Northern Virginia-based Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates, LLC Assists Local Government in Development and Opening of a new DNA Unit for St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana Coroner's Office. This DNA Unit will allow the Coroner's Office to play a crucial role in solving crimes and identifying human remains
Annandale, VA (PRWEB) September 24, 2007 -- Northern Virginia-based Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates, LLC (http://www.snadna.com) (SNA) announced today their integral role in the September 21, 2007 opening of the new state-of-the-art DNA Unit at the Coroner Forensic Center in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. This DNA Unit will help provide DNA profiling services for the forensic identification of bodies and crime scene evidence.
SNA's extensive experience in DNA program management resulted in the unprecedented implementation of a DNA laboratory in less than 4 months. This new DNA forensic facility will reduce the DNA backlogs for the citizens of St. Tammany Parish.
The rapid implementation of the St Tammany Parish Coroner Forensic Science Center DNA laboratory comes at a time when many DNA laboratories in the United States are struggling to reduce DNA backlogs, while concurrently dealing with increased numbers of case submissions due to the increased importance of DNA evidence in solving crimes.
"Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates, LLC, assists laboratories and organizations such as the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office to increase throughput and decrease forensic case backlogs," said Dr. Amanda Sozer President of Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates, LLC. "While additional equipment and personnel can help some laboratories begin to eliminate backlogs, it is process optimization that significantly improves the efficiency and effectiveness of laboratories which ultimately results in increased capacity."
SNA assisted the St. Tammany Parish Coroner's Office with the program management and implementation required to open a state-of-the-art DNA facility in record time. This included acquiring property, purchasing and validating the most innovative equipment, hiring and training staff and more, in order to provide a fully validated operation. The St. Tammany Parish Coroner achieved the nearly unprecedented rapid deployment of a the new validated DNA laboratory thanks to funding resulting from the implementation of a property tax voted in by the parish residents. "St. Tammany is fortunate to have had adequate funding so that proper resources could be used to bring the laboratory to an operational state in a short period of time," said Dr. Sozer.
SNA gained national recognition in their successful management of the Hurricane Katrina victim DNA identification project. SNA has also supported projects for the California Department of Justice, the Mississippi State Crime Laboratory, the King Hussein Medical Center in Jordan, and the Forensic Anthropology Foundation of Guatemala. For additional information on Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates, LLC visit www.snadna.com
About SNA
Sozer, Niezgoda and Associates, LLC (SNA) is a consulting firm that has a consortium of experts with extensive experience in successfully delivering effective and comprehensive DNA technology and mass fatality response solutions. The SNA Team members are well known worldwide for program development and mass fatality DNA responses, including the 9/11 attacks, the Shuttle Columbia crash, Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Lili, and plane crashes such as American Airlines #587, Egypt Air #990, Alaska Air #261, and Com Air #5191. For more information, visit www.snadna.com.
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