Gene Codes Forensics is Providing Software to Aid the DNA Shoah Project With Holocaust Victim Identification Efforts
M-FISys, the DNA matching system created after 9-11 to address the massive problem of identifying human remains recovered from the World Trade Center, has been called to service again, this time to help identify remains of Holocaust victims in the recently announced DNA Shoah project. M-FISys (pronounced “emphasis”) is an acronym for “Mass-Fatality Identification System” and is produced by Gene Codes Forensics (GCF), a wholly owned subsidiary of Gene Codes Corporation of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
The DNA Shoah project was recently announced at the Human Genome Organization meeting in Helsinki, Finland. Started by Syd Mandelbaum, himself a child of 2 Holocaust survivors, the intention is to help provide closure for families who lost relatives in the Holocaust. By reaching out to the large number of survivors and relatives who can still provide DNA samples, it may be possible to identify many of the remains still being uncovered across Europe. In addition, it may be possible to reunite some of the 10,000 Holocaust orphans sent to Israel and other countries immediately after the war, with their surviving families.
M-FISys is the first software solution that allows forensic scientists to work with all the currently available methods of forensic DNA identification concurrently, including STR, Y-STR, MtDNA, and SNP analysis.
The ability to use Mitochondrial DNA makes M-FISys a particularly good fit for the Shoah project, since MtDNA is the most often recoverable DNA from older or highly degraded samples. M-FISys was used with great success in NYC, making over 80 new matches and helping identify 55 new victims on the first day it was used, December 13, 2001, and has continued to be used ever since. The intensive process of developing M-FISys was described in the article “Soul Searching” published by Bio-IT World in September 2003.
Since 2001 M-FISys as been continually expanded and improved and was used for DNA identifications in several commercial airplane crashes, and following the 2004 Thai Tsunami. M-FISys is currently licensed to several governments for their internal use.
In addition to the M-FISys software, GCF staff will serve as advisors to DNA Shoah. “We have developed significant expertise on how to organize data for identifying human remains on a massive scale” said Mike Hennessey, Director of Disaster Response Services, Gene Codes Forensics, “And we have on- the-ground experience in managing such work. We are honored that we’ve been asked to contribute that knowledge and experience to such an important project.”
Gene Codes President and Founder Howard Cash continued, “I think the DNA Shoah project will be a very positive endeavor as holocaust survivors and their children are aging and passing away. I’ve read that British Prime Minister William Gladstone said, “Show me the manner in which a nation or a community cares for its dead and I will measure with mathematical exactness the tender sympathies of its people, their respect for the laws of the land and their loyalty to high ideals.” This is the chance for our community to offer one last measure of respect and dignity to people who had so much taken from them.”
About Gene Codes Forensics
Gene Codes Forensics is a wholly owned subsidiary of Gene Codes Corporation, a bioinformatics software development company based in Ann Arbor Michigan. GCF develops software for DNA analysis currently used by the Armed Forces DNA Identity Lab and the FBI for human identification. By combining state-of-the-art programming techniques, rigorous quality standards and an open dialogue with scientists working on real-world forensic problems, GCF tools provide comprehensive DNA identification assistance to front line forensic scientists. http://www.genecodes.com
About the DNA Shoah Project
The goal of the DNA Shoah project is to establish a genetic database to help identify those lost during the Holocaust in World War II. A large number of the over 6 million Jews killed were buried in mass graves rather than being cremated. These mass graves continue to be unearthed across Europe today. Modern forensic laboratory techniques may allow the recovery of DNA profiles from many of these remains. When coupled with DNA profiles obtained from living survivors and their immediate relatives, a large number of victims may potentially be identified, which could help reunite families and provide closure for those who lost relatives in the Holocaust.
