Qld DNA inquiry: Expert scientist ‘lived in fear’ about lab’s processes

A scientist reviewing internal practices at Queensland’s forensic laboratory says he ‘lived in fear’ about being asked to publicly discuss the lab’s quality validation measures

An independent review has revealed serious issues with the Queensland forensic laboratory’s ability to analyse its own processes and use of technical machinery.

The findings from the review were supported by an experienced scientist who has worked in the Forensic Scientific Services’s lab since 2008.

Rhys Parry, who is currently a reporting scientist but is also an expert in experimental design, told the commission of inquiry into forensic DNA testing in Queensland he was concerned by a number of processes to review internal practices, known as validation reviews.

He said the processes had become so alarming that he “lived in fear” about being grilled on the stand as an expert witness in a criminal trial about the lab’s quality validation measures.

“Science is not being done properly,” Mr Parry told the inquiry on Wednesday morning.

He said there should be a separate team that operates within FSS dedicated to improving how tests and equipment are performed and operated.

Mr Parry claimed there was a “misogynistic” nature to the management style at FSS, becoming at least the fourth scientist at the state-run lab to complain to the commission about a toxic work culture.

He said the environment meant staff were not properly considered when they raised issues about the processes at the lab, declaring the views of those who challenged the management team were often dismissed.

He told the inquiry the “success of raising issues depends on who raises the issues”.

Mr Parry also wrote in his submission to the inquiry that the “laboratory culture is quite misogynistic”.

He said this concerning aspect of the workplace environment led to female members of staff grappling with push-back from management when applying for arrangements to care for their children.

DNA bone expert Angelina Keller leaves after giving evidence to the Commission of Inquiry into Forensic DNA Testing on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

“It is my perception that female staff that require more work flexibility due to familial commitments often have difficulty obtaining it,” Mr Parry wrote.

Mr Parry’s concerns came after counsel assisting the inquiry, Laura Reece, discussed an independent examination of the processes at the lab, titled the Queensland Health validation review.

The review, produced this year at the request of the commission, was particularly concerned by the process used to validate a piece of scientific experimental equipment, known as ProFlex.

“In my opinion, the ProFlex validation has not been carried out according to best practice, due to its inadequate experimental design and so has not given an adequate indication of instrumental performance,” the review, written by interstate forensic expert Dr Duncan Taylor, concluded.

In his executive summary about validation processes at the lab, Dr Taylor said: “There is a risk of unreliable results being produced and reported.”

He also recommended “additional experimental laboratory work be carried out to show the relative indifferences in performance of the instruments”.

Mr Parry claimed there was a “misogynistic” nature to the management style at FSS, becoming at least the fourth scientist at the state-run lab to complain to the commission about a toxic work culture.

He said the environment meant staff were not properly considered when they raised issues about the processes at the lab, declaring the views of those who challenged the management team were often dismissed.

He told the inquiry the “success of raising issues depends on who raises the issues”.

In his submission, Mr Parry wrote: “In my experience, the burden of scientific evidence required for acceptance is far, far greater,” if you disagree with the position of management.

Mr Parry also wrote in his submission to the inquiry that the “laboratory culture is quite misogynistic”.

He said this concerning aspect of the workplace environment led to female members of staff grappling with push-back from management when applying for arrangements to care for their children.

“It is my perception that female staff that require more work flexibility due to familial commitments often have difficulty obtaining it,” Mr Parry wrote.

He was challenged about this under cross examination, but Mr Parry stood by his view.

“I would still argue that the inflexibility towards female staff and their childcare commitments is inherently problematic,” he said.

The scientist said this approach was inconsistent with staff members who ask for flexible arrangements to care for ageing or disabled friends and loved ones compared with the “hoops they (mothers) have to jump through”.

On Tuesday, specialist forensic scientist Angelina Keller revealed the state-run lab began to return concerning results from bone samples for the first time in at least 16 years.

She said the failure rate of discovering individual profiles in bone samples went from zero to about 50 per cent in late 2020, which she told the inquiry was “concerning me greatly”.

Ms Keller said this issue of contamination at the FSS lab began after a sequence of new protocols, including a new cleaning process that was causing the team’s tools to rust.

The forensic bone scientist, the state’s most qualified in this highly specialised field of forensic analysis, said her concerns about the contamination and mixed DNA results were dismissed by managers at the lab.

Ms Keller flagged the impact of a toxic work culture at the FSS as a likely reason for the alarming testing failures, becoming at least the third experienced scientist to reveal workplace disharmony through the commission of inquiry.

When asked by counsel assisting Susan Hedge how this toxic environment affected her scientific results, Ms Keller said “well, I get mixtures from bones now.”

She said the “culture has progressively been deteriorating” from late 2016.

Ms Keller said she spoke directly to FSS team leader Justin Howes about the mixed DNA issue, citing a recent result from the same femur that returned four dramatically different concentrations of DNA results.

But she wrote in a submission that her concerns were dismissed, with Mr Howes allegedly saying it was common for variations from sample to sample.

Ms Keller disputed this, however, saying “it didn’t make scientific sense”.