Melanie S. Trapani, PhD, ABC-MB, has more than 18 years of experience in human identity testing. Dr. Trapani obtained her PhD degree with a Human & Molecular Genetics concentration from the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston in 1999. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Human Genetics Center, University of Texas Health Science Center then joined the faculty of Columbia University (New York, NY) as assistant professor and the William R. Acquavella Scholar. Before joining Labcorp’s DNA identification testing laboratory, Dr. Trapani served in director-level and DNA technical leader positions in a forensic DNA testing laboratory. She has testified as an expert witness more than 50 times in 16 states and has co-authored 25 peer-reviewed genetics and molecular biology publications.
Dr. Trapani is certified in molecular biology by the American Board of Criminalistics and holds a New York State Certificate of Qualification in Paternity/Identity Testing and Forensic Identity Testing. Dr. Trapani is also a certified technical assessor for the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), the largest accreditation body in North America. In this role, she assesses the conformance of DNA testing laboratories, including Labcorp’s DNA identification testing laboratory, to international requirements for accreditation.