“Finally, an elegant narrative, comprehensible to the non-scientist, of the transformative impact of DNA amplification on criminal justice and human evolution. Henry played a key role in developing DNA’s capacity to convict the guilty and free the innocent as well as to demystify the genetic history of our species. A rigorous empiricist and passionate humanist, his commitment to science is enhanced by his anti-racism, pursuit of equity, and defense of civil liberties.
—Peter Neufeld, Cofounder, The Innocence Project
“An insider’s view of the revolution that DNA technology brought to forensics and human evolution.”
—Svante Paabo, Director, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine (2022)
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About Henry Erlich
Dr. Henry Erlich, Research Emeritus at the Benioff UCSF Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, is a molecular geneticist, with over 40 years of experience in developing and applying PCR technology in basic research,immunogenetics, medical diagnostics, forensics, and evolutionary studies.He pioneered DNA-based HLA typing for disease susceptibility studies and for matching transplant donors and recipients. Dr. Erlich received his B.A. in Biochemical Sciences from Harvard in 1965 and his Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Washington. He completed postdoctoral fellowships in the Biology Department at Princeton University (1972-75) and the Immunology Department at the Stanford School of Medicine (1975-79).
As Director of the Human Genetics Department at Cetus Corporation and later as Director of Human Genetics and VP of Exploratory Research at Roche Molecular Systems, he led developments in diagnostic applications for infectious and autoimmune diseases, forensic genetics, and organ transplantation. His laboratory performed the first forensic DNA case in the U.S. in 1986 and the first DNA-based post-conviction exoneration.
Dr. Erlich also advanced next-generation sequencing (NGS) applications, extending them to highly polymorphic HLA genes and mitochondrial DNA for both forensic and clinical purposes. His research contributed to early detection methods for graft rejection, non-invasive prenatal testing for hemoglobinopathies, and genetic studies on autoimmune diseases, especially type 1 diabetes. With over 450 published works and three influential books on PCR and forensic DNA analysis, Dr. Erlich has received numerous honors, including the Gideon Goldstein Award and the Profiles in DNA Courage Award, and continued his work as a Senior Scientist at the Research Institute until 2021.
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Genetic Reconstruction of the Past, by Henry A. Erlich………. A retired academic and industrial research scientist has crafted an accessible, engaging history of the development of PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology to amplify DNA sequences, and its application to the past: recently (as in forensics and the unraveling of crimes) and long ago (as in Harvard professor of genetics David Reich's pathbreaking studies of human evolution and migration). A twofer: more reliable justice, and better appreciation of humans' shared ancestry.
- Harvard Magazine
Genetic Reconstruction of the Past:
DNA Analysis in Forensics and Human Evolution
This book discusses the recently developed capacity to use DNA sequence information to make inferences about historical events. Part One focuses on how DNA analysis can reconstruct the recent past, in particular, the events that transpired at the scene of a crime. Part Two is a discussion of how the same DNA technology and genetic data can be used to reconstruct the ancient past, using DNA sequences from human samples as well as from fossil remains to study the evolution of the human species and the historical relationships among contemporary and extinct human populations. The author discusses how he and his colleagues at Cetus Corp in the mid 1980s developed the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology of specific DNA amplification, a method of synthesizing millions of copies of a specific targeted DNA sequence, and applied it to address forensic and evolutionary questions. His lab applied these now widely used techniques in the first DNA criminal case, the first exoneration case, and the first identification of a missing person. The same DNA technology that allows the analysis of a hair or tiny blood spot at a crime scene also enables sequencing the DNA of a bone fragment from a Neanderthal skeleton. Both forensic and evolutionary investigations compare the frequency of specific genetic variants in different populations and share a common goal: solving historical mysteries. The author discusses ongoing controversies in both fields as well as the intrinsic human curiosity about our origins and the desire to solve crimes and seek justice.
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