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Upon approval of
Governor McDonnell, the DFS Central Laboratory building was renamed the Paul B. Ferrara Building, in honor of the late department director who died in May 2011. A ceremony and reception was held at the Central Laboratory on November 18, 2011, to unveil the signage displaying the new
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In addition to his directorship of the
Virginia Department of Forensic Science (VA-DFS), Dr. Ferrara was an honorary professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. Through his passion for teaching and research, as well as his commitment to developing a nationally recognized Forensic Science
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In 1988 Timothy
Spencer, the "Southside Strangler", became first serial killer in the United States to be convicted on the basis of DNA evidence. Spencer committed three rapes and murders in Richmond Virginia, and one in Arlington, Virginia in the fall of 1987.
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Ferrara recognized the potential utility of the precedent that had been set in
Spencer case, and immediately focused his political savvy on convincing the Virginia General Assembly to fund the creation of the first State DNA Database in the country.
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In the mid-2000s, Dr. Ferrara was diagnosed with early-stage lung cancer. Several years after the initial lung surgery, it was discovered that the cancer had spread.
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became the first state laboratory capable of performing DNA fingerprinting. The FBI had started its limited DNA laboratory operations just four months earlier.
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In 1987 the private New York laboratory, Lifecodes, began assisting Dr. Ferrara in his efforts to establish a DNA laboratory for the state of
Virginia.
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103:"Statement to Congressional Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security Committee on House Judiciary"
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19:(November 2, 1942 – May 30, 2011) was a scientist and administrator who pioneered the use of
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Paul B. Ferrara, pioneering
Virginia DNA scientist, dies at age 68; remembered as visionary
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State
University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry alumni
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educational program at VCU, the program officially became a department in 2005.
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State
University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
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148:Founder of Virginia DNA database dies of cancer
130:Paul B. Ferrara, pioneer of DNA use, dies at 68
201:Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
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39:with doctorate degree in organic chemistry.
109:, July 21, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
186:People from Chesterfield County, Virginia
221:Virginia Commonwealth University faculty
107:Virginia Commonwealth University website
211:Neurological disease deaths in Virginia
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77:Dr. Ferrara died on May 30, 2011, of
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206:Deaths from cancer in Virginia
58:In 1989 under his leadership,
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176:American forensic scientists
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191:Syracuse University alumni
216:Scientists from Virginia
27:Early life and education
31:Ferrara graduated from
70:Later life and legacy
17:Paul Benjamin Ferrara
33:Syracuse University
81:at the age of 68.
101:Ferrara, Paul B.
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181:Organic chemists
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171:2011 deaths
166:1942 births
160:Categories
89:References
133:Archived
60:Virginia
43:Career
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