Press Releases

October 3, 2006

Sorenson Genomics Launches New Advanced Sorenson Forensics Division
New Division, Comprising Core Members of Former Myriad Genetic Forensics Team, Offers Comprehensive Services for Government and Business Clients

SALT LAKE CITY and SAN FRANCISCO (October 3, 2006) – Sorenson Genomics, a leading global provider of DNA-related testing services, announced today at the 2006 American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors Symposium that it has expanded its core business offering with the addition of an advanced forensics division.

The new Sorenson Genomics biological forensics division, called Sorenson Forensics, provides casework services for federal, state and local crime laboratories and assists Officers of the Court in individual criminal cases, in addition to offering comprehensive genetic forensic services for private industry clients. Sorenson Forensics concentrates on providing services in criminal and missing person cases. Its test offerings include: STR Analysis and Y-STR Analysis; comprehensive biology screening; full serology testing (including blood, semen and saliva identification); DNA case consultation; expert testimony; and validation services. Validation services, which have never before been provided by a private forensic laboratory, assist public laboratories in implementing new instrumentation and technologies purchased through federal grants that have not been adopted by those labs due to personnel or case prioritization constraints.

All of these services are performed by one of the industry’s most sophisticated and experienced teams of forensic analysts and technicians. The nine core members of Sorenson Forensic have acquired more than 45 aggregate years of successful public and private forensic laboratory experience. 

The division is led by technical director Timothy Kupferschmid, who comes to Sorenson Forensics with more than 16 years of forensic DNA testing experience in government and private industry and was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD). Kupferschmid has served as a senior DNA analyst at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) and as director of the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory.

Most recently, he served as forensic technical director at Myriad Genetic Laboratories, where he recruited and built a team that was internationally recognized for its rigor and the depth and breadth of its experience in genetic forensics casework. These individuals, now a part of the Sorenson Forensics team, were recruited from across the U.S. for their expertise in the exacting requirements of genetic forensics for government and business cases.  

"We are extremely fortunate to bring in-house what may be the finest forensic casework team in the country, or even the world,” said Doug Fogg, COO of Sorenson Genomics. “We are already recognized as a leading global expert in human identity and familial relationship genetic testing; Tim and his team add an entirely new dimension to the company, which gives us the depth of expertise we need to successfully contract with businesses and government agencies on the local, national and international scale."

The addition of the Sorenson Forensics division significantly expands the capabilities of what is already one of the world’s most highly accredited and scientifically rigorous DNA laboratories. Sorenson Genomics is certified by the International Organization for Standardization to ISO 17025 for all of its testing products and services; accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) for parentage and familial relationship testing; and was the world’s first laboratory accredited for genetic genealogy testing services. 

Sorenson Genomics also has experience in non-criminal forensic casework, most notably when it successfully assisted the Thai government with the most difficult victim identification cases in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami disaster.

"Sorenson Genomics is the ideal home for the forensic team we have built, and it was the first choice for all of us,” said Kupferschmid. “It is a globally respected DNA laboratory with the finest equipment and broadest offering in the industry. It enables our team to remain intact and in Salt Lake City, and there is an exceptional fit and tremendous synergies between our new Sorenson Forensics team and the larger Sorenson Genomics organization.”