How Eyewitness Misidentification Leads to Wrongful Convictions

Madhu Kumar is a scientist who received his PhD in biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Between 2009 and 2014, he served as a postdoctoral fellow at the London Research Institute, where he received the Hardiman-Redon Prize. For his charitable activities, Madhu Kumar serves as a consultant for the New England Innocence Project (NEIP).

The NEIP is an organization that provides pro bono legal services to people wrongfully convicted who have claims of actual innocence. In the course of the NEIP’s advocacy work, it also aims to raise awareness for the causes of wrongful convictions in hopes of bringing about reforms that will lead to the reduction of such cases.

On its website, the NEIP identifies several causes of wrongful convictions. The apparent leading cause is eyewitness misidentification. Mainly due to the fallibility of human memory, eyewitnesses can wrongly identify a suspect, thereby leading to a false conviction. In 75 percent of cases, DNA tests prove these false testimonies wrong and thereby absolve the convicted of any wrongdoing.

How Mathematics and Nanotechnology are Advancing Cancer Treatment

Madhu Kumar, PhD, is an experienced biologist who most recently served as a scientific advisor to the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Over the course of his career, Dr. Madhu Kumar has made significant contributions to the field of cancer research and received the Hardiman-Redon prize from Cancer Research UK’s London Research Institute in 2012.

Recently, researchers have leveraged mathematical modeling and nanotechnology to develop exciting new possibilities in the realm of cancer treatment and the prevention of cancer cell resistance. Applied mathematicians at the University of Waterloo set out to investigate the signals and molecular pathways that allow individual cancer cells to become resistant to chemotherapy. The researchers created a mathematical model that offered an algorithmic representation of cancer cell state transitions during the application of an anticancer agent. This allowed them to pinpoint the specific molecular behaviors that result in resistance to chemotherapy following sustained treatment.

While much of the medical community previously believed that only specific, “privileged” cancer cells could achieve resistance, the University of Waterloo team discovered that resistance is most often the result of the over-activated PI3K/AKT kinase in cancer cells. This discovery indicates that, by targeting vulnerabilities in PI3K/AKT kinase inhibitors, medical researchers can prevent the development of cell resistance.

Inspired by this scientific development, bioengineers at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital drew on computer models to develop a self-assembling, two-in-one drug designed to curb cancer cell resistance with nanotechnology. Unlike previous approaches to two-in-one cancer therapies, the new therapy delivers both drugs simultaneously by assembling them within a single nano-vehicle.

NEIP Works to Overturn Wrongful Convictions

An accomplished biologist holding a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dr. Madhu Kumar has dedicated over 15 years to cancer research. In addition to assisting laboratories at the University of Pennsylvania, Cancer Research UK, and the University Health Network, Dr. Madhu Kumar has also drawn on his expertise in chemistry and molecular biology to support the efforts of the New England Innocence Project (NEIP).

Since 2000, NEIP has advocated for convicted persons with claims of actual innocence. Addressing cases throughout six states, the nonprofit provides pro bono legal services to reassess these cases and uncover instances of wrongful conviction.

NEIP also works to raise public awareness regarding wrongful convictions and promote legislative reform that will lessen its prevalence. This includes educating the public on the various causes of wrongful conviction, the most common of which is eyewitness misidentification. In addition to the imperfect reliability of human memory, a wrongful conviction can also be the result of a false confession stemming from mental health issues or coercive interrogation. Some wrongfully convicted defendants are victims of misconduct committed by police officers or prosecutors, while others are imprisoned following the false testimony of an informant who stands to benefit from their dishonesty. In all of these contexts, a reanalysis of DNA evidence has the potential to provide concrete scientific proof of a wrongful conviction.