Forensic breakthrough takes top prize

Young Scientist of the Year Claire French hopes her discovery will be developed into a commercial kit. Picture / Paul Estcourt

A graduate student's discovery of a new forensics technique that could potentially help solve sex crimes has seen her emerge as New Zealand's top young scientist.

Auckland University PhD student Claire French's method of identifying whether cell samples collected for DNA testing come from the skin, the mouth or the vagina has already earned praise from the police and forensic science community.

Currently, DNA from such cells found at a crime scene can link a person to the crime but cannot provide evidence about which part of the body the cells came from.

The technique, which would not be out of place on an episode of CSI, involves staining epithelial cells to reveal different colours, providing an indicator of the cells' origins.

Last night, Miss French, 25, was named the 2006 MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year - the country's top award for emerging scientists.

Her research has already been presented at international conferences in Hong Kong and Australia and she is due to present her findings to leading forensic scientists at the influential European Academy of Forensic Sciences conference in Helsinki next week.

One of Miss French's research advisers, Environmental Science and Research forensic scientist Sue Vintiner, described the work as an important breakthrough.

"As a practising forensic scientist I have been involved in cases where we have been unable to scientifically prove that an object, such as a bottle, has actually been used to violate someone in a sexual assault or whether it was just touched by the alleged victim.

"Claire's work could change that."

Police national forensic services adviser, Inspector John Walker, said it was groundbreaking.

"It's not uncommon in a case of sexual violation to have a situation where the prosecution alleges one set of circumstances and the defence another. Being able to isolate exactly where the body fluids found have come from will remove doubt."

Miss French hopes her research will be developed into a commercial kit used routinely at crime scenes and forensic laboratories.

She has a year left in her doctorate in anatomy, and hopes to continue in the field of forensic science.

Her win entitles her to a trip to the UK in September to attend the British Association's annual Science Festival, which draws 400 of the world's top scientists and science communicators. She also receives the gold MacDiarmid medal.

* The runner-up, Dr Rod Lea, from Environmental Science and Research in Wellington, has found evidence that some people are more likely to become addicted to nicotine because of their genes.

He is investigating how a liver enzyme called CYP2A6 metabolises nicotine and eliminates it from the body.

Overall, six awards were presented to health researchers.