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Peter Gill
University of Strathclyde Glasgow, United Kingdom


Peter Gill formerly worked at the Forensic Science Service between 1982-2008. He began research into DNA in 1985, collaborating with Sir Alec Jeffreys of Leicester University. In the same year they published the first demonstration of the forensic application of DNA profiling. In 1989 he was given an award under the civil service inventors scheme for my discovery of the preferential sperm DNA extraction technique and the development of associated forensic tests.

In 1993-4 he was responsible for leading the team which confirmed the identity of the remains of the Romanov family, murdered in 1918, and also the subsequent investigation which disproved the claim of Anna Anderson to be the Duchess Anastasia.

Peter Gill has been involved with giving evidence in several high profile (controversial) cases – including the Doheny / Adams appeals, and the Omagh bombing trial.

His current roles since 2008 are: Senior Lecturer University of Strathclyde, UK and Professor of Legal Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway.

He has published more than 100 papers in the international scientific literature – many of these are collaborative papers under the auspices of ISFG, EDNAP and ENFSI. He is actively promoting the new methodology to interpret DNA profiles by leading on international workshops on the subject.

He is on the editorial boards of Forensic Science International (Genetics) and International Journal of Legal Medicine. He frequently reviews for other journals such as Biotechniques and Nature Genetics.

Main research interests:

  • Development of interpretation strategies (e.g. analysis of mixtures) and their incorporation into expert systems.
  • The development of new biochemical systems and markers.
  • Experimental design and analysis of data to guide formation of pan-European DNA databases.