Mark Barash, Ph.D.

Associate Professor,
Forensic Science Coordinator

Ph.D., Bond University; Gold Coast, Australia

Contact Information:

Email: mark.barash@sjsu.edu
Phone: 408-924-5513
Office: HB 216

Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:00-6:00, Thursdays 10:00-1:00. By appointment only. Make an appointment here.

About Dr. Mark Barash:

Mark’s passion for forensic science began in 2001 when he joined the Division of Identification and Forensic Science (DIFS) in the Israeli Police, where he worked for almost 9 years as a forensic DNA reporting officer with the rank of Chief Inspector. During his career as Police, he analyzed biological evidence from hundreds of criminal cases, including robberies, sexual assaults, homicides, and terrorist attacks.

Dr. Barash’s research interests span multidisciplinary areas such as craniofacial genetics, anthropology, biometrics, forensic genealogy, secondary DNA transfer, and implementation of massively parallel sequencing in operational casework. Mark’s primary research focuses on bioinformatic analysis of human and microbial DNA evidence towards the prediction of externally visible traits, such as facial appearance and pigmentation, as well as other characteristics of potential investigative value on a person of interest.

Dr. Barash strongly believes in the importance of understanding forensic science's strengths and limitations, which led him to establish a forensic consulting company, “GATACA,” providing independent expert opinion and DNA testing services on criminal and civil cases for private and legal enforcement customers.

Recent Publications:

McNevin D., Wright K., Chaseling J., Barash M. Commentary on: Bright et al. (2018) Internal validation of STRmix™ – A multi laboratory response to PCAST, Forensic Science International: Genetics, 34: 11-24. Forensic Science International: Genetics. (2019) Jul;41:e14-e17. doi: 10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.03.016.

Walton A., Moret S., Gunn P., Barash M. The frequency of fingerprint patterns separated by ethnicity and sex in a general population from Sydney, Australia. Australian Journal of Forensic Science. (2019), Vol. 51. doi.org/10.1080/00450618.2019.1569153

Prasad E, Van der Walt L, Cole A, van Oorschot RAH, Barash M, Gunn P, Raymond J. The effects of soaking for DNA recovery on the striation patterns of fired cartridge cases. Australian Journal of Forensic Science. (2019), Vol. 51. doi.org/10.1080/00450618.2019.1569144.

Phan. K., Barash M., Spindler X., Gunn P., Roux C. Retrieving forensic information about the donor through bacterial profiling. International Journal of Legal Medicine. (2019), 1-9. doi.org/10.1007/s00414-019-02069-2.

Wai K.T., Gunn P. Barash M., MitoQuant: Development of the MitoQ assay as a real-time quantification of mitochondrial DNA in degraded samples. International Journal of Legal Medicine. (2019), Vol. 133:2, 411-417. doi: 10.1007/s00414-018-1956-8.