Dr. Heather McKiernan

Forensic Services Program Manager,

National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Dr. McKiernan is currently a Senior Manager, Forensics at RTI International, where she serves as the Forensic Services Program Manager for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs).  In this capacity, she facilitates forensic and analytical services including anthropology, odontology, fingerprint analysis, traditional DNA testing, and forensic genetic genealogy for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons cases across the United States.

Prior to joining RTI, Dr. McKiernan’s professional experience spanned academia, research, casework, and executive leadership as Director of a non-profit forensic laboratory. Throughout her career, she has worked to develop best practices for forensic evidence collection, testing, interpretation, and presentation in court. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), the International Society of Forensic Genetic (ISFG), and a member of the Vidocq cold case investigation unit. She has served as a guest editor for the journal of Forensic Science International: Genetics, co-chair of the 2022 Congress of the International Society of Forensic Genetics (ISFG), past member of the Biology Data Reporting and Interpretation DNA subcommittee of the NIST OSAC, and currently serves on the National Academies Committee on Law Enforcement Use of Probabilistic Genotyping, Forensic DNA Phenotyping, and Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy Technologies. She received her MS in Forensic Science from Arcadia University and her PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Denver.