Federal grant will help VCU researchers build forensics business to serve national crime labs

Aug. 31, 2023

VCU Department of Forensic Science Professor, Dr. Christopher Ehrhardt and affiliate faculty, Martha "Kate" Philpott are awarded $270,578 from the National Science Foundation for a VCU startup that is developing technologies to improve forensic investigations.

The $270,578 Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) award to Rapid Forensic Cell Typing will help the company develop technology that can analyze “non-genetic attributes” of cells within forensic evidence, explains VCU researcher Christopher Ehrhardt, Ph.D., a co-investigator on the project and professor in the Department of Forensic Science at the VCU College of Humanities and Sciences.

“It will allow forensic labs to quickly determine the value of a sample before it gets to DNA profiling, which can make crime labs more efficient and reduce delays in the legal system,” he says. Dr. Ehrhardt, explains in this video how the technology works.

To read more, see Business to serve national crime labs