hair are central to both human and wildlife forensic investigations. However, forensic scientists are often faced with limited and highly degraded DNA.
In this talk, Dr. Meiklejohn will explore innovative genomics approaches that allow scientists to extract meaningful information even from highly compromised samples. Topics will include:
- Household dust as a source of human DNA
- Environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis from geological evidence
- Revealing historical insights from medieval parchments using DNA
This presentation highlights how cutting-edge genomics is expanding the boundaries of forensic science and enabling new ways to interpret complex biological evidence.
Join us for an engaging evening exploring how modern genomics is transforming forensic investigations.
This will be a hybrid event.