A 9/11 remembrance: IMF at the International Symposium on Human Identification (ISHI32)

Did you know that forensic scientists are still trying to identify victims of 9/11?

In this picture we can see a tattered jacket from Mark Ransom, a forensic scientist from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in New York city. He was at ground zero when the towers collapsed and this picture of his jacket on that day is a sobering reminder of the forensic science heroes of 9/11. Mark has continued the work of identifying the remains of the victims to this day. Dedicated

Our Laboratory Director, Danny Hellwig, attended the ISHI32 conference last week and we will spend some time in the next week reliving the experience of the forensic DNA community as we imerge from COVID isolation, the exciting science that is coming and, in the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the memories, scientific advances and the continuing dedication to identifying remains from the 9/11 tragedies that was pervasive at the conference.

It was truly an amazing experience. We are so grateful to be there with our colleagues and partners and we hope you will enjoy the Intermountain Forensics summary/perspective of what was an insprational week of science and community!