DDC (DNA Diagnostics Center) and its division, DDC Medical, one of the world’s largest providers of DNA tests, announced today that all DNA tests utilizing Short Tandem Repeat (STR) DNA testing technology, including Paternity and Cell Line Authentication testing, will now examine 22 genetic markers versus 17, which until today has been the core standard in the industry.

With the increase in the number of genetic markers used to create unique DNA profiles, DDC and DDC Medical remain at the forefront of human relationship and cell identity testing. The company continues to lead the industry by introducing this upgraded capability at no additional cost or turn-around time to the consumer. Dr. Michael Baird, DDC’s Chief Science Officer and the country’s first expert to cite DNA in a court of law, says, “This exciting change in our protocol increases DDC’s power of a unique DNA signature by more than 5 fold. By including these additional markers, we continue to provide the most comprehensive test battery available for human identification.”

About Dr. Baird: Dr. Michael Baird,
Chief Science Officer of DDC, is considered the country’s foremost expert in DNA and paternity testing, and was the first person to testify in a criminal DNA case in the US, and since 1987, has been involved in more than 350 court cases involving DNA and paternity. He is currently the Chair of the Relationship Testing Committee of the AABB responsible for developing standards for paternity testing. Dr. Baird has authored or coauthored over 50 peer reviewed scientific articles involving DNA identification analysis. He has served as an on-air consultant to NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News and many of the world’s leading news outlets. Dr. Baird received his BA in Biology from Drew University in 1971, his MA in Biology from the State University of New York in 1973, and earned his PhD in Genetics from the University of Chicago in 1978. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Michigan in the department of human genetics where he studied sickle cell anemia, followed by a position as a Research Associate at Columbia University in the department of human genetics. Dr. Baird served on the panel of the Office of Technology Assessment for the U.S. Congress studying the use of DNA for identification. He also presented information to the panels of the National Research Council that studied DNA testing methods and issued reports in 1992 and 1996.

About DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC):
DDC, founded over twenty years ago, is one of the world’s largest private DNA testing companies with offices in Fairfield, Ohio(United States) and London, England (United Kingdom). DDC offers DNA testing for paternity and family relationships, ancestry, forensics, genetic traits of animals, and cell line authentication.
DDC is accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), The Ministry of Justice, The College of American Pathologists (CAP), and The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment (CLIA). DDC is also accredited by ACLASS to meet the international standards of ISO 17025 and the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors / Laboratory Accreditation Board-International (ASCLD/LAB). For more information, please visit dnacenter.com.
For more information about DDC, please contact us at [email protected].