SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sorenson Forensics today announced it has forged a partnership with the Los Angeles County Coroner to equip, train and launch that office’s first DNA laboratory.
Tim Kupferschmid, Sorenson Forensics’ executive director, characterized the contract as a perfect fit for his company’s internationally respected expertise in advance DNA identification know-how.
“This will be a ‘turn-key’ operation we will be providing for the LA County Coroner’s Office. We’re overseeing renovation of their lab space, equipping it, training their employees, validating the protocols and readying the laboratory for operation and international accreditation,” Kupferschmid said.
“The Los Angeles Metro Area already is served by DNA labs for broader, criminal evidentiary needs through the LA County Sheriff’s and Los Angeles Police Department’s crime laboratories. Our DNA Lab, however, will be tailored to helping the coroner’s staff with quickly and efficiently identifying skeletal remains and John and Jane Doe cases,” stated Joseph Muto, Forensic Laboratories Chief for the Coroner’s Office.
Work on the year-long lab project began in mid-March. By this time next year or even sooner, Kupferschmid plans to start accepting DNA testing with a fully trained and fully equipped staff of three.
“We chose the one company in the United States with more experience than anybody else in developing DNA labs from the ground up,” said Muto. “Sorenson Forensics has a great amount of experience and an impressive team of scientists behind them.”
Since its founding in 2006, Sorenson Forensics has seen demand for its DNA expertise grow rapidly, particularly within the law enforcement and legal communities. Today, the Salt Lake City-based company handles forensic DNA testing from more than 100 law enforcement agencies across the country, and develops and delivers on-site educational and lean six sigma efficiency programs that strengthen public forensic DNA laboratories.
In 2008 Sorenson Forensics set up the first DNA laboratory in the western African nation of Senegal. In 2010, the company provided intensive training and advice as Africa’s most-populous nation, Nigeria, established its first DNA forensics laboratory.
“We are in discussions with many other countries interested in our services,” Kupferschmid said. “I’m very proud of the fact we’re able to bring DNA technology to developing parts of the world, as well as those in our own country, like LA County.”
About Sorenson Forensics
Sorenson Forensics (www.sorensonforensics.com) is a leading provider of advanced forensic DNA services and offers industry-best casework assistance to federal, state and local crime laboratories, assists officers of the court in individual criminal cases, and offers comprehensive forensic DNA services to private industry clients. Sorenson Forensics provides services, such as STR and Y-STR analysis; comprehensive biology screening; full serology testing, including blood, semen and other body fluid identification; DNA case consultation; expert testimony, validation services and laboratory optimization services. The Sorenson Forensics team consists of individuals internationally recognized for their extensive public and private crime lab experience and for their rigor in the exacting requirements of forensics casework. Sorenson Forensics has established an extraordinary record for helping to crack difficult-to-resolve cases, including previously unsolved “cold cases.”