What an incredible weekend at the Institute 4 Genetic Genealogy (i4GG) conference in San Diego! I was thrilled to attend this event again this year, organized by the brilliant CeCe Moore, who always puts together a diverse and thoughtful slate of presenters, ranging from those in law enforcement to professors studying genetic genealogy and privacy. It was a deep dive into the world of genetic genealogy, filled with insights, groundbreaking IGG cases, and networking with the best in the field. At LinksDNA we believe in staying at the forefront of IGG, which is why events like i4GG are crucial.
I was particularly excited to see my former instructor Cairenn Binder and current case manager, Tracie Boyle, from Ramapo College of New Jersey’s IGG Center, where I had the privilege of studying last year and continue to volunteer. They presented 2 cases they solved during a class session and at boot camp, specifically focusing on how to overcome misattributed parentage in these cold homicide cases. Seeing real-world case studies presented by Cairenn and Tracie reinforced the importance of overcoming misattributed parentage challenges in our own work.
The RCNJ alumni dinner was a highlight, bringing together 20 of us for tacos and margaritas. It wasn’t just about catching up, but also a powerful reminder of the supportive community we’re part of. Sharing stories and insights with fellow graduates reinforced our shared commitment to this field and the impact we’re making. I look forward to seeing even more alumni at the upcoming Ramapo Investigative Genetic Genealogy (RIGG) conference in New Jersey this summer!
New this year – a bonus Friday session, which was dedicated to exploring the role and use of AI in genealogy. Steve Little and Mark Thompson, who also co-host The Family History AI Show podcast, covered so much territory and really took us on a deep dive into the rapidly changing landscape of LLMs and offered valuable insights on how to use this tool in family history research. Steve presented last year and the differences in just one year are remarkable, especially to see the changes in image creators. Photorealism was remarkable, and I couldn’t wait to get home and start crafting my prompts. As we know the prompts are key, and having a template in mind when starting – whether you are creating a locality guide, doing translations, enhancing your writing, or using AI to write the actual prompt. Steve and Mark’s session on AI was eye-opening. We’re already thinking about how to integrate these tools to enhance our research and client services.
Seasoned genealogy professional, Dana Leeds, started the sessions with practical tools and techniques for tackling brick walls using DNA matches, taking her highly regarded and world-renowned Leeds Method to the next level with Dot Clustering, by using relationships you already know, to help define mystery branches in your family tree. DNAJustice board member, Dawn Kosmakos, followed with a session on multi-MPEs within one case, as most IGG practitioners know – this is not shocking to have 1 or 2, but 4 or 5…yikes! Barbara Rae-Venter then discussed the algorithm and tool being developed by Stanford professor, Dr. Lawrence Wein, that she is using in some current rape cases in Ohio. The algorithm is meant to help predict where the connecting or “union” couple is and build out to a potential MRCA (most recent common ancestor) based on DOB and match data. To date, four of their five cases have been solved by using this method. Any new tools in this field are amazing and this sounds like a fascinating start.
Saturday afternoon featured a session on the Accredited Investigative Genetic Genealogist (AIGG) Program by IGGAB Board Members, with the announcement and details of the certification test, which is finally live. Now to get to studying for that! Kimberly Morgan shared DNA case studies from Finding Your Roots Season 12, and I am excited to see the finale next week when Dr. Louis Gates has the tables turned and Cece Moore, the show’s lead genetic genealogist, presents him with an update on his family roots. Parabon Nanolab’s Christine Greene presented two compelling case studies: “Every Doe Has a Story” and “The Not So Obvious Answer” on a group of friends who became family! CeCe concluded the day with a never before presented detailed account of the Green River Killer Victim: Bones 17 project, and the multi-year endeavor she took to solve it. The ups and downs in this case are mind-blowing.
Sunday was a treat when Christi Guerrini, Associate Professor in the Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy at Baylor College of Medicine, discussed public perspectives on IGG and public policy. The ‘Privacy Paradox’ was part of a long-term study they are conducting on sharing data for IGG or any health and science-related reasons. Lauren Felix, from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, presented a case study comparing Kintelligence vs. Microarray. She highlighted the false matches from the Kintelligence report and how it can be detrimental at this stage to be relied upon. Carol Rolnick, an IGG professional with Parabon Nanolabs, shared a case study on the search for a Mexican-American murder suspect. She shared strategies used, branch elimination, X-match data, and skipping triangulating due to endogamy. All great things to keep in mind when working with endogamous populations in this work.
DNA Doe Project Founder, Margaret Press, PhD, demonstrated the power of the software tool, BanyanDNA, that launched last year. The tree-building tool can be used for everything as simple as a diagram, validating your tree with DNA match data, and working through hypotheses based on your person of interest. Margaret discussed color coding and brought up a special guest, Dana Leeds, who showed the power of BanyanDNA for solving relationships based on a mystery in her family she is trying to solve. Note to LinksDNA staff: We should start color coding our Banyan trees right away.
Finally, CeCe Moore shared the “Can’t Get It Out of My Head: The Barbara Mae Tucker Case” and provided a wrap-up of the conference. The i4GG conference was an invaluable experience. It was inspiring to see the advancements and dedication in the field of genetic genealogy and IGG. I left feeling energized and ready to apply these new insights and techniques to my work at LinksDNA, to better serve our clients. A huge thank you to orginal DNA Detective, CeCe Moore, and all the speakers for sharing their expertise and passion.