Walther Parson

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Walther Parson (2019)

Walther Parson (born April 19, 1966 in Innsbruck ) is an Austrian molecular biologist , forensic specialist and university professor.

Life

Walther Parson studied biology at the University of Innsbruck . He completed his studies in 1993 with a thesis on the effects of nitrite on fish blood . In 1994 he began to establish molecular biological methods at the Institute for Forensic Medicine , and from 1997 onwards, as a university assistant, he was responsible for setting up the Austrian DNA central laboratory. In 1999 he received his doctorate with a dissertation on the forensic analysis of the mitochondrial DNA control region and the cytochrome b gene . In 2001 he completed his habilitation with a thesis on Habilitation: Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA Databases in Forensics . Since then, he has headed the High Throughput DNA Databasing Unit (the high-throughput DNA laboratory) and the Forensic Molecular Biology research department at the Institute for Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Innsbruck (until 2004 part of the University of Innsbruck). He is also an Associate Professor at Penn State Eberly College of Science ( Pennsylvania , USA ).

Since 2000 Parson has been a member of the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP), which, among other things, identified victims of the Yugoslav wars by means of DNA analysis . In 2007 he was elected an Associate Member of the European Academy of Forensic Science (EAFS). Since 2009 he has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina .

Parson and his team published over 200 original papers. The focus of his research is forensic DNA analysis with a special focus on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and population genetic interpretations of forensic DNA markers . Among other things, he and his team are working on the DNA internet database EMPOP ( EDNAP forensic mtDNA population database ).

The DNA research laboratory headed by Parson was involved, among other things, with the DNA identification of tsunami victims from Sri Lanka (2004) and of victims of the Pinochet regime, as well as the investigation of historical cases such as the Russian Tsar Romanov family , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Friedrich von Schiller and Günther Messner . In 2013 he used DNA analysis to find 19 living Tyroleans who are related to Ötzi , who was discovered in 1991 .

Awards

Publications (selection)

  • 2014: At some point everything will come to light . Ecowin-Verlag, Salzburg 2014, ISBN 978-3-7110-0062-0
  • 2007: Parson, W., Dür, A .: EMPOP - a forensic mtDNA database . FSI Genet. 1, 88-92 (2007)
  • 2005: Parson, W., Kirchebner, R., Mühlmann, R., Renner, K., Kofler, A., Schmidt, S., Kofler R .: Cancer cell line identification by short tandem repeat profiling: power and limitations . FASEB J. 19, 434-436 (2005)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina - newly elected members 2009 . Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  2. ↑ Diploma thesis: Effects of nitrite on fish blood . Union catalog, diploma thesis 1993.
  3. ↑ Dissertation: The forensic analysis of the mitochondrial DNA control region and the cytochrome b gene . Union catalog, dissertation 1999.
  4. ↑ Habilitation: Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA Databases in Forensics . Union catalog, habilitation 2001.
  5. ↑ a b c d Walther Parson on the website of the Institute for Forensic Medicine at the Medical University of Innsbruck . Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  6. ↑ a b c University of Innsbruck - Mummy Research - Teachers . WebArchive dated December 20, 2015, accessed March 25, 2019.
  7. ↑ Member entry of Walther Parson (with picture) at the German Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina , accessed on March 25, 2019.
  8. ↑ EDNAP forensic mtDNA population database (EMPOP) . Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  9. ↑ Courier: The scout from the DNA laboratory . Article of October 10, 2014, via WebArchive of December 7, 2015, accessed on March 25, 2019.
  10. ↑ diepresse.com - Austria 15 . Retrieved December 7, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Parson, Walther
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian molecular biologist, coroner and university professor
DATE OF BIRTH April 19, 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH innsbruck