Mitchell M. Holland

Dr. Holland holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Hobart Collage in Geneva, New York, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Maryland, College Park, and was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied Human Genetics.

Dr. Holland is a Fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and has served as an associate professorial lecturer and adjunct faculty member at various colleges and universities.  Dr. Holland has been on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Forensic Sciences and a member of the Advisory Board of the International Journal of Legal Medicine.  He has held positions on governmental and company advisory boards and has been recognized by the FBI and others for his work.

Prior to being asked in early 2005 to help establish the Forensic Science Program at Penn State, Dr. Holland was the Senior Vice President of Operations and Laboratory Director of The Bode Technology Group.  Bode is one of the largest private forensic DNA laboratories in the world.  At Bode, Dr. Holland led the efforts to generate DNA profiles from victim remains recovered from Ground Zero (World Trade Centers) following the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

From 1991-2000, Dr. Holland held various positions at the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory, including Scientific Laboratory Director from 1993-2000.  At AFDIL, Dr. Holland led the efforts to identify the remains of 1^st Lt Michael Blassie (the Vietnam Unknown Soldier) and Nicholas Romanov, the last Russian Tsar.  The primary mission at AFDIL is the identification of U.S. military personnel killed in the line of duty.

My passions include cooking, gardening (poppies below/right!!), sports, and my wonderful family.  To the right is a picture of my three beautiful children (Alayne, Harrison, and Gabriel) and below is the love of my life and their mom/bonus mom (Charity).

Jennifer A. McElhoe

Dr. McElhoe joined the Holland Laboratory as a Research Associate in 2012, bringing a diverse background and unique perspective to the forensic science program. Dr. McElhoe holds a B.S. in Marine Science from Coastal Carolina University in Conway, S.C., an M.S. in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL., a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State) in University Park, PA, and most recently a Graduate Certificate in Applied Bioinformatics from Penn State .

During her Ph.D. work, Dr. McElhoe studied reductive dehalogenation of trichloroethene using molecular tools to characterize the microbial community. The experience she gained doing this work allowed her to transition into her current position doing molecular work using massively parallel sequencing. As a forensic Research Associate, Dr. McElhoe focuses include evaluating heteroplasmy in mitochondrial DNA, bioinformatics, and how to properly apply statistical evaluation to datasets.

Dr. McElhoe has extensive experience with the development of molecular techniques, and she was responsible for the development and optimization of the massively parallel sequencing (MPS) methods we are currently using in the laboratory. These methods have proven to produce reliable and high-quality results for the entire mtDNA genome on the MiSeq. She was the lead author on several papers: Development and Assessment of an optimized next-generation DNA sequencing approach for the mtgenome using the Illumina MiSeq, Forensic Science International: Genetics, 13, pp. 20-29 (2014); Characterization of background noise in MiSeq MPS data when sequencing human mitochondrial DNA from various sample sources and library preparation methods, Mitochondrion: 52, pp. 40-55 (2020); Exploring statistical weight estimates for mitochondrial DNA matches involving heteroplasmy: Int J Legal Med., 136(3), pp. 671-685 (2022), and co-author on ten other publications. Dr. McElhoe mentors research personnel, graduate, and undergraduate students in the Holland group, teaches PSU016, has taught Forensics Special Topics: R and Statistics, and has served as key personnel and co-PI on the six the NIJ research grants that the Holland laboratory has secured.

Outside of work, Dr. McElhoe enjoys cooking, puzzles, crafts, photography, and spending time with friends, her two dogs, and husband, Chris. The pictures below are of Chris, and their two dogs, J.J. & Jinx, on the beach in N.C., Chris and Dr. McElhoe on top of the empire state building, and a photo taken by Dr. McElhoe of water drop refraction that is a personal favorite.

Miriam Foster

Hi! I’m Miriam and I’m currently from Asheville, NC. I am pursuing an integrated undergraduate-graduate degree (IUG) in Forensic Science, and I am on the bio track. I am in the Holland Lab to investigate how the transfer and persistence of human DNA compares to that of bacterial DNA in touch samples at crime scenes. I love cats, hiking, going to the gym, hanging out with my friends, and reading. Below are pictures of my niece-pug and I, me in a Tyvek suit examining cars for FRNSC 415, and my very own grumpy cat, Maggie.

Jade Korber

Hello! My name is Jade Korber, and I am from Albuquerque, New Mexico. I graduated from Texas Tech University with a B. S. in Biology, and am currently a Master’s student in Forensic Science on the biology track. My research is focused on exploring the impact of hair dye on mitochondrial DNA yield from human hair shafts. Outside of lab work, I enjoy rock climbing, hiking, and just about any excuse to be outside!

Erin Brownfield

Howdy! My name is Erin Brownfield and I am from Houston, Texas. I graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Forensic and Investigative Sciences and Genetics with a minor in Geology. I am currently a Master’s student on the biology track in Forensic Science. My research focuses on sequencing 10,000 mitogenomes using the PacBio Sequel II System through an NIJ funded project. In my free time, I enjoy reading, crafting, and spending time with my two cats.