Research Emphasis

Research in the Meiklejohn Lab is centered in DNA forensics, where we look to apply new technologies such as next generation sequencing to scenarios where additional information could prove vital to an investigation. Our efforts in this area are focussed in four main areas:

  1. DNA metabarcoding. Non-human biological material such as plants, arthropods, fungi and bacteria are commonly associated with evidence but currently underutilized in forensic casework. The Meiklejohn Lab has developed wet-lab and analysis workflows for using DNA-metabarcoding to reliably and accurately identify these taxa from diverse evidence-type samples, specifically soil and dust.
  2. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).  SNPs are the most common type of nucleotide variation and can be harnessed to provide information on human identity, ancestry, phenotypic characteristics and lineage. The Meiklejohn Lab explores innovative uses of SNPs to analyze forensic evidence.
  3. Hybridization capture. In highly degraded samples, hybridization capture is a valuable tool for recovering sequences from informative genetic regions/loci. The Meiklejohn Lab uses hybridization capture in a range of forensic wildlife applications, including plant, fish and canid identification.
  4. Blow fly biodiversity. In a current NSF funded project, the Meiklejohn Lab will work with other NC State faculty and collaborators from the University of São Paulo to understand the phylogenetic, genetic and functional biodiversity of blow flies, which includes numerous species of forensic importance.