
William GoodwinUniversity of Central Lancashire | UCLAN · School of Forensic and Applied Science
William Goodwin
Doctor of Philosophy
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104
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Introduction
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October 1994 - November 2002
November 2002 - present
Publications
Publications (104)
This study examines the temporal dynamics of DNA shedding from human hands following handwashing, with a focus on its implications for forensic touch DNA recovery. The research investigates fluctuations in DNA levels over time post-handwashing and highlights significant individual differences in shedding patterns. Statistical analysis revealed that...
Most exhibits received in the forensic genetics laboratory of Ras Al Khaimah (United Arab Emirates) are swabs or clothing with stains suspected of being either blood, semen or saliva; swabs from touch DNA are also reasonably common. Routine practice has been to use presumptive tests to characterize the materials before DNA extraction. In this study...
This study describes the use of the 27 loci Yfiler® Plus kit and TaqMan™ SNP genotyping to characterise and predict the haplogroups of Y chromosomes within the four major ethnic populations of Ghana. Haplogroups were assigned using the desktop NevGen software (https://www.nevgen.org/). The E1b1a and E1b1b haplogroups are the most common in the Ghan...
Our previous work focused on validation the SureID 23comp Human Identification Kit (Health Gene Technologies, China), following the minimum criteria for validation recommended by the European Network of Forensic Science Institutes (ENFSI) and the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM) using 500 samples from the population of Saud...
This study assessed the performance of five different DNA extraction methods for the recovery of DNA from bone: ChargeSwitch® gDNA Plant Kit, DNA IQTM System Kit, DNeasy® Blood & Tissue Kit, PrepFiler® BTA Forensic DNA Extraction Kit and phenol-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol. DNA was extracted from pig rib and femur bones that was fresh, had undergone...
Touched items at crime scenes are frequently analysed to help link suspects to crimes, for example, Touch DNA is collected from victims’ clothes in cases such as sexual assault, homicide, theft etc. Tape lifting is the preferred collection method of choice for trace DNA from clothes, fabric items and porous surfaces such as paper, therefore this st...
Touched items at crime scenes are frequently analysed to help link suspects to crimes, for example, Touch DNA is collected from victims’ clothes in cases such as sexual assault, homicide, theft etc. Tape lifting is the preferred collection method of choice for trace DNA from clothes, fabric items and porous surfaces such as paper, therefore this st...
The effective search for the missing and identification of persons, alive or dead, are core components in the prevention and in resolving the issue of Missing Persons. espite the growing literature on this topic, there is still a lack of publications describing the Search as a process that includes different phases inherently composed of forensic i...
This presentation will focus on the creation of an improved body bag through a collaboration between the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Social Solutions Research Association (SSRA), the University of Central Lancashire and the University of Tennessee Knoxville.
Body bags are essential equipment in the dignified management of the...
This chapter focuses on autosomal short tandem repeat (STRs) DNA markers, which are the mainstay of most laboratories around the world. The use of DNA profiling to facilitate the identification of human remains is widespread and its value has been proven in many contexts.The power of STR‐based DNA profiling is rooted in the multi‐allelic nature of...
Short tandem repeat (STR) profiling has been routinely used in kinship testing since the introduction of commercial kits in the mid-1990s. While 15 to 23 STR loci normally give definitive results in simple kinship testing, additional loci are sometimes required to resolve complex cases. The SureID 23comp Human Identification Kit, recently released...
There are different variables that affect the success of Touch DNA recovery, including surface type, the collection method used and extraction techniques. This experiment investigated how a range of porous and non-porous surfaces, different DNA collection (cotton swab, nylon flocked swab and SceneSafe Fast™ minitape) and extraction methods (PrepFil...
Touch DNA analysis has become an important aspect of a forensic laboratory’s workload and a crucial tool for investigators in many cases. However, there is a lack of research regarding the influence of environmental conditions on Touch DNA, which is proven to reduce traces of biological material in samples. This study investigated the influence of...
The effectiveness of five methods for the preservation of bone were assessed: cell lysis solution (with 1% sodium azide), dehydration/freeze-drying, ethanol (96%), freezing, and room temperature storage. Preserved bone samples were extracted using five optimised extraction methods. These preservation methods were tested for their efficiency for sto...
Mitochondrial DNA analysis has earned its place in the field of genetics for providing a new window into understanding population ancestry. Its ability to produce results from minimal or decayed samples where nucleus DNA profiling proves are difficult is an additional benefit to forensic genetics. A total of 150 whole blood samples were collected o...
There are different variables that affect the success of Touch DNA recovery, including surface type, the collection method used and extraction techniques. This experiment investigated how a range of porous and non-porous surfaces, different DNA collection (cotton swab, nylon flocked swab and SceneSafe Fast™ minitape) and extraction methods (PrepFil...
DNA isolation in sexual assault cases is complicated by the presence of large numbers of female epithelial cells, which are often in vast excess when compared to spermatozoa. The two-step differential extraction has been a standard method for isolating the spermatozoa; however, new techniques in forensic science allow the use of precision technique...
Touch DNA analysis has become an important aspect of a forensic laboratory’s workload and a crucial tool for investigators in many cases. However, there is a lack of research regarding the influence of environmental conditions on Touch DNA, which is proven to reduce traces of biological material in samples. This study investigated the influence of...
This study profiled 1047 volunteers using the GlobalFiler™ Kit from the four main ethnic groups in Ghana: the Akan (282), Mole-Dagomba and Northern ethnic minority (253), Ewe (250) and Ga-Dangbe (262), representing about 98.4% ethnic coverage of the Ghanaian population.
The polymorphic nature of the African population was demonstrated during the pr...
The Precision ID Ancestry panel from ThermoFisher contains 165 SNP markers. In this study we compared library construction using the automated workflow with the Ion Chef and a manual workflow. Casework samples that were collected between 2005 and 2018 in the State of Qatar where used for the study and the samples varied from routine stains to chall...
A set of 87 reference samples collected from the population of Saudi Arabia were sequenced using the ForenSeq™DNA Signature Prep Kit on a MiSeq FGx™. The FASTQ files contain the sequences of the SE33 STR, but are not reported by the ForenSeq™ Universal Analysis Software (UAS). The STRait Razor software was used to recover and to report SE33 sequenc...
There are different variables that affect the success of Touch DNA recovery, including surface type, the collection method used and extraction techniques. This experiment investigated how a range of porous and non-porous surfaces, different DNA collection (cotton swab, nylon flocked swab and SceneSafe Fast™ minitape) and extraction methods (PrepFil...
Blowfly species of the family Calliphoridae can be used in forensic investigations to estimate the minimum post-mortem interval (PMImin). Lucilia caesar and Lucilia illustris (Diptera: Calliphoridae) are closely related and phenotypically similar, making reliable identification difficult. To identify potential genetic markers to distinguish these s...
The commercial PowerPlex® Fusion kit is an autosomal STR multiplex kit that has high discrimination power and is more informative in forensic, paternity and relationship‐testing cases. Key features of this multiplex system are the possibility to direct amplify FTA™ card punches as well as non‐FTA cards and commonly used swabs; optimised inhibitor t...
When profiling a reference dataset of 500 DNA samples for the population of Saudi Arabia, using the GlobalFiler® PCR amplification kit, six unusual alleles were detected. At the SE33 locus, four novel alleles were found: 2, 14.3, 20.3, and 38; two alleles, at the D1S1656 locus: 7 and 8, had been previously reported, but no published sequence data w...
Successful DNA analysis of human remains relies on the collection and preservation of biological material. Low temperatures are typically used to preserve soft tissues; however, this is not always available, for example, after mass disasters and conflict, where the infrastructure has been damaged. Lysis buffers and absolute ethanol have also been s...
The effect of decalcification on pulverised bone samples was studied to evaluate its value when processing reasonably good quality samples. The decalcified and non-decalcified bone samples were extracted using phenol-chloroform extraction method, quantitated with GoTaq® qPCR Master Mix (Promega®, UK) using Applied Biosystems® 7500 Real-Time PCR Sys...
Touch samples by their nature do not contain large amounts of biological material, especially compared to biological fluids such as blood, semen or saliva. Consequently, more careful recovery and storage are desirable in order to maximise the amount of DNA available. The main aim of the work presented is to determine whether detergent-based wetting...
DNA analysis was first applied to the identification of victims of armed conflicts and other situations of violence (ACOSV) in the mid-1990s, starting in South America and the Balkans. Argentina was the first country to establish a genetic database specifically developed to identify disappeared children. Following on from these programs the early 2...
The SNPforID consortium identified a panel of 52 SNPs forensic analysis that has been used by several laboratories worldwide. The original analysis of the 52 SNPs was based on a single multiplex reaction followed by two single-base-extension (SBE) reactions each of which was analyzed using capillary electrophoresis. The SBE assays were designed for...
Biological samples recovered for forensic investigations are often degraded and/or have low amounts of DNA; in addition, in some instances the samples may be contaminated with chemicals that can act as PCR inhibitors. As a consequence this can make interpretation of the results challenging with the possibility of having partial profiles and false n...
This volume presents a series of protocols and methods, some of which are not widely used by researchers/practitioners, and will aid in the execution of different laboratory techniques. Forensic DNA Typing Protocols, Second Edition is arranged into a series of related chapters. Chapter 1-3 examines two different aspects of RNA analysis for body flu...
A B S T R A C T The main focus in forensic genetics for two decades has been to improve the extraction of DNA from a wide variety of evidence and to make the profiling technology more sensitive and robust. In contrast, the recovery methods for biological material have seen little development. This study aims to improve the efficacy of the collectio...
In the Ras Al Khaimah DNA Forensic Unit Chelex®-100 is used when processing biological evidence. However, in many laboratories solid phase extraction techniques have gained popularity. Before changing methodology we wanted to compare the performance of two commonly used methods, the QIAamp® DNA Investigator Kit (Qiagen, Germany) and the PrepFiler™...
After death DNA becomes progressively more fragmented as biological tissue degrades and this results in a decreasing ability to gain a complete STR profile. When extracting and profiling DNA from human remains understanding the likely persistence of DNA in different tissues is important. Studies in the UK have demonstrated that when using pigs as a...
Chromosome configurations and chiasma frequency during the metaphase I stage of spermatogenesis in the male horse are characterized in this work. The genome-wide frequency and distribution of chiasmata was detected as 49.45 ± 2.07 for 14 fertile stallions. All X and Y chromosomes shared a single chiasma at their pseudoautosomal region, while 1-4 ch...
It has previously been shown, and reconfirmed here, that biological material on a substrate will transfer readily upon contact with another substrate when wet but hardly when dry. There is however a paucity of data regarding the speed at which body fluids dry and how this may affect its transfer upon contact. Here we conduct transfer experiments at...
Five DNA extraction systems were assessed for their DNA extraction efficiency on samples of fresh pig bone. Four commercially available silica-based extraction kits (ChargeSwitch® gDNA Plant Kit (Life Technologies), DNA IQTM System Kit (Promega), DNeasy® Blood & Tissue Kit (Qiagen) and PrepFiler® BTA Forensic DNA Extraction Kit (Life Technologies))...
The analysis of degraded DNA is one of the biggest challenges in forensic casework. SNPs, which can be amplified using small amplicons, have previously been successfully applied to the profiling of forensic evidence that could not be analyzed using conventional STRs. Here we selected the 52 SNPforID SNP markers, with amplicons that ranged in size f...
Advances in molecular cytogenetics have provided the opportunity to study events during prophase I of meiosis. Immunofluorescent localization of different meiotic protein components were used to characterize the early stages of the first meiotic division in horse spermatocytes. The frequency and distribution of recombination events during prophase...
In this study, we have developed a PCR multiplex that can be used to assess DNA degradation and at the same time monitor for inhibition: primers have been designed to amplify human, pig, and rabbit DNA, allowing pig and rabbit to be used as experimental models for taphonomic research, but also enabling studies on human DNA persistence in forensic e...
Forensic DNA profiling uses a series of commercial kits that co-amplify several loci in one reaction; the products of the PCR are fluorescently labelled and analysed using CE. Before CE, an aliquot of the PCR is mixed with formamide and an internal lane size standard. Using the SGM Plus amplification kit, we have developed two internal non-amplifie...
We have undertaken a series of simulations to assess the effectiveness of commercially available sets of STR loci, including the loci recommended for inclusion in the expanded European Standard Set, for the purpose of human identification. A total of 9200 genotype simulations were performed using DNA · VIEW. The software was used to calculate likel...
In order to assess DNA degradation in the model organisms chosen (pig and rabbit), two nuclear genes, Connexin 43 and RAG-1, were aligned to identify conserved regions. Primers were designed to amplify 70 bp, 194 bp, 305 bp and 384 bp amplicons. The primers were also designed to amplify human DNA, which allowed the use of commercially purchased DNA...
DNA extracted from forensic samples can be degraded and also contain co-extracted contaminants that inhibit PCR. The effects of DNA degradation and PCR inhibition are often indistinguishable when examining a DNA profile. Two internal amplification controls (IACs) were developed to improve quality control of PCR using the AmpFℓSTR® SGM Plus® kit. Th...
The AmpFlSTR MiniFiler polymerase chain reaction amplification kit, developed and supplied by Applied Biosystems, complements the AmpFlSTR Identifiler polymerase chain reaction amplification kit (Applied Biosystems, Warrington, U.K.) by improving the success rate when profiling DNA that is degraded or contains inhibitors. Before applying the MiniFi...
The maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has enabled construction of detailed phylogenies. Analysis of key polymorphisms from these phylogenies allows mtDNA to be assigned to haplogroups, which have been associated with elite endurance performance.
To compare the frequencies of mtDNA haplogroups found in elite Kenyan athletes with thos...
Allele frequencies for 15 STR loci included in AmpFlSTR Identifiler kit were ascertained in a sample population of 502 unrelated Kuwaiti individuals. Allele frequencies were compared with 6 Caucasian populations using an exact test. This showed that the Kuwaiti population was very similar to the neighboring Iraqi and Saudi populations. As the geogr...
Using the Applied Biosystems' AmpFlSTR SGM Plus PCR amplification kit, we studied the allele frequency distribution of 10 STR loci in two south Asian populations: one from the Gujarat region of India represented by 172 unrelated Gujaratis, now resident in England; and a Pakistani population, represented by 155 unrelated individuals. Gujarat borders...
Gross morphology, histology and nitrogen content were examined in bone samples from individuals that had been buried for approximately 12 years in Kuwait and Iraq. The results indicate that the gross morphology and histology are useful indicators of DNA survival. Nitrogen content did not show a significant correlation with DNA preservation.
The analysis of Y chromosome polymorphisms has become common place for the identification of male component in forensic cases. During the development of a Y STR population database for three major populations in the United Arab Emirates (Arab, Indian and Pakistani) using the AmpFℓSTR® Y Filer™ kit, a number of novel and null alleles were discovered...
DNA samples from Arab individuals from the United Arab Emirates and the State of Kuwait have been analysed using the Affymetrix GeneChip® Mapping 250K STY Array to identify SNPs that are polymorphic within Arab populations. The screening process has allowed hundreds of SNPs that are polymorphic to be identified. SNaPshot™ assays have been developed...
Mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) has been important in understanding the evolutionary histories of both modern humans and archaic hominins, especially the Neanderthals. mtDNA to date (2012) has been successfully extracted from 13 specimens recovered from the geographical range of the Neanderthals. Primer extension capture along with next...
International Congress Series. 1288 (2006) 252-255.
International Congress Series. 1288 (2006) 171-173.
Mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (mtDNA) has been successfully extracted and analyzed from three Neanderthal specimens recovered from the Feldhofer Cave in Germany, the Mezmaiskaya Cave in the Caucasus Mountains and the Vindija Cave in Croatia. The Neanderthals' mtDNA pool is distinct from modern human mtDNA and forms a separate phylogenetic cla...
Pakistan is a large country with a diverse population consisting of four significant population groups besides many smaller isolated populations. Male population samples were collected from indigenous populations and the extracted DNA was used to amplify seven Y STRs. Allele frequencies within each population were similar as were the haplotype freq...
Fragments of the non-coding portion of mtDNA of various lengths have been successfully isolated from a total of eight Neanderthal
specimens. This has provided an insight into the mtDNA gene pool and has enabled some aspects of the diversity and age of
the Neanderthal lineage to be assessed. No admixture between modern humans and Neanderthals has be...
East African runners are continually successful in international distance running. The extent to which genetic factors influence this phenomenon is unknown. The insertion (I) rather than deletion (D) of a 287 bp fragment in the human angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) gene is associated with lower circulating and tissue ACE activity and with endur...
A recent dispersal of modern humans out of Africa is now widely accepted, but the routes taken across Eurasia are still disputed. We show that mitochondrial DNA variation in isolated "relict" populations in southeast Asia supports the view that there was only a single dispersal from Africa, most likely via a southern coastal route, through India an...
Previous studies have hypothesised that mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms may influence aerobic performance. The matrilineal inheritance and accumulation of polymorphisms in mtDNA means that mtDNA haplogroups, characterised by key polymorphisms, are often represented at different frequencies in different populations. The present study aimed t...
Favourable genetic endowment has been proposed as part of the explanation for the success of East African endurance athletes, but no evidence has yet been presented. The Y chromosome haplogroup distribution of elite Ethiopian athletes (n=62) was compared with that of the general Ethiopian population (n=95) and a control group from Arsi (a region pr...
East African athletes now dominate international distance running events from the 800 m to the marathon. Explanations for their phenomenal success have included optimal environmental conditions for developing distance running performance, psychological advantage and advantageous physiological characteristics. It is well established that genetics pl...
Pakistani (n = 704); Punjabi (n = 200), Pushtoon (n = 170), Sindhi (n = 100), Baluchi (n = 35), Makrani (n = 48), Brosho (n = 54), Kalash (n = 97).
A seemingly routine paternity case which involved the testing of a mother, child and man led to inconclusive results as an exclusion involving only a single repeat was found at one of the 14 loci tested. This led to the testing of further loci. Only the single exclusion was found after profiling a total of 21 loci, with the addition of a further si...
A study was undertaken to assess the utility of mtDNA as a forensic tool in the Malay Peninsular. Two populations, modern Malay and Orang Asli, were sampled and their mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysed. Comparing the different haplogroups that were found, there are clear differences between the two populations. As a forensic tool, the use of mtDNA...
The dominance of East-African athletes in distance running remains largely unexplained; proposed reasons include favorable genetic endowment and optimal environmental conditions.
To compare the demographics of elite Ethiopian athletes with the general Ethiopian population and assess the validity of reports linking running long distances to school w...
During February and March 2000, human remains were recovered from the Holy Loch, Scotland. Police enquiries identified 13 males that had gone missing, presumed drowned in the Holy Loch or the adjoining lochs, over the previous 35 years. Osteological examination of the remains established they were from a male, aged between 15 and 23 and 168-174 cm...
Allele frequencies for the 10 STRs included in the AmpFLSTR SGM Plus (Applied Biosytems) amplification kit were obtained from three populations in the Indonesian archipelago. Here, 173 unrelated Indonesian individuals were sampled, of which 44 were from the Island of Sulawesi, 44 from Sumatra and 85 from Java.
Allele frequencies for the eight STRs included in the GenePrint PowerPlex 1.2 kit were obtained from three population groups that are resident in the United Arab Emirates (UAE); 228 unrelated UAE individuals, 194 unrelated Indian individuals and 197 unrelated Pakistani individuals were analysed.
In order to demonstrate the sequence diversity of mitochondrial D-loop DNA in the Taiwanese Han population, we established a database of 155 unrelated individuals. For each individual, the complete 980bp DNA region from the 5' end of HVI to 3' end of HVII segment was sequenced. In these 155 sequence data, 149 different haplotypes were observed, amo...
Allele frequencies for 10 STRs including the GenePrint PowerPlex 1.2 loci and also D3S1358, HumvWA and HumFGA were obtained from a sample of unrelated individuals from El-Minia City.
Smith et al. have shown an interesting correlation between the thermal age of Pleistocene–Holocene fossils and ancient DNA retrieval and advocate using this criterion to assess the merit of subjecting ancient bones to destructive analysis, particularly any scientifically valuable bones of Neanderthals and anatomically pre-modern humans. The post-mo...
A total of 13 STR loci were typed from over 200 Caucasians from the Strathclyde region in the west of Scotland.