State Forensics Lab Solves Space Problem With Move

By Dagny Salas

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Robots and corpses have joined the crowd at Innovation Technology Park.

The Virginia Department of Forensic Science and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner moved their Northern Virginia forensics lab from Fairfax County last month. The need for more space and new technology led the two agencies to Prince William County after 20 years in their previous facility, said Pete Marone, director of the state Department of Forensic Sciences.

The move adds another presence to the “growing technology cluster” in Innovation Tehnology Park, said Jason Grant, communications manager of the county’s Department of Economic Development.

The FBI Northern Virginia Resident Agency also calls the park home, and just across the street is George Mason University, with its justice and biotech research programs.

“To have the quality of lab there is pretty astounding,” Grant said.

At 114,00 square feet, the state forensics lab deals heavily in drug analysis, fingerprints and toxicology, among other areas, and cites new technology, such as robots that analyze DNA, as a catalyst for the move, Marone said.

“We were not doing DNA 20 years ago,” he said. “Now we have eight or nine people involved in that. The equipment . . . you need a place to put it.”

More space also gives the lab the ability to expand in the future, should the need arise. That was something that nearly “trapped” lab personnel in Fairfax, Marone said.

“We were landlocked there,” he said. “We have land to expand now.”

Another new feature in the lab is a biohazard safety Level 3 area, where staff members could safely handle outbreaks for such dangers as anthrax, Marone said.

Still, he adds, “it’s not like ‘CSI.’ ”

Grant said the move demonstrates the value Prince William can provide to regional, high-tech agencies and companies, and could help lure others in the future.

“The biggest thing it provides is another hallmark lab space that we can highlight as those types of companies continue to expand in the community,” he said. “It holds our position as a high employment area. It’s another indicator of the type of development in Prince William.”

Tagged: George Mason University, parks, State news, technology

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