DNA Classes 2024
 
January – What’s in a Picture: Visualizing DNA and Family Relationships
 
This presentation describes the questions to ask when evaluating a visualization and then reviews the various approaches to displaying information about family relationships, DNA inheritance, matches in a family tree, and shared segments and matches.

 
February – All About Segments
 
This presentation focuses on DNA segments and why they are important in genetic genealogy. Topics covered include displaying segment data, dealing with shared segments and shared ancestors, understanding concepts such as triangulation, imputation, pile-up regions, and chromosome mapping, and working with total shared DNA and Relationship Predictor tools.

 
March – DNA Painter: Chromosome Mapping
 
Chromosome mapping is the process of assigning DNA segments to an ancestral line based on sharing the segments with cousins who descend from the line. This presentation explains how to use the Chromosome Mapping feature of DNA Painter to track the DNA you share with matches and to map segments to ancestors. 

 
April – DNA Painter: Trees and Tools
This presentation focuses on the Ancestral Maps and Tools features of DNA Painter. It explains how to create different views of your family tree, with annotations for different DNA inheritance paths, and provides an overview of the Shared cM Project tool and the What are the Odds? tool.

 
May – GEDMatch
 
GEDMatch is a third-party website that provides tools for comparing your DNA with other users on the site. This presentation explains how to upload your raw DNA data and describes how to use the tools to compare your autosomal data to that of your matches on the site. This presentation also reviews the tools available to search the family trees that users have posted on the site.
 

 
July– Third-Party Analysis and Visualization Tools
 
This presentation reviews a number of third-party analysis and visualization tools that are available to assist in autosomal DNA analysis. Topics covered include the Leeds method, several Chrome extensions, the Genetic Affairs AutoCluster tool, the DNAGEDCom Client, and several visualization tools for mapping family relationships.
 

 
August – Individual consultations
 
September – TBA

 
October – AncestryDNA
 
This presentation reviews the ethnicity prediction and cousin matching features of AncestryDNA and explains how to use the analysis tools available on the site.

 
November – Shared Matches Methodology
 
This presentation explains one of the research methodologies used to solve unknown parentage cases. This methodology focuses on the analysis of shared matches and presents several case studies illustrating how tools such as the Leeds method and the What Are the Odds? tool can be applied in the analysis.