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Global genealogy explored at UFS guest lecture
Karen Ehlers, lecturer in Department of Genetics; Prof Eugenia D’Amato, guest lecturer and Associate Professor: Department of Biotechnology at the UWC, and Prof Paul Grobler Head of Department: Genetics at the UFS.

Prof Eugenia D’Amato held a lecture at the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Genetics about the research activities she has conducted in her unit at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), in the Forensic DNA lab of the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
 
The lecture focused on research topics she has piloted, including the use of forensic markers in South Africa. Prof D’Amato also spoke on food forensics, the identification of anti-apartheid activists, understanding human genetic variation, and the implementation of novel/refined methods, with a strong emphasis on the forensic use of Y chromosome-based information.

She concluded her PhD studies at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, at the forensic lab. Currently, Prof D’Amato participates in numerous genotyping international forensic collaborations.

 “A survey of existing genetic diversity,
the distribution of diversity, the forensic
parameters and applications are a few of
the subject matters which are important
components of the GlobalFiler project.”
Prof Eugenia D’Amato

She also belongs to the working committee of the “Innocence Project South Africa”.

Her training and subsequent experience in population genetics facilitated the design of a Y chromosome “kit”, as well as the analysis and successful identification of various individuals from highly degraded DNA. Her lecture revealed interesting statistics about how poorly represented African diversity is in the existing world population databases. She explained that mechanisms that drive differentiation include random “genetic drift” and historic demographic processes.
 
Prof D’Amato indicated that her “Database Projection” project for 2018/2019 aims at profiling the population groups of South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. She further explained that a powerful tool for forensic application has been developed, and that there is potential for other applications including haplogroup prediction and the study of demographic history, that will aid her projects in the future.

News Archive

Spain heading for University of the Free State
2009-05-05

 
Fernando Torres

The European football champions, Spain, will be training at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein for their FIFA Confederation Cup matches against Bafana Bafana and Iraq in June this year.

According to the Director of Sport at the UFS, Mr James Letuka, an agreement was signed between the university and the Local Organising Committee (LOC), which stipulated the requirements that had to be met.

“We are honoured to be hosting such a great team at our university and take pride in the fact that our facilities are of such a high standard that the national football team from Spain will be training at the UFS,” Mr Letuka said.

Spain won the Euro 2008 tournament last year when they beat Germany 1-0. The team boasts a number of top class players who play in the leading clubs of Europe, including Fernando Torres, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez, to name a few.

The European champions will play against Iraq on 17 June and against Bafana Bafana on 20 June. The venue for all the Bloemfontein games is the revamped Vodacom Park.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
4 May 2009
 

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