College of Law Hosts Dr. Greg Hampikian, DNA Expert in the Amanda Knox Case

The University of Cincinnati College of Law will host renowned DNA authority

Dr. Greg Hampikian

, the expert in the Amanda Knox case, on Friday, November 11, 2011. His lecture will focus on the Knox case, an American wrongly convicted of murder in Italy and finally freed last month after an appellate court overturned her conviction. The lecture will be held from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. in Room 114 of the law school. All are invited to attend. 

The lecture is sponsored by the Rosenthal Institute for Justice/Ohio Innocence Project.

Meet Dr. Greg Hampikian
Dr. Hampikian, a professor at Boise State University (BSU), is the founder and director of the Idaho Innocence Project at BSU.  He has worked on DNA cases throughout the US, Ireland, the UK, Italy and France, helping in 10 exonerations. In four of those exonerations, new DNA testing led to criminal database matches.

At BSU Dr. Hampikian holds joint appointments in biology and criminal justice. He has held research and teaching positions at the Yale University Medical School, Emory University, La Trobe University in Australia, Clayton State University, and the Center for Disease Control.  His laboratory at BSU is involved in a wide array of DNA projects in the areas of forensic biotechnology, mitochondrial population studies, drug development, magnetic shape memory materials, new microbial species, and bioinformatics. He pioneered the study of the shortest DNA and protein sequences not found in nature, which he has named "nullomers". 

Dr. Hampikian's work has been published in leading scientific journals such as Nature, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science and Justice, and the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.  He has offered DNA workshops and seminars at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Harvard University, and the Pasteur Institute among others. 

Dr. Hampikian is the co-author of “Exit to Freedom” written with Calvin Johnson, Jr.  This book chronicles how Johnson regained his freedom via the use of DNA evidence after 17 years behind bars. Dr. Hampikian’s research and outreach activities have been covered by CNN, the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Fox News, 20/20, Nightline, Good Morning America, Science, and New Scientist.  His laboratory and legal research has been supported by the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation among others.