A Visit to Family Tree DNA's State-of-the-Art Lab

The array viewer of FTDNA's Applied Biosystems 3730xl DNA Analyzer - that's DNA!

I have been a bit behind in my postings, but I didn't want to miss the chance to write about the incredible lab tour of Family Tree DNA's awesome facility, which was definitely one of the highlights of the 2012 FTDNA Administrator's Conference for me. I don't know if you all realize it, but Family Tree DNA is the ONLY company in the field that has their very own lab. They process everything from start to finish in their state-of-the-art facility in Houston for the thousands of different DNA tests that they offer. (Thomas Krahn notes that the individual Y-SNP tests alone number over 2900!) Some people might find it comforting to know that when ordering a test through FTDNA, this very trustworthy company is the sole handler of their DNA sample. 

Bennett Greenspan, CEO of FTDNA with stored B-Swab Samples

This lab is even capable of processing exome and whole genome sequences. (These are available through Family Tree DNA's sister division DNA DTC, both a part of Gene by Gene). Max Blankfeld proudly told me that almost immediately after the announcement, they were already receiving orders for both tests. This is really exciting if you think about it. The first company to offer genetic genealogy testing is, according to The Genomics Law Report, also the only company currently offering these advanced tests-of-the-future in a "truly direct-to-consumer manner".  ("Gene By Gene probably does represent, however, the only commercial company currently offering a whole genome sequence in a truly direct-to-consumer (DTC) manner." DNA DTC: The Return of Direct to Consumer Whole Genome Sequencing, Dan Vorhaus, November 29, 2012)

Okay, on to the lab tour! Tim Janzen has kindly shared both his notes and his photos with my readers. I have added to Tim's notes just a bit, but most of what you see below was written by him. (I lost my notes and, although I did use some of them, the photos from my cell phone aren't as nice as Tim's photos from a "real" camera!)

Tim was smiling like this pretty much the entire tour!

On November 12, 2012, Family Tree DNA graciously allowed approximately 30 attendees from the FTDNA conference to take one-hour tours of their laboratory facilities in Houston, Texas. Bennett Greenspan, the president of FTDNA, primarily led the tours and Max Blankfeld led some supplemental tours (for those of us who showed up late!). The tour participants all donned lab jackets for the tour, making us feel very official (I got to be Thomas Krahn). Bennett explained the functions of a number of very important pieces of DNA equipment as he took us through the lab.  (Update - Thomas Krahn has added some very interesting and educational commentary throughout this post. I have added it below or just after what it is referencing. Thanks Thomas!)

"Your Genetic Genealogist" parading as Thomas Krahn
Do you think I fooled anyone?

One of the first pieces of equipment we viewed is used to extract the DNA from samples that are sent to FTDNA. The DNA is extracted through an automated process. Ninety-six samples can be processed at a time. FTDNA can complete 600 extractions per day and has a 98.8% success rate of extracting DNA on the first try.  

Another piece of equipment held primers that are used to test for specific short tandem repeat (STR) tests and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) tests. (Note from Thomas Krahn: We're taking the DNA from the DNA tubes and transferring  them to a reaction plate which contains the primers and the rest of the PCR assay. In a previous step the primers were distributed in the correct wells by automatically picking the correct primer pair so that the customer gets the segment sequenced where the marker is located that he's interested in.) This process is also entirely robotized so that multiple tests can be run at a time. The lab must repeatedly change the plastic covers on the pipettes to ensure that DNA from two different samples is never mixed as part of the testing. (Note from Thomas: We use the covers just as a precaution. In case a droplet is released from the pipetting tips during the movement of the robot we want to make sure that the primer assays are not contaminated with human DNA. With lids the primer library is safe. We would easily recognize such a contamination because of mixed basecalls, however primers are expensive and we want to protect the primer library from such a contamination. The chance that DNA samples mix is pretty small because we reduce the speed of the robot drastically while we have the tips over the DNA plate. In any case such a cross contamination could probably not be prevented with a lid method. The pipetting tip is discarded after the DNA from one person is distributed into all the assays that he ordered. Each DNA sample gets a brand new tip so that cross-contamination through the tip itself can be excluded.)

FTDNA's automated equipment that is used to combine DNA with primers

Bennett Greenspan proudly showed off the robotic DNA storage freezer that the company purchased in autumn of 2011. It was designed and manufactured by the engineering company Matrical Bioscience in Spokane, Washington. This piece of equipment took many months to design and build. After it had been built, it was disassembled and shipped to Houston. The installation process in the FTDNA lab took approximately 6 weeks. This chamber stores multiple small trays that hold 96 DNA samples each. The samples are held in small vials about 3/4 inch in height and about 3/8 inch in diameter.  The trays holding the samples are about 4 inches by 7 inches in size. There are thousands of trays stacked on top of each other in a -20 degrees Celsius chamber approximately 5 feet by 8 feet in size. A robot inside this chamber retrieves DNA samples from the approximately 175,000 samples that are stored there in a very strictly regimented and automated fashion. (Note from Thomas: I have just made a query and there are currently 173,012 DNA tubes in the store. However more than 50% of them have been added during the last year. 500,000 is the approximate number when the store is 100% full. We have rigorously sorted out empty and bad tubes from our repository in the past and we run regular compression procedures so that the racks are not half empty.) This robot is wired to a computer station outside the room. At the computer terminal a lab technician can enter a series of kit numbers for DNA samples for which additional testing has been ordered. The technician can then leave the area to do other things while the robot automatically retrieves the samples that were chosen. Ninety-six samples can be retrieved at a time and the retrieval process takes approximately 30 minutes. When the retrieval process has been completed the technician then returns to the storage unit, picks up the tray of samples and takes it to another piece of equipment for the additional testing that the customer has ordered, such as upgraded STR panels or individual SNP tests.

The interior of the MiniStore storage chamber. The robot is retrieving samples.

The functions of other pieces of equipment in the lab were also explained by Bennett. One machine is used for mitochondrial DNA sequencing. There is also another piece of equipment that is used to lyse the cells in each of the DNA samples and prepare them for extraction of the DNA. Additionally, Bennett showed us a room that contains thousands of DNA samples that have not yet been processed. These samples are held in long-term storage at room temperature for eventual use by customers who wish to order additional testing. 

Bennett also took us to a different room where the Geno 2.0 SNP chip tests are being processed. Approximately 154,000 SNPs are tested on a single chip for the Geno 2.0 test. Considering this, the chips are relatively small at approximately 1 inch by 4 inches in size. The actual scanning area is only 5mm by 5mm per assay. (Note from Thomas: On one of those glass slides there are 12 samples processed simultaneously.) At the time we were there, thousands of chips were being processed.  

Bennett holding one of the Geno 2.0 SNP chips

Bennett showed us the new sequencing machines that were recently purchased so that the company can do large-scale complete genome sequencing. The two new Illumina HiSeq 2000 machines can sequence 10 times as much as the Applied Biosystems DNA Analyzers are capable of using 454 sequencing and can sequence a complete genome in three runs. These machines are approximately 2000 times as efficient as using the primers used in Walk Through the Y testing and are 100 times as efficient as the Applied Biosystems 454 sequencer. (Note from Thomas: The HiSeq instruments are producing more sequences so that you get a higher coverage. If the machines are also more "efficient" for finding new mutations by the same scaling factor is still to be demonstrated. Simply scaling the average coverage of 400 KB from the WTY times 2000 would yield 800 MB, however the Y chromosome is only 50 MB long and only 20 MB can be effectively aligned to the reference sequence. To overcome this problem you'll want to enrich for target specific DNA and you'll want to barcode several samples so that they can be pooled together on one instrument run. This again reduces the "efficiency" by quite some significant percentage.) FTDNA has two new Illumina MiSeq DNA sequencers as well. The lab now has the capability to sequence six whole genomes in two weeks and 64 exomes at 80x coverage in one week.

Bennett discussing the two new Illumina HiSeq 2000 high output DNA sequencers

The FTDNA lab tour was an exciting experience. It was very interesting to see all of the technicians at work running the various DNA tests that we as FTDNA customers have ordered. I was incredibly impressed by their vast array of state-of-the-art equipment. Hopefully, Bennett and the rest of his lab staff will continue to allow these tours for attendees at future FTDNA conferences. If you haven't seen it yet, it is well worth your time and I highly recommend it.

The following may be overkill for some of you. If so, I will just say goodbye to you here. However, if you are like me and you just can't get enough or want to gain a better understanding of how this all works from the inside, here is a series of photos from the lab tour.  

FTDNA's Biomek FXP Laboratory Automation Workshop, used for DNA extraction
and primer stamping for pre-arrayed assays (such as FMS or WTY)

FTDNA's automated equipment used to prepare PCR assays

Comment from Thomas: FTDNA's automated equipment that is used to combine genomic DNA with primers to prepare a PCR assay. An in-house developed software controlls the pipetting steps so that the ordered assay is run with the correct DNA.

FTDNA DNA lab technicians at work

FTDNA lab tech pipetting a cheek swab sample to prepare for DNA extraction

Comment from Thomas: This is the only step that still needs to be processed manually because we haven't found a robot that is able to remove the cotton swab from the vial yet.

More FTDNA lab techs at work

Tim checking out FTDNA"s MiniStore re-arraying platform inside the DNA freezer

Comment from Thomas: (This is) where the individual DNA sample tubes are re-arranged to the position where they will be processed in the assay. We try to prevent thaw and freeze cycles wherever possible because they will degrade DNA. So instead of taking out a complete plate (where we may only need a single sample) and thaw it completely, we use this technology of re-arraying tubes in the frozen state so that only the processed samples will be thawed and all other samples will stay frozen. The DNA samples/plates are actually stored in the back compartment and on the left side. Those areas are not clearly visible in the image. 

The interior of the MiniStore storage chamber holds over 500,000 DNA samples
(seen at the back side)

One of the thousands of plastic trays that FTDNA uses to hold DNA samples

Shaking incubation chamber used to lyse cells so that DNA can be extracted

Comment from Thomas: The recipe for the liquid in the sample vials is optimized for long term storage under a large variety of storage conditions. Essentially the high salt concentration will suck out all water from inside the cheek cells (by osmosis) so that the cells form compact clumps and conserve their ingredients. This makes the sample more resistant to mechanical shearing and the high salt concentration also inhibits growth of micro-organisms that could digest the cells. The downside of this is that we need to use harsh mechanical forces when we enzymatically want to open the cells to extract the DNA. Shaking a 2 ml sample tube in an upright position doesn't really move the liquid in the tube a lot. Therefore we turn the tubes horizontally and shake them along the tube axis where the liquid has a longer path to accelerate. This method has been proven to be very effective.

Biomek FXP Laboratory Automation Workstation

Eppendorf Mastercycler thermal cyclers amplify DNA segments

Linda Magellan with 1 of 3 Applied BioSystems 3730xl DNA Analyzers

Bennett with FTDNA's 2 Illumina MiSeq DNA sequencers in the background

FTDNA technician processing Geno 2.0 SNP chip tests

Close-up of tech processing tests, note the SNP chips in the liquid

Stacks of hundreds of Illumina SNP chips that have been completed

Comment from Thomas: Before we dispose the chips to the glass recycling facility, we temporarily store them for a few weeks. During a 48-hour time frame they are still good and since they are barcoded we may have the chance in rare cases to re-scan a chip in case some bad read happened at the scanner.

Bennett holding a box of 100 unprocessed samples being held in long-term storage

FTDNA's storage room where 1000s of unprocessed samples are held...

...Can you see yours?

Water purification system

Comment from Thomas: In order to get ultrapure water for molecular genetic assays (such as PCR) the tap water needs to pass through several steps:
1.) Pre-filter to remove particles such as sand and rust from pipes
2.) Membrane filters to get rid of small particulate material
3.) Ion exchangers to remove Ions and salts
4.) Reverse osmosis to remove organic compounds. At this stage we use the water for general cleaning purpose such as for the lab dishwasher and for rinsing flasks. However to get PCR grade water we continue with:
5.) Another step of ion exchange and reverse osmosis in a laboratory grade water purification system to remove any contamination coming from the plastic tube piping internal of the lab.
6.) Then the water passes a sterile filter before it is bottled in a glass flask to remove bacteria and other micro-organisms.
7.) Finally the bottled water is heat sterilized in an autoclave at a temperature that should degrade all possible DNA chains that may have survived to this point.

We also have a room with two air compressors that supply compressed air for the robots. One of them is a backup system because at an interruption all robots will stand still. They are in a separate room across the hallway because they're quite noisy and produce a lot of heat.

Bennett with Geno 2.0 SNP chips

Illumina MiSeq machine

Bennett demo-ing the Illumina MiSeq machine

Automated pipetting system

Allied BioSystems 3730xl DNA Analyzer, used for sequencing

Comment from Thomas: Each lane represents a sequencing trace where the bases are displayed in 4 different colors. This display format gives the technician a quick overview about the quality of the complete run. The fluorescence intensities are digitized by a analog to digital converter so that it can be saved on a computer, but they still represent analog measurement values. When talking about a digital output the impression could arise that the display shows the scored base-calls which is really processed in a later step.

Max Blankfeld leading the late arrivals

Bennett amuses Lauren (and the rest of us as well)

Did someone ask a question that stumped Bennett?  Nah!

Ever wonder where your customer service calls go?

Jeremy happily assists customers

FTDNA employees preparing DNA test kits

Bye-bye FTDNA! See ya next year.

Thanks to Tim and Rachel Janzen for sharing their photos, Tim for helping to write this and to FTDNA for the spectacular tour.

Brought to you by the AdoptionDNA Community...DNAGedcom

I think most people know how highly I think of the work that the AdoptionDNA Community is doing. They are a proactive group of incredibly intelligent and talented individuals with connections to the adoption world who have banded together with a common cause - to give hope to all adoptees searching for their heritage. I am proud to say that I often collaborate with members of their community and can count a handful of them among my closest colleagues.

Fortunately, for the rest of us non-adoptees, this innovative work is starting to benefit us all. The methodology that they have created for adoption cases has recently resulted in many success stories and can be applied to most any relatively recent genealogical brick wall. The technology experts among them have created ways to streamline the work of autosomal DNA matching and analysis and are now offering to share this with the rest of the genetic genealogy community.

The New DNAGedcom Site

The new website DNAGedcom delivers some of the tools that are most often requested from the major DNA genealogy companies. In this first phase of development, developer Rob Warthen has recently enabled access for all users to the FTDNA Family Finder and 23andMe downloads (though he cautions users that, at this early stage, there may still be bugs to work out). Through DNAGedcom it is now possible to download a full list of your matches, including the matching segment data from both companies. Those of us who have worked extensively with autosomal DNA for genealogy, know what a huge time saver this is. For me, with over 1000 shares on my main account at 23andMe, it has saved me tens if not hundreds of hours.

Users are required to register to use the site, but it is a quick and easy process.

Create an Account

For Family Tree DNA's Family Finder, this means that instead of downloading the matching segments from the Chromosome Browser five at a time, it can be done all at once. You can also download a file of "In Common With" matches, which formerly had to be checked and compiled one-by-one. To use the ICW tool, you still must assign each of your Family Finder matches to a specific relationship like "Distant Cousin" (which is certainly true for the vast number of our matches) until such time that FTDNA removes that requirement for their filter. (At the 2012 FTDNA Administrators' Conference, they announced their intention to do so.)

Family Tree DNA Tools

For 23andMe, this means that instead of downloading the matching segments for Family Inheritance Advanced three at a time, it is now possible to download a file with all the matching segment data for each of your matches that you are sharing genomes with all at once. If you have a single profile on your account, the Ancestry Finder matching files will also be downloaded. I usually integrate the public matches from the Ancestry Finder file with the Family Inheritance Advanced data to create a master spreadsheet of all available matching segments for each of the profiles I manage.

23andMe Tools

There is even a place to store your spreadsheets (.csv files up to 200 KB)!

Member Spreadsheet Storage

This website is still in the early development stages, but intends to continue to deliver the most often requested tools to the genetic genealogy community. In fact, there is already a full featured phase two version of the site with even more highly desirable capabilities in development. (Rob tells me that improving AncestryDNA's functionality is next on the list!) The site is currently run solely on donations and affiliate income. The website agreement can be found here and is linked to directly from the home page. Any problems with the site should be directed to support@dnagedcom.com.

There are lots of exciting plans in store over at DNAGedcom and I am thrilled to be joining the team that will be further developing this groundbreaking new site. So far, we are:

Robert Warthen - Chief Technology Officer
Karin Corbeil - Chief Operating Officer
Diane Harman-Hoog - President
James Kelley – Professional Technologist and Systems Programmer
Gaye Tannenbaum – Technology Advisor
Patty Drabing – Principal Researcher and Advisor
CeCe Moore – Genetic Genealogy Advisor

Those of you familiar with adoption search, may recognize the names of some of our top traditional search angels there. Their experience and expertise, combined with that of our very talented technology experts has made for a powerful team.

So, go check it out, but please don't crash the server! (JK - Rob tells me it is stable.)

In Loving Memory of Joan Miller - Genetic Genealogist, Blogger and Dear Friend

I am extremely saddened today to learn of the passing of my dear friend and fellow genetic genealogist and blogger, Joan Miller.  Joan passed away on Friday after a very brave battle with a long illness, throughout which she always stayed positive and full of hope. She was just that kind of person.

When I first started blogging, Joan was extremely encouraging and generous. At the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree 2011, she encouraged me to attend the GeneaBloggers' Ice Cream Social. While there, she lovingly walked me around the room and introduced me to every person there. I was deeply impressed by her kindness that night and continued to be so throughout our friendship.

The timing of her death meaningfully coincides with the announcement of the SCGS/ISOGG "DNA and Genetic Genealogy Conference" to be held in conjunction with SCGS Jamboree. This is very significant to me since my dream of this conference was born from Joan's vision. At the 2011 SCGS Jamboree we discussed her idea to approach the organizers of the event to host a genetic genealogy pre-conference. She never got the chance to do so, but when they came to me with the same idea, I immediately thought of Joan. It is a reality now and I know that she would be so proud. My participation in this conference will be in her honor and we will be memorializing her contributions at the event.

Due to the distance between our homes, our friendship was mostly "virtual", but I had the pleasure of interviewing Joan at the 2011 Family Tree DNA Administrator's Conference. She spoke about her love of genetic genealogy with passion and intelligence (just like she did everything). She was such a joy.



Joan was a prolific and award winning blogger at the Luxegen Genealogy Blog. One of her favorite subjects to write about was genetic genealogy and we owe her gratitude for introducing many of her readers to DNA testing for genealogy. As a retired manager of a medical research lab and a self-described "science geek", Joan was uniquely positioned to understand the complexities of DNA testing and, as a natural teacher, translate that knowledge into easy-to-understand language for her readers. She also coordinated the Alberta Family History Society DNA Interest Group where she was an active volunteer. They were very lucky to have her there to mentor the participants in person.

As a long-time genealogist, she was an early adopter of using the Internet to connect with other genealogy researchers. According to an interview at GeniMates.com, she set up her first genealogy webpage in 2001. She was well known as an active and beloved member of GeneaBloggers and the online genealogy community as a whole. As such, I'm sure that my memorial post will not be the only one.

As I write this memorial to Joan, the word generous comes to mind over and over. She was the definition of that word in so many ways. It was Joan who inspired many of us to join the Kiva Genealogists for Families Project where she was a team leader with Judy Webster. Making a commemorative loan in her name seems like a fitting tribute. [Update - Joan's daughter Heather has asked that commemorative loans or donations in memory of her mother should be made through Kiva and the Genealogists For families Project linked above.]

For the recent Fall 2012 Issue of the AFHS Chinook Journal, Joan and I co-authored a Genetic Genealogy Reference Guide. She did most of the work on it, but generously insisted that I receive credit for the updates that I made to her list since she had been away "From the GeneaSphere" (the name of her regular column in the journal) due to her illness.

Alberta Family History Society's Chinook Journal

She also asked me to look after her small, but beloved Aumack DNA Project while she was healing. I guess that was a more permanent request than I had hoped. Joan had first started working with DNA for genealogy in 2005 when she asked her brother to test so she could join the Kerr/Carr DNA Project (Kerr = her maiden name). She speaks about that experience and what she learned in our video interview above.

Joan and I shared regular, albeit brief, correspondence since she learned of her illness about a year ago. In our last exchange, she was her typically encouraging and positive self and more interested in my well-being than hers. Always thinking of others, she enthusiastically shared an idea she had for me - to create a DNA ebook for beginners. I should listen to her advice.

She described herself and her interests on her Google+ page:

A retired manager of a med research lab,  Joan Miller is a genetic genealogist with an interest in social media and technology to complement traditional genealogy research. Her genetic genealogy activities include Aumack Y-DNA project administrator and coordination of the Alberta Family Histories Society (AFHS) DNA Special Interest Group.

Joan has been involved in genealogical research for over 20 years and she tries hard not to bore the rest of the family with her hobby (addiction?).   Several family members do read her blog and they all love the family tree banners she creates and the stories she collects. 

She is a member of the Genealogical Speaker’s Guild, and various genealogy societies. This busy genealogist writes a regular column entitled “From the Geneasphere” for “Chinook”, a publication of the Alberta Family History Society and serves on the Public Relations committee of that Society. 

Joan is the creator of the Luxegen Genealogy Blog which was named in Family Tree Magazine’s Top 40 Genealogy Blogs for 2011. She served as an Official Blogger for Rootstech 2011 and is delighted to be continuing in that role in 2012.

Joan, who lives with her husband and their daughter’s cat in Calgary, Alberta, Canada enjoys varied activities.  She volunteers with Toastmasters International, plays indoor soccer, relishes outdoor pursuits, and travels widely. She has admitted that she is a “Genealogy Conference Junkie”.

She loved her family so much and was extremely proud of her beautiful children. My condolences and love go out to them at this heartbreaking time. The last Tweet from the former enthusiastic advocate of social media (retweeted from Alex Flint) passed along some poignant advice to us all on December 15th:

Turn off the news. Get off twitter. Go spend some time with the people you love instead. Much better use of time. Peace out. 

I think I will go do that now, but I will be thinking of Joan who I loved very much. We all did. She was one of the most generous, kindest souls I have ever know. I will never forget her. 

Signing off to Joan the way she always did to me...Xoxoxo

Announcing the Inaugural DNA and Genetic Genealogy Conference Sponsored by ISOGG and SCGS: To Be Held in Conjunction with the SCGS Genealogy Jamboree

I am so excited to finally be able to share the following news:

DNA and Genetic Genealogy Conference

Jan 4, 2012 - The International Society of Genetic Genealogy and the Southern California Genealogical Society announce an innovative, important one-day DNA conference, “Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013,” to be held June 6, 2013, in conjunction with the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree.

The featured speaker is Dr. Spencer Wells of the National Geographic Genographic Project, who will review the Genographic Project 2.0. Other speakers presenting state-of-the-art uses of DNA in the search for ancestors include The Genetic Genealogist Blaine Bettinger; Dr. Tim Janzen; The Legal Genealogist Judy G. Russell; Your Genetic Genealogist CeCe Moore; DNA Testing Adviser Richard Hill; and Katherine Borges, the director of ISOGG. Also participating in the day-long seminar will be representatives from the major commercial DNA organizations – Family Tree DNA, 23andMe and AncestryDNA. Separate tracks will be targeted for beginners and advanced genetic genealogists.

One-on-one consultations will be available during the final hour of the day. Help is available to interpret results and to use the various testing organization websites and resources. This personal assistance will help even the most inexperienced family historians apply genetic genealogy as another tool in their research toolbox.

What makes this event so special? “This is the very first genetic genealogy conference that is independently produced by societies such as ISOGG and SCGS,” explained CeCe Moore, the conference co-chair. “I have dreamed of an ISOGG-sponsored genetic genealogy conference for a long time, and I am thrilled to be working in cooperation with the SCGS Jamboree on this inaugural event. Holding the conference in conjunction with the Genealogy Jamboree helps us reach many family historians who would otherwise not be able to attend.”

 “We are so excited about breaking new ground in genetic genealogy gatherings,” said SCGS president Alice Fairhurst, who also leads the society’s DNA interest group and has been actively applying DNA in her own genealogy research. “As more family historians have DNA tests, genetic genealogy is becoming more valuable in the search for ancestors and living relatives.”

Online registration for “Family History and DNA: Genetic Genealogy in 2013” and the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree opens on Friday, January 4, 2013.  Early-bird discounted registration is $175 for SCGS members and $195 for nonmembers. Prices increase after 30 April 2013.The conference will be held at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport, 2500 Hollywood Way, Burbank, CA. The Southern California Genealogy Jamboree will also be held at the Burbank Marriott on June 7-9, 2013. It is produced bu the Southern California Genealogical Society, 417 Irving Drive, Burbank, CA 91504, phone 818-843-7247.

Further information can be found at www.scgsgenealogy.com and http://genealogyjamboree.blogspot.com. 

I will also be keeping everyone updated here at "Your Genetic Genealogist".