Dr. Jonathan Parrott completed his BSc (with honors) in Forensic Biology in 2008 and PhD at the University of Portsmouth in 2013 with a focus on molecular techniques in forensic entomology. During this time, he applied next generation sequencing approaches to ancient insect remains collected from mummified individuals to determine circumstances surrounding death and burial events. While conducting research in population genetics of forensically important blowflies from across Texas, he conducted forensic entomology training at the Forensic Anthropology Research Facility at Texas State University. He is expertly trained to provide biological evidence interpretation and DNA mixture analysis in a court of law. He has previously held teaching positions at both University of Strathclyde, Glasgow and Staffordshire University.
Currently he is an Assistant Professor of Forensic Science at Arizona State University. He has published work in forensic entomology since 2013 and research has appeared in Genes, Journal of Medical Entomology and BMC Genomics. He also has published book chapters with CRC Press. He has presented his research at both national and international forensic and entomological conferences.
The Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Forensic Entomology conducts research to elucidate the genomic, phenotypic, and developmental variations that impact the utilization of insects in forensic investigations. Dr. Parrott and his students investigate the correlation between genetics and phenotypes in forensically significant blow fly species, as well as the identification of potential sources of error in insect development. The primary objective of Dr. Parrott’s research is to identify previously unrecognized sources of error in insect evidence, thereby enhancing the reliability of information obtained through analysis. Currently, research conducted within the laboratory supports the validation of genomic techniques for estimating insect evidence age and the development of standard operating procedures for insect DNA identification.
Education
Ph.D Biology, 2013, University of Portsmouth, UK.
Title: A Molecular Study of Contemporary and Museum Calliphoridae (Diptera) of Forensic Importance.
BSc (Hons) Forensic Biology, University of Portsmouth, UK
Javan, T. G; Benbow, M. E; Finley, J. S.; Parrott, J. J. (2023) Life and Death: New Perspectives and Applications in Forensic Science, Volume II. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, section Evolutionary and Population Genetics. 11. DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1305083
Hjelman, C. E.; Yuan, Y.; Parrott, J. J.; McGuane, A. S.; Srivastav, S. P.; Purcell, A. C.; Pimsler, M. L.; Sze, S-H; Tarone, A. M. (2022) An initial identification and characterization of small RNA markers of age in the blow fly Cochliomyia macellaria (Fabricius)(Diptera: Calliphoridae). Insects. 13: 948. DOI:10.3390/insects13100948
Parrott, J. J.; Maley, S.; Quiroz, Demian (2021) A Review of Forensic Entomology Literature in the Pacific Southwest United States. WIRES Forensic Science. DOI: 10.1002/wfs2.1433
Meeds, A.; Parrott, J. J. (2021) A Review of Forensic Entomology Literature in the Pacific United States. WIRES Forensic Science. DOI: 10.1002/wfs2.1423
Hans, K. R.; Yoho, K.; Parrott, J. J.; Weidner, L. M. (2020) A Review of Forensic Entomology Literature in the Mountain Prairie Region of the United States. WIREs Forensic Science. DOI: 10.1002/wfs.1412
Weidner, L. M.; Nigoghosian, G.; Yoho, K. C.; Parrott, J. J.; Hans, K. R. (2020) An Analysis of Forensically Important Insects Associated with Human Remains in Indiana, U.S.A. Journal of Forensic Sciences. DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.14531.
Hjelman, C. E.; Parrott, J. J.; Srivastav, S. P.; McGuane, A. S.; Ellis, L.; Stewart, A. D.; Johnston, J. S.; Tarone, A. M. (2020) Effect of phenotype selection on genome size variation in two species of Diptera. Genes. 11(2).
Lesne, P.; Srivastav, S.; El-Hefnawy, A.; Parrott, J. J.; Sanford, M. R; Tarone, A. M. (2020) Facultative viviparity in a flesh fly (Diptera: Sarcophagidae): Forensic implications of high variability in rates of oviposition in Blaesoxipha plinthopyga. Journal of Medical Entomology. 57(3) 697-704
Sze, S-H.; Parrott, J. J.; Tarone, A. M. (2017) A divide and conquer algorithm for large-scale de novo transcriptome assembly through combining small assemblies from existing algorithms. BMC Genomics. 18(Suppl 10): 895
Pimsler, M. L.; Pape, T.; Johnston, J. S.; Wharton, R. A.; Parrott, J. J.; Sanford, M. R.; Tomberlin, J. K.; Tarone, A. M. (2014) Structural and Genetics Investigation of Egg and First Instar Larva of an Egg-Laying Population of Blaesoxipha plinthopyga (Diptera: Sarcophgidae). Journal of Medical Entomology. 51(6). 1283-1295
