KGI Summer Speaker Series: The Evolving Role of NGS and SNPs in Solving Violent Crimes – with an MBS and FBI; is that enough acronyms?

With the arrest and conviction of Joseph DeAngelo, aka the Golden State Killer, the usage of consumer DNA testing and genealogical databases has taken the game of human identification to the next level. Come hear from KGI Graduate Jessica Koong (MBS 2011), Sr. Market Development Manager and retired FBI Attorney Steve Kramer about the usage of Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy – a true intersection between life science (or death science?) and law enforcement and crime fighting – and how forensic DNA and human identification have been forever altered – for the better. 

Click here to register for the event via Zoom.

About Jessica

Jessica Koong (MBS 2011) is the Sr. Market Development Manager at QIAGEN’s Human ID and Forensics business unit. Using her background in biology and psychology, she’s enjoyed 13 years of a marketing career in prominent life science companies such as MilliporeSigma, Illumina, and now QIAGEN. In her current role, her mission is to bridge the gap between forensic application of next-generation sequencing and law enforcement adoption of new investigative technique in solving violent crimes. She also is a member of the board of directors of the International Homicide Investigators Association. A fluent speaker of Mandarin Chinese and an avid poetry reader, Jessica prides herself on her creativity and openness to new ways of thinking and problem-solving. She is also a closeted true crime fan.

About Stephen Kramer

Mr. Kramer has 25 years of experience in law enforcement, as an FBI attorney, as a federal prosecutor and as a deputy district attorney.  He began his career with law enforcement in law school in 1993 after he published a law review article on the use of DNA evidence and was contacted and consulted by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies.  He has prosecuted homicide cases, corporate fraud cases and national security cases.  At the FBI he was responsible for legal matters in many of the FBI’s largest and most sensitive criminal and national security investigations.  Due to his interest in DNA related investigations, in 2013, Mr. Kramer became involved in the FBI’s investigation of the Golden State Killer, who was one of the most prolific, uncaught serial killers in U.S. history responsible for 13 murders, 50 sexual assaults and hundreds of burglaries.  In 2018, Mr. Kramer worked with Family Tree DNA, a commercial genetic genealogy company, to upload the Golden State Killer’s DNA into its database.  Mr. Kramer led a team of investigators on a forensic genetic genealogy investigation which resulted in the arrest of Joseph James Deangelo in April 2018 as the alleged Golden State Killer.  Following the arrest of Deangelo, Mr. Kramer and Special Agent Stephen Busch created and led the FBI’s Forensic Genetic Genealogy team, which solved dozens of the most difficult and violent crimes both in the United States and internationally.  In 2021, Mr. Kramer and Mr. Busch left the FBI and founded Indago Solutions, LLC, an AI-based software service that automates genetic genealogy to identify suspects.  Mr. Kramer continues to work regularly with the United States Department of Justice and with state prosecutors on policy issues and best practices for law enforcement’s use of genetic genealogy.