Our Year in Review: 2023 IMF Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG) Whole Genome Sequencing Fact Sheet

2023 was a defining moment for our laboratory as we attained accreditation for SNPs using massively parallel sequencing, and were able to generate profiles  for FIGG upload in-house under our accredited services! In the spirit of one of our core principles, transparency, we felt compelled to share some relevant data from our journey thus far. We believe the data below shows how powerful and impactful utilizing ancient DNA tools on forensic samples can be to aid investigators.

For more detail, please review the table below:

2023 IMF Whole Genome Sequencing Data Sheet
Accreditation for Forensic SNP's on Massively Parallel Sequencing awarded*	22-Feb-23
Samples we were able to get usable upload files (positive samples):	99
Positive sample rate (excluding Tulsa 1921 graves project samples):	81.40%
Positive sample rate (including Tulsa 1921 graves project samples):	75.00%
Median input DNA for a usable upload file:	834.5pg
Smallest input DNA for a usable upload file:	38.5pg
Positive samples that quantified at maximum degradation index:	7
Average number of SNPS  (FTDNA upload file):	677,655
Average number of SNPS  (GEDMatch upload file): **	516,426
Oldest sample:	1921
Most sampled item:	Tooth/Teeth (25)
Announced Partner Solves:	7
*Applies to both the Verogen Kintelligence method on the MiSeq FGx AND the ClaretBio SRSLY method on the NovaSeq 6000, IMF is the first accredited laboratory for SNPs on MPS to validate and use both methods on forensic casework.
** ​Based on a targeted SNP set of ~550k SNPs specifically chosen to maximize compatibility with existing Direct-To-Consumer kits while ensuring the data passes GEDMatch quality filters

We welcome you to review this data and we would be happy to answer any questions or comments you have. We expect our 2023 positive sample rate will improve over time with advancements to our bioinformatic package. Expect revised numbers with updates in the future. We are excited to see what 2024 brings as we increase our capacity and continuously improve our process. We thank all of our partners and supporters for an amazing year!