Ramapo Boasts Nation's First Investigative Genetic Genealogy Center

MAHWAH, NJ — Ramapo College has launched one of the nation's first investigative genetic genealogy centers to offer casework, research and education in the emerging field, a college spokesperson said.

The vision of the center is to "secure justice through the use of investigative genetic genealogy to support the resolution of cases involving wrongful convictions, unidentified human remains and violent crime," the spokesperson said in a news release.

The first class of students in the center's IGG Certificate Program will enroll in Spring 2023.

Cairenn Binder, Director of Education and Development for the DNA Doe Project will direct the certificate program, and David Gurney, Assistant Professor of Law and Society at Ramapo College, will help lead.

Binder has used investigative genetic genealogy to provide leads in a number of high-profile cases, including identification of victims of John Wayne Gacy, Gary Ridgeway (the Green River Killer), and Keith Jesperson (the Happy Face Killer).

“We are grateful for the faith that our partners are putting in the Center and our students,” Binder said. "The opportunity that they will present through the cases referred to us will not only provide valuable practical experience to the students, but will demonstrate to them and to the public that the search for closure and justice is within our reach more than ever before."

Gurney is the president of the Investigative Genetic Genealogy Accreditation Board, which is developing standards for the field, the college said.

“With the new Center, Ramapo will be at the forefront of ensuring that IGG is practiced proficiently and ethically, while also expanding the reach of IGG in exonerating the wrongfully convicted," Gurney said.

"Combining traditional and genetic genealogy," IGG can provide leads in cases involving unidentified human remains and violent crime, where other methods have failed, the college said.

"As IGG is considered by more investigating agencies," the college said, "there is a need for practitioners, pro bono services, and expansion of the field — particularly to the area of wrongful convictions. (Ramapo's) IGG Center will meet these needs and ensure that IGG remains a powerful tool for securing justice."