Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • Videos
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Library
    • Research
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

FNSSI Awarded $155,000 Grant from National Institute of Justice

Friday, October 2, 2015, By Sarah Scalese
Share
College of Law
Michael Marciano

Michael Marciano

Helping law enforcement with sexual assault cases is the subject of a new study at the Forensic & National Security Sciences Institute (FNSSI) in the College of Arts and Sciences.

FNSSI has been awarded a $155,000 National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant to investigate the use of an applied dielectrophoretic force-field to support DNA forensics techniques. It is FNSSI second NIJ award in two years.

Members of FNSSI say the 12-month study will help them to develop more reliable methods for identifying spermatozoa (male reproductive cells); collecting sperm and epithelial cell fractions that impact downstream analysis; and gathering low-template samples without the need for DNA quantification.

According to FNSSI Senior Scientist Michael Marciano, such studies traditionally focus on processing DNA evidence. Not this one. The emphasis here, he says, is on improving the way body fluids are analyzed, so as to impact efficiency and enhance downstream DNA analysis.

“Current methodologies, such as light microscopy, laser capture microdissection and subsequent differential extraction, are generally accepted by the scientific community and are considered highly reliable,” he says. “But they can be laborious, and many times fail to adequately separate human spermatozoa from epithelial cells, leading to the need for DNA mixture interpretation.”

As part of the study, FNSSI will use the DEPArray system—generously provided by Silicon Biosystems, one of FNSSI’s corporate partners—to identify, isolate and recover individual cells from a variety of samples. Historically, this system has been used in cancer research to isolate and separate circulating tumor cells from white blood cells.

“The DEParray has enabled unprecedented levels of detection in cancer diagnostics,” says Marciano. “We plan to apply these novel capabilities to forensically relevant problem sets.”

Marciano adds that there is an ongoing need to improve analysis techniques involving low template number and inhibitor-containing samples. This represents another area the DEParray could be applied.

Kevin Sweder

Kevin Sweder

In addition to Marciano, the study involves Kevin Sweder, FNSSI professor and director of research and operations; Kathleen Corrado, director of laboratories for the Onondaga County Center for Forensic Sciences; and a group of graduate and undergraduate students.

“We are proud to be a part of projects that will positively impact public safety and may touch so many individuals and families in such a direct and immediate manner,” adds Marciano.

FNSSI provides broad, interdisciplinary scientific research and theory to real-world legal and national security issues. In addition to multiple graduate and undergraduate opportunities, FNSSI is home to a new state-of-the-art laboratory suite, dedicated to the study of bioforensics and combustible materials.

  • Author

Sarah Scalese

  • Recent
  • Syracuse University/SUNY-ESF Team Wins ‘JUMP into STEM’ Competition
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Julie Sharkey
  • US Army Awards Meritorious Civilian Service Medal to Professor Mark Glauser
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Alex Dunbar
  • ‘Is Election Disinformation Free Speech or Defamation? Courts Will Decide’
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Lily Datz
  • University to Guarantee Admission to Eligible Area High School Graduates After Completing Initial Enlistment in US Military
    Tuesday, March 2, 2021, By Brandon Dyer
  • Q&A With Keith Henderson, the University’s New Chief Compliance Officer
    Monday, March 1, 2021, By News Staff

More In Media, Law & Policy

‘Is Election Disinformation Free Speech or Defamation? Courts Will Decide’

Roy Gutterman, associate professor of magazine, news and digital journalism and director of the Tully Center for Free Speech in the Newhouse School, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com titled “Is election disinformation free speech or defamation? Courts will decide.” Gutterman,…

Hilda A. Frimpong Becomes the First Black Student to Lead Syracuse Law Review

Second-year College of Law student Hilda A. Frimpong has been elected by her peers as the next editor in chief of Syracuse Law Review. When she assumes her duties for Volume 72 (2021-22), Frimpong will be the first Black student…

‘8 Tips for Grad Students for Planning in 2021’

Timur Hammond, assistant professor of geography and the environment in the Maxwell School, wrote an op-ed for Inside Higher Ed titled “8 Tips for Grad Students for Planning in 2021.” Hammond also serves as a faculty liaison for the Future…

‘What’s the Point of Impeachment? ‘To Lay Down a Marker for History’’

Thomas Keck, the Michael O. Sawyer Chair of Constitutional Law and Politics and professor of political science in the Maxwell School, wrote an op-ed for Syracuse.com titled “What’s the point of impeachment? ‘To lay down a marker for history.’” Keck,…

Faricy Explores Public Perceptions of Welfare via the US Tax Code

In their new book, “The Other Side of the Coin: Public Opinion toward Social Tax Expenditures” (Russell Sage Foundation, 2021), Syracuse University professor Christopher Faricy and Bucknell University professor Christopher Ellis examine how public opinion differs between two types of…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2021 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.