"I always give my parents a hug when I leave"

Gepubliceerd op January 9, 2024

Postdoctoral researcher Sofie Claerhout (30) refined a technique to solve cold cases using DNA research.

"Forensic genetics began to intrigue me back in sixth grade. That specific training didn’t exist at the time, so I started studying biology at KU Leuven Kulak. I did my master's thesis here in Leuven at the Laboratory for Forensic Genetics – it wasn't standard practise, but I had spontaneously sent them an email. and they created a topic for me around the extramarital rate in Belgium. After graduating, I was able to do a PhD and refined a technique to identify perpetrators using the Y chromosome. That piece of DNA is passed from father to son with minimal changes. That makes it possible to demonstrate very distant family ties using an approach called trace analysis. So you can cobble together genetic family trees that can lead you to the culprit. I’ve christened the technique – with a bit of a wink – CSY, for crime scene analysis on the Y chromosome."

Read more at stories.kuleuven.be »

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