Tina Moroose

Teaching Assistant Professor and Graduate Studies Coordinator

Specialties: DNA Analysis and Quality Management

Research Interests

Coming from a Crime Laboratory background and realizing the constraints that are imposed on analysts, Ms. Moroose's number one goal is to provide support for the West Virginia State Police (WVSP) Crime Laboratory first, and other laboratories second. She has embarked on many research endeavors for the WVSP to help the agency get a jump start on some studies, so officials may focus their time on demanding caseloads.

Ms. Moroose's students have helped complete a study looking at two commercially available extraction kits to deal with inhibited DNA samples and investigating better methods for blood detection. Her most recent endeavor is a collaboration with the WVU Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, more specifically Biometrics to initiate studies with their new Rapid DNA system. Furthermore, she and her Independent Study students have partnered with the WVU College of Law to investigate cold cases. In addition to the above, other research awards were received for Validating the Use of Mitochondrial DNA Analysis on Human Hair, Epithelial Cell Presence in Human Scent, and Detecting STR peaks in degraded DNA samples.

Background

Moroose obtained a B.A. degree in Biology from West Virginia University and an M.S. degree in Forensic Science from Marshall University. She began her forensics career at the West Virginia State Police Crime Laboratory in Charleston, WV. She worked in the Biochemistry Section performing DNA analysis for 2 years. She is a fully trained and court qualified expert. She left the State Police and began working for the Marshall University Forensic Science Center. It was there that she discovered her fervent affinity for Quality Assurance.

In 2000, Ms. Moroose began auditing DNA Laboratories in neighboring states as part of a round-robin effort. She was also very active in quality management and quality control for the Marshall University Forensic Science Center. She became a consultant with the National Forensic Science Technology Center, Forensic Quality Services (FQS) International, and the Northeast Regional Forensic Institute.

She performs DNA audits for NFSTC, DNA audits, accreditation, and surveillance visits for FQS, and was a DNA trainer for the Northeast Regional Forensic Institute. As a consultant, she aids laboratories in their preparation for ISO 17025 by providing them with a gap analysis and/or other audit preparatory services.

In addition to quality control consulting, teaching, and training, Moroose has also consulted for the D.o.D. Biometric Task force. Her efforts helped them prepare for accreditation, while also serving as a subject matter expert in DNA. She has also consulted with Ron Smith and Associates on several projects, and continues to work very closely with Marshall University and the West Virginia State Police. Finally, she was chosen from the large pool of NFSTC auditors to aid the organization in DNA audit reviews when the need arose.

Special Information

In addition to Moroose's 13 years of quality management work, she has been trained by numerous organizations. She received ISO 17025 training from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation, Auditor Training and Quality Assurance Standards training through the FBI, ISO 17025 Training through Forensic Quality Services, and numerous Quality and DNA trainings over the past 18 years.

She is also a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and a member of the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Commission.