Jaclynn McKay

Jaclynn McKay is a Research Forensic Scientist in the Justice Practice Area at RTI where she provides technical knowledge in crime scene investigation and forensic serology. She uses her expertise to assist on projects pertaining to the implementation of crime scene standards, advancing technology and sharing knowledge to address current challenges in forensic science, and the maintenance of a national clearinghouse for missing, unidentified, and unclaimed persons.  

Currently, Ms. McKay serves as a Regional System Administrator in the Eastern Region for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs), a National Institute of Justice (NIJ) clearinghouse offering critical investigative support and no-cost forensic services to law enforcement agencies, medical examiner/coroner offices, and families of victims across the United States. In this role, Ms. McKay aids NamUs users by reviewing case entries for completeness, approving case entry changes, archiving entries as cases are resolved, facilitating forensic services, and answering questions associated with the database and NamUs services.

Ms. McKay was also a part of the scientific team for the Implementation of the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science (OSAC) Standards for Scene Investigation project funded by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). In this capacity, Ms. McKay used her technical knowledge in crime scene investigation and ISO 17025 accreditation of crime scene units to help develop training videos that document proper procedures for collecting, packaging, and preserving trace evidence. She also helped design and coordinate a two-phase interagency study on crime scene analysis using virtual reality tools.

Additionally, Ms. McKay served on various activity teams for the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE). She has coordinated the development of, conducted research for, and provided expertise on various educational materials across multiple forensic disciplines, including postmortem genetic testing, sexual assault response, overdose fatality reviews, and footwear and tire tread evidence documentation. Most recently, she served as the activity lead for the planning and execution of a two-part virtual workshop series on the Qualifications of an Expert Witness for Legal Professionals. Ms. McKay also participated in the planning and execution of other live and virtual events, such as the Firearms and Toolmark Policy and Practice Forum and the annual NIJ Forensic Science Research and Development Symposium, and provided technical assistance to production staff, presenters, and students during these events. Ms. McKay previously served as the website lead and the webinar technical support host.

Ms. McKay supports the production and execution of the Just Science podcast through script review, content generation, coordinating guests, hosting, and web-based dissemination of episodes. Ms. McKay hosted the 2022 Case Studies Part 1 and Part 2 mini seasons, the 2022 Applications of Forensic Science for Human Identification mini season, the 2023 Unidentified Human Remains mini season, and the 2023 Case Studies season.

Before joining RTI in 2021, Ms. McKay was a Special Agent in the Crime Scene Department at the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) Forensic Services Laboratory. She conducted over 200 scene investigations across the state of South Carolina. She was responsible for documenting, collecting, and preserving evidence from scenes and testified in judicial proceedings as an expert in crime scene investigation. She also performed professional duties as a commissioned law enforcement officer. Ms. McKay was a departmental expert in shooting incident documentation, bloodstain pattern documentation, DNA collection, and technical report preparation and review. 

From 2015 to 2016, Ms. McKay was a forensic serologist in the DNA Casework Department at the SLED Forensic Services Laboratory. During that time, she analyzed over 400 cases for the presence of biological materials and testified in judicial proceedings as an expert in body fluid identification. 

In addition to her work, Ms. McKay is an International Association for Identification (IAI) Certified Crime Scene Analyst and serves on the IAI Crime Scene Investigation Science and Practice Subcommittee. She also serves on the North Carolina IAI Conference Committee and holds several professional memberships, including the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS), the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (IABPA), and the IAI.