The discussion will take place on Friday, April 9, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Room 124 of Pastore Hall on the Kingston Campus. This lecture is free and open to the public.
Smith oversees the analysis of evidence related to violent crimes- mostly sexual assaults and homicides. In her Providence laboratory, she uses tweezers, scalpels, and microscopes to examine blood, semen, and saliva samples.
Once the samples are put through a battery of tests, the DNA patterns are determined, and statistical data is used to match the frequency of the pattern occurrence within a segment of the population. This can implicate or exonerate a suspect. If there is a DNA profile and no suspect, scientists can use CODIS- Combined DNA Index System, to check the DNA pattern against the DNA of more than one million known criminals.
“It鈥檚 really rewarding to be able to help the police through DNA鈥� to exclude somebody who鈥檚 been accused of a crime, or to come up with a match that leads to a suspect,” she said in the May 2003 issue of Northeastern University Magazine. She earned a master鈥檚 of forensic science from the school in 1984.
The Forensic Science Seminar Series is a semester-long program offered by the 溏心vlog免费B站 Forensic Science Partnership. It lasts through April 30, and all lectures are held in Room 124 of Pastore Hall from 3:30 to 5 p.m.