NIJ FY 09 Forensic DNA Research and Development

The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is the research, development, and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a component of the Office of Justice Programs (OJP). NIJ provides objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to enhance the administration of justice and public safety. NIJ solicits applications to inform its search for the knowledge and tools to guide policy and practice. NIJ is seeking applications for research and development that can enhance the forensic uses of DNA technology. This solicitation focuses on technologies that result in faster, more robust, more informative, less costly, or less labor-intensive identification, collection, preservation, and/or analysis of DNA evidence collected from crime scenes. Priority will be given to proposals that focus on the following: 1. General improvements to the “front end” of the forensic DNA analysis process. 2. Physical separation of the components of a mixture. 3. Body-fluid/cell-type identification and characterization. 4. Identification and/or characterization of biological marker systems that have the potential to reveal additional or more powerful information about the source of the biological evidence. 5. Improved tools for examining aged, degraded, limited, damaged, inhibited, or otherwise compromised DNA evidence. 6. Novel methods for genetic profiling.