Primary Department: Institute of Forensic Sciences
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Pramod Gumpeni, M.D., Interim Executive Director & Chief Medical Examiner
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Donation
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
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Request by the Institute of Forensic Sciences for approval of one temporary Postdoctoral Fellow position paid for by donation as part of an Institute of Forensic Sciences project to identify unknown decedents, effective July 11, 2026.
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Background and Discussion:
Texas Center for the Missing is requesting to donate the cost for salary and benefits of an Anthropology Fellow (Postdoctoral Fellow I) to serve in the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences (HCIFS), for at least the remainder of FY26 and all of FY27. The proposed position will be full-time and dedicated to the identification of unknown decedents for whom the office has medicolegal jurisdiction. The HCIFS currently has jurisdiction over approximately 300 unknown decedents. These are primarily older cases (1970s-1990s) of unknown people who are buried in the county cemetery, and which predate DNA analysis and other forensic technologies now available to help determine decedent identification.
The responsibilities of the Postdoctoral Fellow will be to:
• Review and update HCIFS unknown decedent case files and select cases for possible exhumation. HCIFS currently has approximately 150 unknown cases that are interred, for which no DNA specimens have been extracted. Approximately half of these cases have a known burial location at the county cemetery and are thus good candidates for exhumation.
• Coordinate exhumations with Harris County Bereavement Services.
• Resubmit fingerprints into AFIS for unknown decedents (it is not uncommon for fingerprints to hit to previously unavailable records as local law enforcement agencies around the country continue to digitize and upload historical fingerprints).
• Perform forensic anthropological analysis to develop a biological profile for each exhumed decedent (age, sex, ancestry, stature etc.).
• Extract and submit DNA specimens from exhumed decedents.
• Coordinate forensic genetic genealogical analysis. HCIFS regularly submits DNA samples from unknown decedents to specialized laboratories for Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG) analysis which has been extremely successful in identifying cold case decedents.
• Coordinate media releases for unknown decedents with Texas Center for the Missing. HCIFS has had significant success with identification facilitated by the release of decedent descriptions to the public and has a long-standing relationship with the Texas Center for the Missing.
The details of the requested position are as follows:
• Postdoctoral Forensic Anthropologist with PhD in Anthropology (emphasis in forensic anthropology and casework experience)
• $75,000 annual salary plus Harris County benefits package (total donation is approximately $112,000 to cover salary and benefits) anticipated to begin as of 08/08/2026.
Expected Impact:
This position would help bring answers to families searching for a missing loved one who have waited years, sometimes decades, to find out what happened.
Alternative Options:
Decedents would remain unidentified indefinitely.
County Strategic Plan Goal: N/A
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Location:
Address (if applicable): 1861 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX
Precinct(s): Countywide
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Forensic Anthropology |
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$125,000 |
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$125,000 |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new Position Control Numbers (PCN)s) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
4 |
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1 |
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Total Personnel |
5 |
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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Anticipated Court Date: 7/9/2026
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 7/11/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Julie Spence Prine, JD, MFS, Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer, HCIFS
Attachments (if applicable): Donation Letter of Intent, Form 3441