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Katherine Butler Gettings (Fed)

Research Biologist

Katherine began working in the field of human identity testing in 1998, and obtained her M.S. in Criminal Justice, specializing in Forensic Science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2001. She trained and worked in the Forensic Biology and DNA Casework section of the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, and later became the Technical Leader of Forensic Operations at Bode Technology. Katherine has testified in numerous criminal cases, she has taught forensic science courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and she has served as a forensic laboratory auditor/assessor with NFSTC and ASCLD/LAB-International. Katherine earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the George Washington University in 2013, and then began her work with the Applied Genetics group at NIST. Katherine's background serves as a useful foundation as she leads the Applied Genetics group's efforts to develop next-generation sequencing infrastructure for the forensic community.

OPPORTUNITIES

Katherine has a standing opportunity for postdoctoral applicants through the National Research Council Research Associates Program (NRC RAP). Additional opportunities may be available for graduate student internships and postdoctoral appointments. Katherine also currently directs the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program for the Material Measurement Laboratory. See MML SURF for more information and research opportunities. 

AFFILIATIONS

ISFG DNA Commission on STR Sequence Nomenclature Recommendations, Chair (Commission Report)

SWGDAM NGS Working Group, Vice Chair

American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS), Fellow

New York State Commission on Forensic Science, DNA Subcommittee Member

Journal of Forensic Science, Editorial Board Member

Forensic Science International: Genetics, Editorial Board Member

Publications

Harmonizing the forensic nomenclature for STR Loci D6S474 and DYS612

Author(s)
Martin Bodner, David Ballard, Lisa Borsuk, Jonathan King, Walther Parson, Christopher Phillips, Katherine Gettings
The autosomal short tandem repeat (STR) locus D6S474 and the Y-chromosomal STR locus DYS612 have been reported multiple ways in the forensic literature, with

U.S. population data for 94 identity informative SNP loci

Author(s)
Kevin Kiesler, Lisa Borsuk, Becky Steffen, Peter Vallone, Katherine Gettings
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology analyzed a set of 1036 samples representing four major U.S. population groups (African American, Asian

STRSeq: FAQ for submitting

Author(s)
Lisa Borsuk, Peter Vallone, Katherine Gettings
The STR sequencing project was developed due to the necessity of publicly sharing sequencing information about Short Tandem Repeats (STR) associated with human
Created October 9, 2019, Updated November 29, 2023