About CHI
With funding from the State of Texas and various Federal Government agencies, CHI supports forensic DNA testing, anthropological examinations, training, and various research and development initiatives.
Clearing Criminal Case Backlogs
CHI contributes to decreasing sexual assault and criminal casework backlogs within Texas.
Supporting Investigations to Identify the Missing
Our team has processed the majority of missing persons and family reference DNA profiles for the United States that reside within CODIS. CHI also provides anthropological examinations of skeletal remains to determine sex, ancestry, age, stature, possible signs of trauma, and if the remains are of forensic significance.
Our Expert Scientists
The forensic scientists at CHI are recognized subject matter experts often called upon to assist in various investigative needs, such as:
- Reducing laboratory backlogs for the State of Texas
- Casework interpretation
- Testimony support, and
- Development of databases to assist investigators nationwide and around the world.
Advancing Forensics Research
Our active research efforts support the service work at CHI and we collaborate with scientists from around the world. In the past decade, CHI has published more than 180 peer-reviewed publications related to forensic genetics in human identification, microbial forensics, and molecular autopsy. The mentored Masters and Doctoral students involved in the research continue active, successful careers.
Our Executive Director
Dr. Michael Coble
Dr. Michael (Mike) Coble earned his PhD in Genetics from The George Washington University in 2004. After receiving his doctorate, he was an NRC Postdoctoral Fellow and, later, a Research Biologist in the Biotechnology Division of the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). He then spent four years as the Research Section Chief at the U.S. Department of Defense's Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), where he assisted on numerous identifications, including the widely publicized positive identification of two of the children of Tsar Nicolas II and his wife Alexandra. After eight additional years as a Forensic Biologist for NIST, Dr. Coble joined the Center for Human Identification as Associate Director in 2018, and was appointed acting Executive Director on February 1, 2022.
Dr. Coble's research focuses on issues associated with DNA mixture interpretation and he, literally, wrote the book on probabilistic genotyping. Other areas of research include haploid marker systems for forensic testing (mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome testing), and non-traditional marker systems to gather genetic information from challenged and deteriorated samples (X-chromosomal STRs, insertion-delete markers, etc.).
While at CHI, Dr. Coble has been instrumental in furthering efforts to reduce human trafficking and identify missing persons by assisting on a grant from the U.S. State Department to train and outfit forensic labs in Central America. He has also assisted the Texas Department of Public Safety Forensic DNA Laboratory, providing analysts with supplemental training in likelihood ratios and probabilistic genotyping.
Dr. Coble serves as a commissioner for the Texas Forensic Science Commission and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. He is a member of the International Society of Forensic Genetics, an invited guest at the Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM), and serves as an affiliate of the OSAC Human Biology Subcommittee.
Contact Us
- Center for Human Identification
- CBH, 6th Floor | 3400 Camp Bowie Boulevard | Fort Worth, TX 76107
- Local Number: 817-735-0606 | Fax: 817-735-0553 | Toll-Free: 1-800-763-3147 | Toll-Free Fax: 1-800-221-3515
