U.S. flag
      An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.
        Here's how you know
      Here's how you know**Official websites use .gov**
            
            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
      **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
            
            A **lock** (
            A locked padlock
            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Menu

      
        close

            
            
                                              About NIJ
        
                    
  
          About NIJ
      
    
          The NIJ Director
          How NIJ Is Organized
          Mission and Guiding Principles
          Research and Development Process
          Strategic Framework
          Assessments of NIJ
          Annual Reports & Reports to Congress
          Staff Directory
          Funding & Awards
        
                    
  
          Funding & Awards
      
    
          Current Funding
          Forthcoming Funding
          Expired Funding
          Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
          Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
          Fellowship & Student Programs
          Travel Scholarships
          NIJ Challenge Program
          Library & Multimedia
        
                    
  
          Library & Multimedia
      
    
          NIJ Journal
          Podcasts
          Publications Listing
          Multimedia Listing
          Rated Practices on CrimeSolutions
          Rated Programs on CrimeSolutions
          Software & Databases
          Datasets
          Patents
          Topics
        
                    
  
          Topics
      
    
          Article Listing
          Corrections
          Courts
          Crime Prevention
          Crimes
          Drugs and Crime
          Equipment and Technology
          Forensic Sciences
          Youth Justice
          Justice System Reform
          Law Enforcement
          Tribal Crime and Justice
          Victims of Crime
          Events
        
                    
  
          Events
      
    
          NIJ 2024 Research Conference
          Scheduled Events
          On-Demand Events
          Research Meetings & Workshops
          NIJ-Hosted Online Training

                            
                                About
          Contact Us
          Subscribe
          Topics A-Z
                  Share
FacebookXLinkedInRedditPinterestEmail Home
                            Funding & Awards
 DNA Typing Strategies via Real-Time Nanopore Sequencing for Forensic Analysis
Award Information
Awardee
              UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER AT FORT WORTH
Award #
              2018-DU-BX-0179
Funding Category
              Competitive Discretionary
Location
                    FORT WORTH, TX
Congressional District
              12
Status
              Past Project Period End Date
Funding First Awarded
              2018
Total funding (to date)
              $634,973
Original Solicitation
              NIJ FY18 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes
Description of original award (Fiscal Year 2018, $634,973)
Advancements in Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) have progressed to the stage of forensic validation and development of interpretation guidelines, however newer sequencing technologies are rapidly evolving that may better serve forensic needs. The problem faced by forensic laboratories is that they are already encumbered with a costly array of instrumentation needed to perform capillary electrophoresis-based STR typing and the adoption of current NGS platforms is equally expensive with much more involved workflows and steep learning curve. Most laboratories cannot justify or allocate the funding needed to concurrently maintain casework instrumentation while investing in MPS platforms. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a standard in forensic DNA analysis to amplify target STR regions. Amplification is necessary on most sequencing platforms that rely upon secondary signal, such as fluorescence, to detect the nucleotides. However, amplification also introduces artifacts that become intermixed with the data. Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) has developed an inexpensive, compact single-molecule sequencer that allows for direct interrogation of single DNA molecules as they pass through nanopores. Since the nanopore is not reading a secondary signal, the biggest challenge for DNA analysis relies upon having sufficient copies of target DNA regions to overcome competing strands of non-target DNA. In this project, we will determine the ideal number of PCR cycles to effectively enrich STR regions, provide sufficient coverage for genotype determination, and minimize stutter, ultimately creating a micro-PCR protocol for STR sequencing. We will utilize the ONT platform to empirically assess the development of stutter, the most common PCR artifact observed in forensic STR analysis, by directly monitoring the process through real-time sequencing observing both the parental DNA strand and its synthesized complement generated during PCR. Through this we can model the effect of stutter in STR analysis and gain better understanding of the mutation process that naturally occurs in STRs. We have assembled a research team between UNT Health Science Center, University of Texas Arlington and the Human Genome Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine to provide the robust skill set and expertise to tackle this project. We will develop streamlined informatics pipelines, interpretation guidelines and quality assurance measures to consider in validation to facilitate rapid sequence analysis of forensic loci, providing a functional system that permits crime laboratories to explore this platform. Software pipelines will be made open source, hosted on GitHub and provided in popular software containers that ease the use and installation on multiple platforms.
This project contains a research and/or development component, as defined in applicable law, and complies with Part 200 Uniform Requirements - 2 CFR  200.210(a)(14).
CA/NCF



  
Grant-Funded Publications
        
                      Accurate profiling of forensic autosomal STRs using the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION device
                  Potential Applications of Nanopore Sequencing for Forensic Analysis

  
Date Created: September 27, 2018
    
          Side navigation
  

        

  
  
              Current Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Forthcoming Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Expired Funding
    
      
            
            
            
      Awards: Listing of Funded Projects
    
      
            
            
            
      Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
    
      
            
            
            
      Fellowship & Student Programs
    
      
            
            
            
      Travel Scholarships
    
      
            
            
            
      NIJ Challenge ProgramSimilar Awards
        
                      Empirical Analysis of Saw Mark Characteristics in Human Bone: Meeting Forensic Standards in Dismemberment Cases
                  Evaluation of the Luxon Ion Source for Rapid Screening in Forensic Laboratories
                  Understanding and Refining Violence Intervention Implementation: St. Louis (MO) as a Crucial Case
 Top

      National Institute of Justice

        
        
                        About NIJ
                    About NIJ
      
    
                  How NIJ Is Organized
      
    
                  NIJ Director
      
    
                  Research Disclaimer
      
    
                  Funding & Awards
                    Funding & Awards Home
      
    
                  Awards Listing
      
    
                  Current Funding
      
    
                  Guidance for Applicants and Awardees
      
    
                  Resources
                    Events
      
    
                  Podcasts
      
    
                  Publications
      
    
                  Topics
      
    
                  Multimedia
      
    
                  Reuse Policy
      
    
                  Contacts
                    Contact NIJ
      
    
                  Staff Directory
      
    
                  Submit a FOIA Request
      
    
                  File a Civil Rights ComplaintFacebook
          
                      X
          
                      YouTube
  

      810 7th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20531
      
              Secondary Footer link menu
            Accessibility
              Plain Language
              Privacy Policy
              Legal Policies and Disclaimer
              No FEAR Act
              Freedom of Information Act
              USA.gov
              Justice.gov