Wraxall, Brian
12/6/1943–
AMERICAN
FORENSIC SEROLOGIST
Forensic serologist Brian G.D. Wraxall is widely recognized as the co-developer in 1966, along with Brian J. Culliford, of the immunoelectrophoretic technique for haptoglobin typing in bloodstains. Wraxall is also credited, along with Mark Stolorow, with developing the multisystem method for the parallel testing of isoenzyme systems in 1978. During that same year, the team of Wraxall and Stolorow were also recognized as the first forensic scientists to develop methods for typing blood serum proteins. Currently, Wraxall is the executive director of the Serological Research Institute in California, a company that provides consultation, laboratory analysis, and court testimony to the forensic science community.
Wraxall grew up in England during the middle part of the twentieth century where from 1958 to 1962 he attended King Edward VI Grammar School in the town of Totnes in Devon County. (The school later became known as King Edward VI College.) Even at this young age, Wraxall was interested in biology and chemistry, receiving school certificates in both subjects. Beginning in 1962, he worked as a laboratory chemist for Western Countries Brick Company in Torquay, Devon, and later as a senior scientific officer for the Metropolitan Police Laboratory in London, England. During this twelve-year period, Wraxall specialized in serology, where he delved into the research and development of electrophoresis methods that specifically involved blood enzymes and proteins in body fluids and bloodstains. In 1966, Wraxall and Culliford developed a technique
of immunoelectrophoresis for haptoglobin typing in bloodstains. At this time, Wraxall and Culliford published the paper "Haptoglobin Types in Dried Bloodstains" in Nature, which was followed by additional scientific papers over the next few years.
In 1969, Wraxall received a higher national certificate in applied biology—specializing in biochemistry, microbiology, and physiology—from the Borough Polytechnic College in London, England. Eight years later, in 1977, Wraxall began working as a consultant for the Bloodstain Analysis project (funded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration) for Beckman Instruments and The Aerospace Corporation. One year later, Wraxall and Stolorow developed a Bloodstain Analysis System (BAS), or the multisystem method, for simultaneously testing generic (identification) markers—such as ACP1 (acid phosphatase 1, soluble), ADA (adenosine deaminase), AK (adenylate kinase), EsD (esterase D), GloI (glyoxalase I), and PGM (phosphoglucomutase)—using one of three different electrophoretic trials. The BAS method resulted in the efficient identification of genetic characteristics (or phenotypes) of organisms with respect to their environment when only a very small amount of materials are available as evidence in criminal cases. As a result, Wraxall introduced, along with other scientists, the paper "Final Report: Bloodstain Analysis System" (The Aerospace Corporation, September 1978).
At this same time, Wraxall and Stolorow also developed methods for typing blood serum proteins such as Hp (haptoglobin) and Gc (glycoprotein C). As a result, the pair published the paper "An Efficient Method to Eliminate Streaking in the Electrophoretic Analysis of Haptoglobin in Bloodstains" in the Journal of Forensic Science.
In 1978, Wraxall became employed for the Serological Research Institute (SERI) located in Richmond, California, first as a technical leader and later as its chief forensic serologist. SERI is a non-for-profit corporation that has served the legal and forensic sciences communities since 1978 with a number of support services. Wraxall is currently the executive director of the Serological Research Institute, where he coordinates the work of providing forensic, serological, and DNA analysis services. During his years with SERI he has taught various training courses that involve: identification and typing of biological evidence in such specific topics as bloodstain analysis; electrophoresis; semen identification and analysis; genotyping of immunoglobulins (Ig), heavy chain (GM) and light chain (KM) allotypes; and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) typing.
Also while employed with SERI, Wraxall attended the University of California at Berkeley where he studied molecular biology in 1990. Later, in 2002, Wraxall graduated from Hamilton University—located in Evanston, Wyoming—with a bachelor's of science degree in biological sciences.
For most of his professional career, Wraxall has worked as a consultant with respect to expert testimony for both the prosecution and the defense sides of courtroom cases involving both civil and criminal matters. In preparation for these court cases and in direct testimony during these cases, Wraxall lent his proficiency in forensic serology throughout various U.S. courts involving the examination and explanation of biological evidence. His expertise covers a broad range of case material involving the presence of trace evidence such as the phenotyping of bloodstains in polymorphic systems (involving antigens, enzymes, and proteins); the phenotyping of stains of body fluids; and the extraction and analysis of DNA from hairs, bodily fluids, and skeletal materials.
Wraxall has published numerous scientific papers from 1967 to the present day including "Use of Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) to Measure Semen Exposure Resulting from Male Condom Failures: Implications for Contraceptive Efficacy and the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Disease" in Contraception (2003). He has also presented various papers throughout his career including "Advances on DNA in Forensic Testing" for the Legal Secretaries 2nd Quarterly Conference (Modesto, California, 2003) and "Roles of Markers in Forensics" for the Evaluation of Markers of Intercourse in Trials of Vaginal Barriers (Conrad, Washington, D.C., 2003).
