National Institute of Justice's
Technical Assistance Program

The NIJ Technical Assistance Program (NIJ-TAP) at Marshall University provides selected laboratories with a unique opportunity to be assigned one or more specifically trained graduate students ready to perform validation studies in your laboratory. Prior to a May arrival, the “Technical Assistant” undergoes intensive training at the MU Forensic Science Center (August through April) based on your laboratory’s validation specifications.  This is at no-cost to the participating laboratory.  The Technical Assistant will arrive in your laboratory in May and perform validation studies of your design for 10-12 weeks duration.

The Marshall University Forensic Science Center (MUFSC) is home to an accredited CODIS and caseworking laboratory and a FEPAC-accredited forensic science graduate program.  This unique blend of educational programs and forensic DNA testing laboratories makes the MUFSC an ideal organization to provide technical assistance, free of charge, to state and local laboratories.


Host-Laboratory Selection Process
To prepare Technical Assistants for host-laboratory placement, it is necessary to first ascertain if the MUFSC has in-house technologies complimentary to the host-laboratory requesting technical assistance.  This is accomplished by the requesting laboratory’s completion of the NIJ TAP Survey.

Once a correct “fit” is determined, we work with the selected laboratory’s contact person or team to design and implement a unique training program specifically suited to your laboratory’s validation needs.  In this way, the Technical Assistant arrives in your laboratory ready to perform validation studies.


Validations Available at MUFSC
Completion of the NIJ TAP Survey allows the host-laboratory to select from a menu of instrumentation, kits, and software programs available at the MUFSC that include: