Advisory Board

Professor Maarten Larmuseau is a biologist with a PhD in population genetics from the Department of Biology at KU Leuven. He completed postdoctoral research in forensic genetics at both KU Leuven and the University of Leicester. Since 2021, he has been professor of genetic genealogy and head of the Laboratory of Human Genetic Genealogy at KU Leuven. In 2025, he was appointed the director of the KU Leuven Institute for Genetics and Society (LIGAS).

Dr Håvard Aanes is a Norwegian scientist with a strong background in basic science and developmental biology, complemented by formal training as a computational biologist and bioinformatician. With over 15 years of extensive experience working with sequencing data across a wide range of applications, he has made significant contributions to the field.

After completing his PhD and postdoctoral research in developmental biology, Dr. Aanes transitioned to the private sector, where he led projects focused on the development of NGS-based products. He later returned to academia and entered the field of forensic genetics, where he played a key role in advancing DNA methylation-based methods for age prediction. Additionally, he contributed to a pioneering Norwegian pilot project on forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG), where he integrated his expertise in bioinformatics, genealogy, and project management.

Currently, Dr. Aanes serves as a scientist specialising in developmental biology, while continuing to lead projects in forensic genetics, particularly in areas where the two fields intersect. His work addresses the challenges of limited biological material and explores novel technologies, including third-generation sequencing, to push the boundaries of both disciplines.

Dr Evert‑Jan Blom, a Dutch molecular geneticist and bioinformatics researcher, is the founder of Genetic Affairs — a platform dedicated to enabling advanced genetic genealogy through a suite of automated analytical tools. Dr Blom earned his MSc (biology) and PhD (computational biology and molecular genetics) from the University of Groningen, focussing extensively on bioinformatics and transcriptome analysis. He is currently employed as a scientist at KeyGene, a leading company in the agri-biotechnology sector based in the Netherlands.

His work in the field of genetic genealogy began in May 2013, following contact from a DNA relative via 23andMe. This match, who was adopted, shared a substantial genomic segment with him, sparking an investigation into ancestral connections through DNA testing and tree building. Several years later, recognising the inefficiencies in manual data aggregation and match clustering, he began developing Genetic Affairs. The platform — and its flagship tool AutoCluster — launched in late 2018. Dr Blom’s tools are now widely used by FIGG practitioners around the world.

Dr Miriam Ender is a Swiss forensic geneticist with a strong background in biology and molecular genetics. She earned her master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, before pursuing a PhD within the same research group, specialising in medical microbiology and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). During her doctoral studies, she gained extensive expertise in various molecular genetics techniques.

After completing her PhD, Dr Ender worked in the pharmaceutical industry at CSL in biochemistry R&D, where she applied chromatography techniques. She then further refined her skills in cell culture techniques as part of a research group at the University Hospital Zurich.

Inspired by her father, Dr Ender transitioned to the field of forensic genetics in 2013, when she joined the newly established Institute of Legal Medicine in Aargau, Switzerland. Her dedication and expertise were recognised in 2019 when she was awarded the title of forensic geneticist by the Swiss Society of Legal Medicine (SGRM) and assumed leadership of the department of forensic genetics. Under her leadership, the department has flourished, benefiting from a collaborative team of experts with diverse backgrounds.

In 2023, Dr Ender further enhanced her expertise by completing a certificate in Forensic Genetic Genealogy from the University of New Haven, USA. This programme combined her interests in genealogy and genetic genealogy, perfectly complementing her current role. Driven by a passion for discovery, she remains excited to continue advancing her knowledge in forensic genetics and its intersection with genealogy.

Dr Siri Aili Fagerholm is a Swedish forensic geneticist and a Senior Adviser at the National Forensic Centre (NFC), Swedish Police Authority. She has a MSc in Engineering Biology and a PhD in Medical Biology from Linköping University, Sweden. In 2014 she started working at the NFC and over the years has worked with a number of criminal cases, including a variety of high-profile cases, gaining expertise in for example trace recovery of biological samples from crime scenes, DNA profiling and evaluation. This work has laid the ground for an understanding of the underlying complexity in case work investigations, the variety of forensic traces and a drive to expand the forensic tool box.

Dr Fagerholm played a central role in the first European criminal case in which FIGG was used to find the culprit, the so-called double murder case in Linköping from 2004. The work was performed in co-operation with the investigation team at Region Öst of the Police Authority, the National Board of Forensic Medicine, external lab facilities, and a contracted genealogist etc. After the successful use of FIGG, she and colleagues have driven the implementation of FIGG into the Swedish Police’s toolbox. This work contributed to an amendment of the Swedish national law enabling the use of FIGG in Swedish criminal cases from 1^st July 2025 onwards. She has also co-authored several official reports and peer-reviewed articles about the method and legal/ethical considerations of using DNA-based genealogy databases in criminal investigations.

Dr Carsten Hohoff is a German forensic geneticist and Managing Director of the Institute for Forensic Molecular Genetics in Emstetten, Germany. With more than 20 years of experience in forensic genetics, he has led laboratories at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Münster and Institute for Forensic Genetics, and has served as Technical Director of the GEDNAP proficiency testing programme since 2000. He is an active member of the German Society of Legal Medicine and the International Society for Forensic Genetics, with expertise spanning proficiency testing, population genetics, and genetic genealogy.

Dr Hohoff’s recent research includes population-level genetic studies such as Y-chromosome differentiation between Poland and Germany, which revealed genetic structures shaped by post-World War II population movements – insights that have direct implications for interpreting DNA matches in the FIGG context. He has also contributed to the development of multiplex SNP assays for mitochondrial DNA haplogroup identification, enhancing the ability to trace maternal ancestry in both forensic and genealogical contexts.

Dr Craig Paterson is an Associate Head in the Institute of Law and Justice and the Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice at Sheffield Hallam University. He has twenty-five years of experience as a criminologist and his work primarily focuses on criminal justice reform, technological adaptation, and complex crime investigation. Dr Paterson delivered the first FIGG course at the university in January 2025 and led the team that identified the first British citizen using FIGG. His role at the university involves leadership of partnership work, including the development of FIGG, and oversight of curriculum operations.

Dr Emma Tilley is a UK expert on missing persons and unidentified human remains. She achieved a masters degree in Crime Science, Investigation, and Intelligence in 2018. She completed her PhD in Criminology and Policing in 2025, critically reviewing the cross-matching of unidentified human remains and missing persons reports in England and Wales. She is using her PhD findings to influence policy change and has shared recommendations with the Law Commission of England and Wales for their review into the laws that govern the process of dealing with the remains of people who have died.

Dr Tilley contributed to Locate International’s ‘The Missing’ podcast, and was a lead contributor for the Channel 4 documentary series ‘The Body Detectives’. She completed her Churchill Fellowship research in 2024, visiting Canada, Sweden, and the US to explore how the police use of investigative genetic genealogy can bring resolution for families of the unidentified. She is now progressing work on the adoption of forensic investigative genetic genealogy in the UK.

Dr John Zerilli is a legal scholar and philosopher working in the areas of cognitive science and artificial intelligence. He is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Law at King’s College London and Program Director of King’s online LL.M. in Digital Law.

Dr Zerilli works on various aspects of digital law, including copyright and patent law, and has a special interest in both the law of obligations (particularly torts) and administrative law.

Dr Zerilli started off his career as a judicial clerk and spent three years as a lawyer before changing careers, earning a Ph.D. in cognitive science and philosophy, and then carrying out research at the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Edinburgh.

He was called to the Sydney bar in 2011. During his time as a barrister, he accepted briefs to advise and appear in many civil cases, especially in equity and commercial law. He also advised on a number of administrative and public law matters.

Dr Zerilli is a Research Associate in the Oxford Institute for Ethics in AI at the University of Oxford and until recently was an Associate Fellow in the Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge.

His published work appears in such journals as Philosophy of Science, Behavioral and Brain Sciences, and Synthese. His two most recent books are The Adaptable Mind (Oxford University Press, 2020) and A Citizen’s Guide to Artificial Intelligence (MIT Press, 2021).

Debbie Kennett is a freelance genealogist, writer, editor and lecturer. She is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment at University College London, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Genealogists and a Master Craftsman of the Guild of One-Name Studies. She is the author of two books: “DNA and Social Networking” and “The Surnames Handbook”. She is the DNA expert for “Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine” and a regular speaker at genealogy events both in the UK, Ireland and overseas.

Debbie Kennett is a passionate advocate for the transparent and responsible use of FIGG in Europe. In 2019, she published influential research highlighting FIGG’s potential in addressing missing persons and violent crime cases through the careful use of public genealogy databases. Her collaborative 2020 study offered compelling evidence of FIGG’s feasibility in the UK, broadening the discussion beyond early US-based successes and helping to support credible, responsibly applied practice in the European context.