
Andrzej OssowskiPomeranian Medical University | PUM · Department of Forensic Genetics
Andrzej Ossowski
PhD
About
73
Publications
12,981
Reads
How we measure 'reads'
A 'read' is counted each time someone views a publication summary (such as the title, abstract, and list of authors), clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the full-text. Learn more
389
Citations
Introduction
Additional affiliations
September 2002 - present
Publications
Publications (73)
Background
DNA methylation profiling may provide a more accurate measure of the smoking status than self-report and may be useful in guiding clinical interventions and forensic investigations. In the current study, blood DNA methylation profiles of nearly 800 Polish individuals were assayed using Illuminia EPIC and the inference of smoking from epi...
Objectives
Second to fourth digit ratio is widely known indicator of prenatal sex hormones proportion. Higher prenatal androgenization results in longer fourth finger and lower 2D:4D index. The aim of this study was to determine whether the 2D:4D digit ratio is associated with DNA methylation (DNAm) age dependently on sex.
Material and Methods
The...
The purpose of this paper is to formulate recommendations for the disclosure of biological traces in the laboratory and the handling of forensic evidence submitted for identification tests, recommended by the Polish Speaking Working Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics. The paper organizes the knowledge of the most relevant stag...
The purpose of this paper is to formulate recommendations for the disclosure of biological traces in the laboratory and the handling of forensic evidence submitted for identification tests, recommended by the Polish Speaking Working Group of the International Society for Forensic Genetics. The paper organizes the knowledge of the most relevant stag...
At the Treblinka extermination and forced labor camp only a few SS soldiers and around a hundred watchmen kept guard over thousands of prisoners. Despite their lower rank in the Nazi hierarchy than SS soldiers, watchmen were vital to implementing “Operation Reinhard” in the field. Prisoners in Nazi camps were terrified by their brutality and ruthle...
DNA methylation (DNAm) clocks hold promise for measuring biological age, useful for guiding clinical interventions and forensic identification. This study compared the commonly used DNAm clocks, using DNA methylation and SNP data generated from nearly 1000 human blood or buccal swab samples. We evaluated different preprocessing methods for age esti...
The COVID-19 epidemic has led to a significant increase in the number of deaths. This has resulted in forensic autopsies focusing on additional diagnostic possibilities. The following article is a summary of 23 autopsies of sudden and unexplained deaths. Particularly noteworthy are the described cases of children whose deaths were originally classi...
The infamous Treblinka camp was one of numerous extermination camps throughout Poland, where Germans carried out mass killings of Jews. There were two camps in Treblinka, AL Treblinka I, a forced labor camp, and KL Treblinka II, the site of the extermination camp. Treblinka I held captives of various origins and ethnic backgrounds who were serving...
Background:
DNA methylation analysis has proven to be a powerful tool for age assessment. However, the implementation of epigenetic age prediction in diagnostics or routine forensic casework requires appropriate laboratory methods. In this study, we aimed to compare the performance of large-scale DNA methylation analysis protocols that show promis...
The paper presents the process of identifying an unnamed soldier of the Polish armed forces in the west, whose remains were found in a nameless grave at the municipal cemetery in Le Crotoy in France. The Polish Genetic Database of Victims of Totalitarianism team carried out the research in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and National Herit...
This paper presents and discusses historical and archaeological data regarding war crimes committed by Nazi occupants during Second World War in the vicinity of the SS Prison Camp Falstad in Central Norway, and the issue of still unknown graves of executed prisoners in the Falstad Forest. Specialists from several Norwegian and foreign institutions...
In the early days of World War II, many of the prominent and influential people of Polish nationality from the Free City of Danzig were arrested by the Germans and sent to the nearby concentration camp KL Stutthof. Nearly a hundred of them died within the next seven months upon their arrival, and were buried in a clandestine mass grave in a nearby...
Physical fitness is a well-known correlate of health and the aging process and DNA methylation (DNAm) data can capture aging via epigenetic clocks. However, current epigenetic clocks did not yet use measures of mobility, strength, lung, or endurance fitness in their construction. We develop blood-based DNAm biomarkers for fitness parameters gait sp...
A paper dedicated to the identification of a Polish soldier from the 1st Armoured Division under the command of General Stanisław Maczek, who fell in 1944 in Normandy, during World War II. The remains were found at the Urville-Langannerie Polish War Cemetery. A team from the Department of Forensic Genetics at the Pomeranian Medical University in Sz...
The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated how rapidly various molecular methods can be adapted for a Public Health Emergency. Whether a need arises for whole-genome studies (next-generation sequencing), fast and high-throughput diagnostics (reverse-transcription real-time PCR) or global immunization (construction of mRNA or viral vector vaccines), the sci...
Tear fluid cytokine levels may serve as biomarkers of innate immune system response against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, our aim was to analyze panel of selected inflammatory cytokines in tears of COVID-19 patients in relation to presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in conjunctival secretions. In this study concentrations of TNF-α, IL-1b, IL-2, IL...
The humanitarian crisis on the US-Mexico border is a long-standing and evolving crisis in which nearly 8,000 deaths have been reported in the last two decades. These deaths are largely distributed across the Arizona-Mexico and Texas-Mexico border regions, where demographic trends for immigrants attempting to cross into the United States have shifte...
Six million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany and its collaborators during World War II. Archaeological excavations in the area of the death camp in Sobibór, Poland, revealed ten sets of human skeletal remains presumptively assigned to Polish victims of the totalitarian regimes. However, their genetic analyses indicate that the remains are of Ashken...
The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) evolved into a worldwide outbreak, with the first Polish cases in February/March 2020. This study aimed to investigate the molecular epidemiology of the circulating virus lineages between March 2020 and February 2021. We performed variant identification, spike mutation pa...
DNA testing in cases of disputed paternity is a routine analysis carried out in genetic laboratories. The purpose of the test is to demonstrate similarities and differences in analyzed genetic markers between the alleged father, mother, and a child. The existence of differences in the examined loci between the child and the presumed father may indi...
A scientific consortium led by the Central Forensic Laboratory of the Police has undertaken to develop a method for DNA analysis of the soil microbiome to be used in forensic investigations. The aim of the project entitled Soil Microbiome Analysis Forensic Tool – SMAFT (http://smaft.eu/), financed by the National Center for Research and Development...
The study presents a full analysis of the Y-chromosome variability of the modern male Polish population. It is the first study of the Polish population to be conducted with such a large set of data (2,705 individuals), which includes genetic information from inhabitants of all voivodeships, i.e., the first administrative level, in the country and t...
This article presents the results of multidisciplinary research undertaken in 2016–2019 at the German Nazi Treblinka I Forced Labour Camp. Housing 20,000 prisoners, Treblinka I was established in 1941 as a part of a network of objects such as forced labour camps, resettlement camps and prison camps that were established in the territory of occupied...
Y chromosome typing has been performed in forensic genetic practice for more than 20 years. The latest recommendations of the DNA Commission of the International Society of Forensic Genetics (ISFG) concerning the application of Y-chromosomal markers in forensic genetics were published in 2006. The aim of this report is to recapitulate, systematise...
Identification of human remains is an important part of human DNA analysis studies. STR and mitochondrial DNA markers are well suited for the analysis of degraded biological samples including bone material. However, these DNA markers may be useless when reference material is not available. In these cases, predictive DNA analysis can support the pro...
Our research focused on the analysis of Y chromosome haplotypes and mtDNA haplotypes with 64 additional individuals, from two separate ethnic groups. Vietnam is a country in Southeast Asia. It is estimated that from 2016 it has 94.6 million inhabitants. It is the 15th most populous country in the world. Despite such a large population, the YHRD dat...
Forensic and population genetics often rely on Y-chromosomal studies. Whether it is a human identification case, trace evidence examination or phylogenetic analysis, a Y-STR haplotype is an important tool in the hands of law enforcement agencies. A common obstacle in achieving satisfactory results in all of the above mentioned circumstances, is low...
In Poland, during the World War II, almost 3 million people were killed during the Nazi occupation, and about 570,000 during the Soviet occupation. Furthermore, historians have estimated that after the World War II at least 30,000 people were killed during the Stalinist regime in Poland (1944–1956). The exact number is unknown, because both executi...
The search for invisible and clandestine burial places of victims of wars and totalitarian crimes is a very difficult task. Research and exhumation teams use various methods to help locate burial places. According to the experience of our team, one of the best sources of information about burials are archival and contemporary aerial photographs. Du...
The purpose of the paper was to report allelic frequencies of 15 autosomal STR markers (AmpFlSTR NGM PCR Amplification Kit) for Bedouin inhabitants in the area of the Fourth Nile Cataract in Sudan, and compute commonly used population and forensic biostatistical parameters. Buccal swabs were collected from 117 unrelated individuals. DNA was extract...
Almost 6 million people died in Poland during the Nazi occupation and about 570 thousand during the Soviet occupation. But the end of the war was not the end of the trauma. Historians estimate that at least 30 thousand people were killed during the Stalinist regime in Poland. In 2012 the Institute of National Remembrance started to search for hidde...
Historians estimate that at least 30 thousand people were killed during the Stalinist regime in Poland. In 2012 the Institute of National Remembrance started to search for hidden burials of victims of communism. Many exhumations were carried out under the project. One of them took place in Białystok. According to information gathered by local histo...
For a long time, historians had at their disposal both non-scientific (descriptive, providentialistic, synchronistic) and scientific (e.g. philological, evolutional, sociological, genealogical) methods that were burdened with a large margin of error. Since the era of genetic analysis begun, new tools for anthropologists, historians and archaeologis...
The case presented in this paper is an example that modern methods applied for human personal identification backed up by extensive archival research are effective in case of the World War II victims. Together with civilizational progress more and more attention was being paid to the fate of single persons, which led for instance to attempts of ide...
We would like to present results of 5 years of research conducted within the project of the Polish Genetic Database of Totalitarianisms Victims. The project was created in 2012 for the purpose of collecting of the reference material from living relatives of the victims. As part of the project, over 800 human remains discovered in nearly a dozen sit...
Rising numbers of commercially available DNA isolation kits and constant improvement of already existing ones, enforce perpetual comparison of the results obtained with their use. In everyday work of Department of Forensic Genetics of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, four different protocols are currently in use: two automatized, with...
It can be reasonably assumed that remains exhumed in 2012 and 2013 during archaeological explorations conducted in the Lućmierz Forest, an important area on the map of the German Nazi terror in the region of Lodz (Poland), are in fact the remains of a hundred Poles murdered by the Nazis in Zgierz on March 20, 1942. By virtue of a decision of the Po...
As the result of the communist terror in Poland, during years 1944-1956 more than 50,000 people died. Their bodies were buried secretly, and most places are still unknown. The research presents the results of identification of people buried in one of many mass graves, which were found at the cemetery Powązki Military in Warsaw, Poland. Exhumation r...
Haplogroup prediction is a valuable tool in hands of population researchers, historic scientists and forensic genetists. The discrimination strenght of the prediction depends considerably on the amount of population analized and number of markers used. Since not all populations are equally studied, in some areas haplogoup prediction becomes challen...
Poland is a country which during the Second World War underwent the cruelty of two regimes. Both Third Reich and Soviet Union led the politics of extermination: genocides, mass executions and deportations. According the official estimations done by the Institute of National Remembrance, about 2,7 million Polish and 2,9 million Jewish people died du...
The identification of unknown victims is one of the most challenging tasks faced by forensic medicine. This is due to the rapid decomposition of tissues, beginning at the moment of death and caused by released enzymes and microbial activity. Decay is directly associated with the decomposition of soft tissues and also the degradation of genetic mate...
Forensic genetics is one of the fastest growing field of science. New molecular technologies open a lot of
new doors. Ten or fifteen years ago extracting DNA from a bone was hard to manage. Now, scientist are
able to obtain a full genetic profile even from an ancient bone. All the research and scientific advance
impact the human identification proc...
Forensic genetics is one of the fastest growing field of science. New molecular technologies open a lot of new doors. Ten or fifteen years ago extracting DNA from a bone was hard to manage. Now, scientist are able to obtain a full genetic profile even from an ancient bone. All the research and scientific advance impact the human identification proc...
In this publication we want to present the Polish Genetic Database of Totalitarianisms Victims (PBGOT, www.pbgot.pl). Our aim is to use the latest methods of forensic genetics to identify the victims of totalitarian systems. The project assumes to obtain proper reference material from family members of victims of communist and Nazi crimes and due t...
The research shows example of three identification processes, each with different level of difficulty. Even though all of them used methods typical for forensic genetics, each had to be treated in a very special way.
First case concerns determination of maternity and paternity of four newborns. Infants were found dead, buried in a garden in a plas...
A study on microchimerism has been conducted following kidney transplantation
on a sample of 20 patients. It was found that STR multiplex kits NGM and Y-filer can be
used for microchimerism detection in urine, which is of great importance in the evaluation
of DNA mixture in forensic medicine
When it comes to mass disasters, Forensic Medicine Departments and
Forensic Labs face a problem with identifying the victims. Nowadays, when this
kind of event happens more and more often, fast and effective identification meth -
ods are extremely important. In the case of disasters such as fires, classic victim
identification often fails. Highly c...
The report discusses a skeletal series of the Lengyel Culture in Central Poland. It represents a late stage in the development of the Danubian cultures. The HV1 of mtDNA was genotyped for 33 individuals with eight sequences used for further interpretation. The haplogroup was determined as H for 4/8, U for 3/8, and T for 1/8. Surprising is the high...
This paper presents the procedure elaborated by our team which was applied to the mode of identification of Red Army soldiers who were taken as prisoners by the German Army during World War II and deceased in captivity. In the course of our search the unmarked burial of ten Soviet prisoners of war was found. Historical, anthropological and genetic...
Contemporary totalitarian systems victims identification possibilities.
In the following publication we would like to present exemplary research results of the teams dealing with search and identification of the victims of totalitarian systems in Poland. In our work we will follow on some examples the procedures used by research teams depending on...
In this publication would like to present the Polish Genetic Base of Totalitarianism Victims. On 28th September 2012, the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin and the Institute of National Remembrance-Commission for Prosecution of Crimes Against the Polish Nation signed an agreement on the Polish Genetic Base of Totalitarianism Victims (PBGOT,...
Background:
Renal transplantation is the most effective method of treatment in end-stage renal disease. Chronic allograft rejection still remains a challenge for transplant physicians. Despite a growing amount of data regarding the role of platelets (PLT) in immunological processes, few reports have correlated number of platelets with transplanted...
The etiology of drug addiction, a central nervous system (CNS) disease, is not fully known. This complex problem is believed to be connected with concurrently affecting genetic, psychological and environmental factors. The development of addiction is connected with CNS reinforcement system and dopaminergic neurotransmission. Molecular processes are...
Bone material consisting of the teeth from every single individual (in total 15 samples) was subjected to analysis. Due to the age of biological material, special caution was taken during its preparation for further molecular examinations. Purified and sterilized bone material was crushed into bone powder in liquid nitrogen by means of Freezer Mill...
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic, autoimmune, inflammatory disease, with a genetic and hormonal background. The prevalence of women among patients with RA suggests the important role of sex hormones in the pathogenesis of RA. We examined the association between CAG repeat polymorphism in the androgen receptor (AR) gene and susce...
Leflunomide (LEF) is a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug used for treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the action of which may be modified by sex hormones. The aim of this study was to examine the association between CAG repeat polymorphism in the androgen receptor (AR) gene and the response to treatment with LEF in women with RA.
We studied 1...
The "Y-STR Poland" is a multicenter project, the aim of which is the construction of a widely available database of Y chromosome haplotypes determined in the Polish population in a range of sixteen loci in AmpFISTR Y-filer system. The database will be regularly updated and it will be used in assessment of evidence value in forensic genetics. The st...
The report presents the process of searching for World War II mass graves. In the introduction, the authors briefly discuss the
principles of ground-penetrating radar operation and the effect of technical parameters of the device on its usefulness in particular
types of investigations. Furthermore, the report outlines the historical background that...
The objective of the present article is to show the model of processing in case of discovering a WW II grave with skeletal remains and to discuss the possibilities of personal identification of the victims. In many similar cases, it is impossible to employ genetic methods because of lack of samples for comparison. The shown procedure proved to be e...
Allele frequency data and forensic efficiency parameters for 15 STR loci: D8S1179, D21S11, D7S820, CSF1PO, D3S1358, TH01, D13S317, D16S539, D2S1338, D19S433, vWA, TPOX, D18S51, D5S818, FGA were estimated from a sample of 600 unrelated individuals from the Pomorze Zachodnie (NW Poland). The combined MP and PE for all 15 loci are 3.9x10(-18) and 0.99...
Haplotype and allele frequencies for the panel of 16 Y-chromosome STR loci, namely DYS19, DYS385, DYS389I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS437, DYS438, DYS439, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 and Y GATA-H4 were determined in a population sample of 250 unrelated males from the central region of Poland. The 238 different haplotypes were i...
Bad quality and slender amount of the material at our disposal during identity examination and ever growing number of expired and difficult identity cases compelled us to examine: 1) amplification grade and amount of human DNA in degraded biological material originating from diverse environments and historical periods; 20 operating mode in case of...
Procedure of an examination over a gauze swab removed during a repeated operation of a patient who had undergone earlier a neurosurgical operation of a lumbar spine has been described. The extracted gauze swab became an exhibit in a case at court for financial compensation. The court commissioned to explain "if it could be placed in another way tha...
The anthropological laboratory of the Forensic Medicine Department PAM carries out a lot of cases concerning identification on the basis of skeletal remains. Standard procedures are: anthropological analysis, estimation of time of burial of the remains, characteristics of morbid changes and the cause of death as well as skull based face reconstruct...