James Creecy, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
About
James Creecy is the assistant director of the W. Roger Webb Forensic Science Institute and an assistant professor with the Department of Biology at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). He is a founding member of the UCO Center for Wildlife Forensic Science and Conservation Studies (C-FACS) and currently serves as the center’s co-director.
Prior to joining the faculty of UCO, Creecy was a DNA analyst for the Oklahoma City Police Department Crime Laboratory. Since leaving the crime lab, his research interests have broadened to include the application of advanced genomic technologies and high-performance computational analysis to wildlife investigations. His primary research currently focuses on developing and improving the analysis of DNA evidence from wildlife cases through the use of high-throughput sequencing and high-performance computational analysis. With the support of local, national and international partners, Creecy is developing the first bioinformatic data analysis pipeline for wildlife forensic science, species conservation and animal protection.
Classes Taught
Forensic Science Courses
Advanced Topics in Forensic Molecular Biology
DNA Analysis for the Crime Scene Investigator
Forensic Molecular Biology & Laboratory
Forensic Serology & Laboratory
Microbial Forensics
Professional Issues in Forensic Science
Biology Courses
Cell Biology
General Biology
General Biology Lab
Genetics
Genetics Lab
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. Microbiology
University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK
Dissertation: Single-nucleotide Resolution View of Gene Expression in E. coli K-12 Under Various Physiological Conditions
M.S., Biology
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Thesis: Investigation of Nuclear Located Mitochondrial Pseudogene 2087
B.S., Biology
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro, NM
Honors and Awards
Researcher of the Year, Sigma Xi Chapter (2017)
Chapter President of Sigma Xi at University of Central Oklahoma Chapter (2018-2019)
International President of Delta Delta Epsilon, the Forensic Sciences Honor Society (2011-2015)
Research, Published Work, and Scholarly Activities
Ahlers, N., Creecy, J., Frankham, G., Johnson, R. N., Kotze, A., Linacre, A., ... & Webster, L. M. I. (2017). ‘ForCyt’DNA database of wildlife species. (Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, 6, e466-e468.)
York, E. M., Creecy, J.P., Lord, W.D., and Caire, W. (2015) Geographic range expansion for rat lungworm in North America. (Emerg Infect Dis. 2015 Jul)
Creecy, J.P., Caire, W., and Gilcrest, K.A., (2015) Examination of several Oklahoma bat hibernacula cave soils for Pseudogymnoascus destructans the causative agent of white-nose-syndrome (The Southwestern Naturalist 60(2-3):213-217)
Creecy, J. P., & Conway, T. (2015). Quantitative bacterial transcriptomics with RNA-seq. Current opinion in microbiology,23, 133-140.
Conway, T., Creecy, J. P., Maddox, S. M., Grissom, J. E., Conkle, T. L., Shadid, T. M., ... & Wanner, B. L. (2014). Unprecedented high-resolution view of bacterial operon architecture revealed by RNA sequencing. MBio, 5(4), e01442-14.
Sambol, N., & Creecy, J.(2013). Duplex-specific nuclease (DSN): A method for the rehabilitation of low-copy number DNA profiles. Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series, 4(1), e59-e60.
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