Dr Pet-Paul Wepeba

Dr Pet-Paul Wepeba is a passionate and results-driven Forensic Scientist with many years of teaching, research, and industrial experience.

He holds a BMLS from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana-West Africa, an MSc in Forensic Science from Anglia Ruskin University and a PhD in Forensic Genetics from the University of Central Lancashire.

[email protected]

Background

Prior to joining ARU, Pet-Paul had worked in several institutions including the following: Royal Preston Hospital (Preston), Anglia DNA Services (Norwich), 37 Military Hospital (Ghana), and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana).

Pet-Paul is a founding member and the current president of the Ghana Academy of Forensic Sciences (GAFS), a member of the International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG). He is a member of the Forensic & Investigative Sciences Research Group.

Spoken Languages

English and Local Ghanaian languages

Research interests

• Population genetics
• Forensic/Investigative genetic genealogy
• Mass fatality investigations
• Kinship analysis
• Forensic and genomic medicine: post-mortem investigations and microbiome genotyping
• Innovative forensic solutions and research

Areas of research supervision

Co-supervisor for PhD student at the University of Central Lancashire; research topic ‘Evaluation of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Ghanaian Population for Kinship and Forensic Testing’

Teaching

Modules:

• Forensic Biology
• Forensic Pathology
• Introduction to Forensic Genetics
• Advanced Forensic Genetics

Qualifications

Pet-Paul holds a BMLS from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi-Ghana-West Africa
An MSc in Forensic Science from Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge
A PhD in Forensic Genetics from the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Preston

Memberships, editorial boards

Member: Ghana Academy of Forensic Sciences (GAFS)
Member: International Society for Forensic Genetics (ISFG)

Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

Consultant for Africa Centre for Human ID and Genomic Medicine-GH

Selected recent publications

Wepeba, P.P., Abaidoo, C.S. and Goodwin, W.H., 2022. Haplogroup prediction in the Ghanaian population using haplotype data of 27 Yfiler® Plus loci and TaqMan SNP genotyping. Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, 8, pp.147-148.

Wepeba, P., Iyengar, A. and Goodwin, W. (2019) ‘Heterozygous 21 STR loci and triplet alleles observed in population genetic analysis of the GlobalFiler STR loci in the Ghanaian population’, Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, 7(1), pp. 753-754

Alsafiah, H.M., Goodwin, W.H., Hadi, S., Alshaikhi, M.A. and Wepeba, P.P. (2017) 'Population genetic data for 21 autosomal STR loci for the Saudi Arabian population using the GlobalFiler((R)) PCR amplification kit', Forensic Science International: Genetics, 31, pp. e59-e61

Singh R.K, Sharma M, Tarannum A, Pet-Paul W, Bernard L. (2018). ‘A Case of Three Deltas in a Fingerprint’, Journal of Forensic Research: 9(2)

Recent presentations and conferences

Haplogroup Prediction in the Ghanaian Population using Haplotype data of 27 Yfiler® Plus loci and TaqMan SNP Genotyping-Poster Presentation: The 29th Congress of the International Society for Forensic Genetics, Washington D.C. (2022)

Heterozygous 21 STR loci and triplet alleles observed in population genetic analysis of the GlobalFiler STR loci in the Ghanaian population-Poster presentation: The 28th Congress of the International Society for Forensic Genetics, Prague-Czech Republic (2019)

Forensic and population genetic analysis of the GlobalFiler STR loci in the Ghanaian population-Poster presentation, UCLan, UK (2018)

Forensic and population genetic analysis of the GlobalFiler STR loci in the Ghanaian Population-Oral presentation UCLan, UK (2018)

The effect of high temperature on latent fingerprint and DNA recovery’: 3rd International Conference on Legal Medicine, Medical Negligence and Litigation in Medical Practice and 3rd International Conference on Current Trends in Forensic Sciences, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Delhi-India (2012)

Contribution of forensic data to international databases

Y-chromosome STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD) and is available from YHRD, release 62 (YA004641-Akan; YA004643-Ewe; YA004644-Ga-Adangbe and YA004645- Mole-Dagomba, (2020)

STRs for Identity ENFSI Reference Database (STRidER) issued with the accession number STR000270, (2020)