Missing persons
Physical and Biochemical Factors Affecting the Recovery and Analysis of DNA from Human Skeletal Remains
Overview of Forensic Anthropology
Forensic anthropologists examine skeletal human remains to assess age at death, sex, stature, and ancestry; identify injuries; and estimate the time since death to provide investigators with information that can assist in identifying a decedent.
Forensic odontologists examine the development, anatomy, and any restorative dental corrections of the teeth, such as fillings or extractions, to make a comparative identification of a person.
Bones and teeth are...
Guiding Interpretation: Leveraging High-Density SNP Data from Major U.S. Populations for Forensic Genetic Analyses
Advancing Justice for the Missing and Unidentified Through Research - 2024 NIJ Research Conference
Forensic science research is developing essential knowledge to fill in the holes in death investigations, creating new ways to identify challenging skeletal remains. These methods inform cause of death, time of death, and familial relationships to guide investigations, identify suspects, support prosecutions, and bring justice to families.
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Identifying High-Priority Needs to Improve Data and Metrics in Policing
Webinar Transcript: FY 2024 NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship Program
Deadline notice
The deadline to submit an application under the solicitation discussed below has passed.
NIJ held a webinar on February 14, 2024, gave an overview of NIJ’s Graduate Research Fellowship opportunity, which invites applications for doctoral dissertation research that is relevant to preventing and controlling crime, advancing knowledge of victimization and effective victim services, or ensuring the fair and impartial administration...
Highlighting Significant NIJ Forensic Science Investments: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Site Visit
Highlighting Significant NIJ Forensic Science Investments: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Site Visit
Technological Solutions for Rural Medical Examiner Facilities
Microhaplotypes in forensic genetics
Assessment of carbon, oxygen, strontium, and lead isotopic variation in modern Colombian teeth: An application to human identification
OsteoID: A New Forensic Tool to Help Identify the Species of Skeletal Remains
NIJ-supported researchers developed a free web tool to help forensic investigators and others interested in bone identification.
NIJ Awards $16M to Support Forensic Science Research
On September 26, 2023, NIJ announced $16 million in new funding to support 33 projects under the FY23 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes solicitation. Through this program, NIJ continues to advance the speed, accuracy, and reliability of forensic analysis, which ultimately bolsters the administration of justice.
Funding Highlights for Fiscal Year 2023
Since 2009, NIJ has invested nearly $300 million...
Webinar: NIJ Research Assistantship Program Informational Webinar
This recorded webinar, originally held September 28, 2023, provides information on NIJ’s Research Assistantship Program, which offers highly qualified doctoral students the opportunity to bring their expertise to NIJ to work across offices and program areas to obtain a practical and applied research experience. The program is a research focused professional development opportunity for doctoral students from all academic disciplines. NIJ...
Optimization of InnoXtract (TM) extraction and purification system for DNA extraction from skeletal samples
Evaluating the reliability and accuracy of multiple geophysical methods in the search for clandestine graves
Quantifying the accuracy of low quality DNA sample analysis from genotyping to genealogical searching and integration as a bioinformatic pipeline
Cold Cases and Serial Killers (Part 1)
In April 2018, the Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo was arrested. NIJ support helped lead to his arrest, and in the aftermath of the arrest, NIJ Social Science Analyst Eric Martin was among those tasked with finding other cases NIJ helped law enforcement solve. Eric joins the show to talk about some of those cases, and answer some broader questions about serial killers: What is a serial killer? Are they on the rise? How do we know how many serial killers are currently active?
Evaluation and Implementation of High Throughput Second Generation Sequencing for Mitochondrial DNA Testing in Missing Persons and Forensic Casework at the UNT Center for Human Identification
Streamlining the decision-making process for international DNA kinship matching using Worldwide allele frequencies and tailored cutoff log(10)LR thresholds
Missing Native American Persons: Nebraska Study Details Scope of Problem, Urges Culturally Sensitive Research and Better Access to Justice
Building relationships between tribal and non-tribal law agencies is a key step for addressing high incidence of reported missing persons cases, NIJ-supported study finds.
MPKin-YSTR: Interpretation of Y chromosome STR haplotypes for missing persons cases
