Michael L. Baird

Michael L. Baird is the Laboratory Director at DNA Diagnostics Center in Fairfield, Ohio. Considered a leader in DNA testing, Baird was appointed the DNA expert in the highly publicized paternity case of Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern. On April 10, 2007, Baird announced the results of the paternity test, naming Larry Birkhead as the biological father of Dannielynn. In January 2008, Dr. Baird was appointed Chair of the Relationship Testing Standards Program Unit of the AABB, in charge of rewriting the Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories, 9th Edition and the Guidance Document.

Education

Baird earned his PhD in Genetics from The University of Chicago in 1978.

He received his MA in Biology in 1973 from State University of New York and his BA in Biology from Drew University in 1971.

Professional Experience

Baird has been in the fields of genetics and paternity testing for over 25 years. He served as senior scientist, laboratory director, and vice president at Lifecodes Corporation. Following that, he worked at GeneScreen as senior director.

Since 2002, Baird has served as the laboratory director for DNA Diagnostics Center.

Baird has been a member of and chaired several professional societies, including the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), the Human Identity Trade Association (HITA), and the College of American Pathologists (CAP).

Baird was the DNA testing expert in the United States to testify in a US court. He has since testified more than 400 times in courts in the US and abroad. Most recently, he served as the DNA testing expert in the highly broadcasted paternity case of Dannielynn Marshall Stern.

Professional Timeline
1978 – 1979: Postdoctoral fellow at The University of Michigan in the Department of Human Genetics, working on sickle cell anemia

1979 – 1982: Research Associate at Columbia University in the Departments of Human Genetics and Medicine, working on the thalassemia and discovered the first splice junction mutation in DNA resulting in thalassemia resulting in a publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS. 1981. 78:4218-4221)

1981 – 1982: Visiting Scientist at University of Paris for 2 months each year, helping set up cloning of DNA for the study of thalassemia

1981: Senior Scientist at Lifecodes Corporation at its inception, developing techniques for DNA testing for paternity and forensics as well as databases used for calculations

1986: Laboratory Director at Lifecodes Corporation, performing the first DNA tests for paternity and forensic analysis; became first to report results of DNA tests in paternity and forensics at the International Society of Forensic Hemogenetics meeting in Copenhagen

1987: First to testify in a criminal case using DNA testing; first conviction in a criminal case using DNA test results

1989: Member of the panel of the Office of Technology Assessment, a federal government organization, evaluating the use of DNA for identification in paternity and forensics

1990: Vice President of Laboratory Operation at Lifecodes Corporation

1991: Testimony to the National Academy of Sciences panel investigating the use of DNA for identification

1993: Involvement in the development of DNA techniques for the determination of HLA types for tissue transplantation

1994: Began testing samples for the National Marrow Donor Program registry

1995: On-air consultant for NBC during the OJ Simpson case

2002 – present: Laboratory Director at DNA Diagnostics Center

2006 – 2007: DNA testing expert, court-appointed in 2007, for paternity case of Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern (daughter of Anna Nicole Smith)

Media Activity

Baird appeared on NBC as a media consultant on the OJ Simpson case. He recently served as the DNA testing expert in the paternity case that named Larry Birkhead as the biological father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn. Upon announcement of Birkhead’s paternity of Dannielynn, Baird was interviewed by national and local media personalities, including Larry King, Nancy Grace, and Greta Van Susteren.

References

Nancy Grace (CNN): Dannielynn DNA Taken, Sent to U.S. for Paternity Test
DDC announces Birkhead as biological father of Anna Nicole Smith’s daughter

External links

• DNA Diagnostics Center (DDC)
• Human Identity Trade Association (HITA)
• AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks)
• College of American Pathologists (CAP)

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Name	Baird, Michael L
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