Mission

Astrea Forensics® was founded in 2019 by paleogeneticists to apply ancient DNA techniques and direct genome sequencing to difficult-to-solve forensic casework and the identification of human remains. Astrea’s proprietary methods make it possible to recover genetic profiles from rootless hair and other highly degraded samples that otherwise fail traditional forensic DNA testing. The Astrea® technology will help empower law enforcement and genetic genealogy investigators in their mission to solve cold cases, and determine the identify of unknown individuals, whether days or decades old.

Leadership

Leadership Photos

Kelly Harkins Kincaid, PhD

Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor. PhD in Anthropology (Bioarchaeology, Archaeological Genetics). Career-long focus on Ancient DNA techniques, whole genome analysis, and methods development for Next-Generation Sequencing.

Richard E. Green, PhD

Co-Founder and Scientific Advisor. Professor of Biomolecular Engineering and Bioinformatics at UC Santa Cruz. Pioneered the use of rootless hair for human identification.