National Center for Forensic Science Director Will Provide Independent Advice to STRmix
Dr. Ballantyne’s extensive background in casework, provision of expert testimony, and forensic research represents a vitally important addition to the STRmix Advisory Board.”
WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, February 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Dr. Jack Ballantyne, Director of the National Center for Forensic Science and a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Central Florida, has been named to the STRmix Advisory Board.
A regular invited guest at the FBI’s Scientific Working Group on DNA Analysis Methods (SWGDAM), Dr. Ballantyne is a former casework forensic scientist in Scotland, Hong Kong, and New York, where he proffered expert testimony in criminal cases.
Dr. Ballantyne currently teaches and conducts research in forensic molecular genetics, using biochemistry, molecular biology, and genomics to help forensic scientists retrieve more information from biological traces transferred during the commission of a crime.
The STRmix Advisory Board supports the ongoing success of the STRmix team, which is responsible for conducting leading-edge scientific research, developing award-winning software, and delivering comprehensive training and support.
The STRmix team’s software solutions include: STRmix™, a groundbreaking forensic software used to resolve mixed DNA profiles previously considered too complex to interpret; FaSTR™ DNA, which rapidly analyzes raw DNA data and assigns a number of contributors estimate; and DBLR™, which allows forensic laboratories to undertake extensive kinship analysis, carry out rapid database searches and mixture-to-mixture matches, and visualize the value of their DNA mixture evidence. Together, these solutions complete the full workflow, from DNA analysis to interpretation and database matching.
“Dr. Ballantyne’s extensive background in casework, provision of expert testimony, and forensic research represents a vitally important addition to the skills and experience the members of the STRmix Advisory Board already bring to their work,” says Björn Sutherland, Manager of the STRmix team.
The STRmix Advisory Board acts as a consultative sounding board for the STRmix leadership and wider team. As an unpaid Advisory Board member, Dr Ballantyne will provide independent, non-binding advice and guidance based on their expertise in a range of business challenges and opportunities. These include environmental scanning, insights into market strategies, the capital program, general strategy, and risk.
Dr. Ballantyne possesses a B.Sc. (with honors) in Biochemistry from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, a M.Sc. in Forensic Science from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland, and a PhD in Genetics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook, NY.
Prior to entering academia, Dr. Ballantyne served as Chair of the New York State DNA Sub-committee, full-time DNA technical leader in Suffolk County, New York, and part-time consultant DNA technical leader for the states of Mississippi and Delaware, the city of Dallas, and Sedgwick County, Kansas.
STRmix Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of PHF Science, founded to better serve international users of STRmix group software. PHF Science (formerly ESR) is a New Zealand Government-owned research organization delivering world-class research, knowledge, and laboratory services.
For more information about STRmix, visit http://www.strmix.com.
STRmix – A global leader in forensic DNA interpretation, trusted by more than 120 forensic laboratories worldwide.
Ray Weiss
Pugh & Tiller PR
+1 4103035019
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