Meet the Paternity Test US/Independent Forensics Team
Dr. Karl Reich, Scientific Director
Karl Reich grew up in New York City and had an urban childhood. He received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from Cornell University in rural Ithaca. He then worked in several laboratories as a technician, before going back to school and obtaining his doctorate in Molecular Biology from UCLA [through a quirk, his graduate research was performed at Harvard Medical School].
Dr. Reich’s postdoctoral training included work at the Institut Pasteur, Paris France and at Stanford Medical School in Stanford California. He then spent five years in the Pharmaceutical Division of Abbott Laboratories. This experience awakened his interest in the commercial opportunities of science. Subsequently he has worked in a number of biotech ventures all related to genomics, genetics and DNA. He is presently the Chief Scientific Officer of Independent Forensics where he oversees the laboratory and directs the research and development efforts
Karl has more than 20 years of scientific experience in chemistry, molecular biology and biochemistry. He was originally trained as a chemist and an undergraduate degree from Cornell. His graduate training was in molecular biology at ULCA and Harvard Medical School. In addition he has significant post-doctoral training at Institut Pasteur (Paris) and at Stanford Medical School. Karl has industrial management experience from his years at Abbott Laboratories where he directed numerous molecular biology projects in anti-infectives and diabetes. He has published more than 20 research papers in first line scientific journals, and has received allowances on two molecular biology related patents.
Pravatchai W. Boonlayangoor, Ph.D. Technical Leader, Laboratory Director
Dr. Boonlayangoor is Laboratory Director at Independent Forensics. Dr. Boonlayangoor comes to Independent Forensics with over 20 years of experience expertise in Molecular Genetics, Forensic Sciences, Paternity Testing and Histocompatibility testing. He was the Laboratory Director at the DNA & Immunogenetics Institute, Illinois Masonic Medical Center and an Adjunct Professor of Forensic Sciences and Immunogenetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Boonlayangoor started and directed the Cook County Hospital's Paternity Blood Testing Program in 1981, thus pioneering the implementation of blood testing for parentage determination. Under his direction, this center became one of the largest testing programs in the country, providing state of the art technology such as high resolution electrofocusing and DNA typing. Dr. Boonlayangoor has made significant contributions to the field of DNA testing both scientifically and legally: he co-authored The State of Illinois New Parentage Act, Section 11 of Chapter 40, which details the legal basis for parentage determination in the state of Illinois. He is the author of more than 30 publications and is an active participant in all aspects of the laboratory.
Dr. Jennifer Old is the senior member of the research and development team. She received her Ph. D. in Pathology and Microbiology from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in Omaha NE.
Independent Forensics' staff has significant experience in consulting on the process and procedures of DNA forensic testing and can explain the science of DNA and it's use in paternity and forensic testing. |
