IARPA Taps Three Teams for Research on Protein-Based Identification Applications

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity has selected the University of Washington, GE Global Research and Signature Science to explore how proteins can be applied for human identification and correlation.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Wednesday that the three awardees will perform the research task under the Proteos program, which aims to identify unique genetically variable peptides within humans.

The effort intends to address the inconclusiveness of DNA profiling in forensics applications through the use of these peptides.

“Capabilities developed within the Proteos program can provide another tool for forensic researchers in cases wherein the DNA is degraded or found in small quantities and increase the likelihood of assigning identification using proteins associated with touch samples,” says Kristen Jordan, program manager at IARPA.

IARPA identified the three awardees via competitive sourcing, and will administer the program’s first phase through July 2019.

The National Institute for Standards and Technology, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory will evaluate projects under the program.