Key Staff at DDC and DDC UK
Internationally recognised professionals in the DNA testing industry lead DNA Diagnostics Centre (DDC) and DDC UK. Only the best professionals are invited to take on the challenge of transforming the latest DNA testing technologies into useful applications for our clients around the world.
Rebecca Webster
Rebecca Webster is Operations Manager for DDC UK. A highly experienced senior operations manager, she has worked in the DNA testing industry since 2003. At DDC UK, she oversees all company operations, including client services, sales, marketing, and more. Rebecca continues to develop the operations, support, and client services platform that has led DDC UK to success in the consumer and legal service markets in the UK.
Before joining DDC UK, Rebecca spent nearly 15 years as a Telecommunications Manager for a large UK-based legal practice. At the law firm, she defined and implemented training programs for hundreds of employees in the customer service department. Today, she uses this experience to train our own client services staff, who provide legendary service to our clients on a daily basis.
Dr. Michael Baird
Dr. Michael Baird, our Laboratory Director, has decades of experience in the DNA testing field. In 1982, he was at the forefront of the genetic testing industry as part of a team that pioneered the use of DNA for identification and then offered it commercially. In 1987, he was one of the first DNA experts to testify in a court case. Since then, he has testified in hundreds of court cases involving DNA and forensics. In addition, he has written and published numerous articles and manuscripts on the topics of DNA technology, paternity testing, and forensics.
Dr. Baird joined DDC after spending 7 years as Chairman of the AABB's Parentage Testing Accreditation Program Unit. The AABB oversees, sets guidelines for, and accredits DNA paternity testing laboratories worldwide. Dr. Baird has also been a voting member of the AABB's Relationship Testing Standards Program Unit for 15 years, helping to set the standards and guidelines for AABB-accredited laboratories. In addition, he serves as an international consultant for the AABB's Relationship Testing Accreditation Committee and conducts laboratory assessments for the program.
Dr. Baird is currently the president of HITA, the Human Identity Trade Association. HITA is a nonprofit organisation comprised of individuals who represent the DNA testing industry to the government and the public.
Dr. Susannie Lee
Dr. Susannie Lee is our Director of Laboratory Operations. Since she joined DDC in the mid-1990s, she has been responsible for planning, developing, and directing all operational aspects of the laboratory. She has personally overseen the testing of more than 200,000 paternity cases over the past 5 years.
Dr. Lee served as a voting member on the AABB's Parentage Testing Standards Committee from 2001 to 2005. She was actively involved in the writing of the 6th and 7th Editions of the Parentage/Relationship Testing Standards. She has also served as an AABB assessor, inspecting and certifying other DNA testing laboratories in the industry.
Dr. Lee received her bachelor's degree in chemistry from Yale University and completed her PhD in biological chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania. She also earned an MBA at Miami University in Ohio.
While working on her PhD, Dr. Lee became one of the first scientists to create synthetic DNA. That experiment was the first DNA experiment to go up on a space shuttle mission.
Dr. Julie Heinig
Dr. Julie Heinig is Assistant Laboratory Director in charge of DDC's forensic laboratory operations. In this role, she performs DNA testing on crime scene evidence for DDC Forensics. Dr. Heinig designed and prepared DDC's forensics laboratory for accreditations by prestigious organisations in the forensic testing field, setting up the laboratory's policies and procedures and performing validation studies. Through her efforts, the laboratory has achieved ISO/IEC 17025 certification from FQS-I (Forensic Quality Services-International), as well as accreditation from ASCLD/LAB-International.
Before joining DDC, Dr. Heinig spent 4 years as a Senior Forensic Scientist/DNA Analyst at the Cuyahoga County Coroner's office, where she performed testing on the highly publicised Dr. Sam Sheppard case. Dr. Heinig has appeared as a DNA expert in a number of court cases, testifying on her own casework and that of other scientists. She has extensive experience in processing crime scenes.
Dr. Heinig is an experienced lecturer, having hosted seminars and given lectures to various groups, including lawyers, doctors, and universities. She also conducts crime scene evidence collection workshops for law enforcement agencies.
|
