It's hoped that the tool would be able to determine a person's identify by examining proteins in hair strands as small as one centimetre.
A single human hair comprises a combination of protein variants which are unique to an individual, much like DNA. This protein-based - proteomics - human identification technique would assist police and forensic investigators to identify a suspect, victim, or missing person.
A proteomics dataset will also be created that is representative of the genetic diversity of the WA population.
ChemCentre has secured a $4.6 million commitment from the WA government to fund this four-year project – underlining the importance of this research
ChemCentre will work together with WA Police, PathWest (Forensic Biology), Murdoch University, Edith Cowan University, and an international research team based at the University of California, Davis, on the project.
The project will also contribute valuable data towards a wider clinical collaboration between ChemCentre, the UWA Burns Research Unit and the Fiona Wood Foundation.
Forensic Science Laboratory Director Bianca Douglas said the new technique will be particularly useful in determining identity where DNA evidence is compromised or not recovered.
Ms Douglas said that while initial research will focus on hair proteomics, there is potential for similar techniques to be developed to analyse ‘hard proteins’ such as bone and teeth.
“The technique has the potential to transform the forensic process of human identification, not just in the criminal justice system, but also in coronial investigations, crisis and emergency response management and disaster victim identification.
“This work builds on ChemCentre’s international reputation for its analytical forensic work, particularly in cold case investigations, including the development of a fibres database, which was used in the WA Police Macro investigation.”