Bones and blood

AS THE ONLY FILIPINO-AMERICAN IN AN ELITE GROUP OF forensic scientists at the New Jersey State Police DNA Laboratory based in Hamilton, New Jersey, Jennifer F. Banaag helps state authorities identify criminals and secure convictions, and keep society safer.

"We basically analyze biological samples from the crime scene sent to our lab by the police or the prosecutor’s office," Banaag explains in an interview with STARweek. "We try to determine the DNA profile of the sample in comparison to a reference sample from a crime suspect."

"And while we can tell investigators if they have the right suspect or if they should follow different leads, we also help people wrongly jailed get exonerated," she says. "It works both ways."

If the image in your mind is of Banaag working in an exciting setting similar to what the popular forensic science TV drama series "CSI (Crime Scene Investigation)" depicts, it’s time for a reality check.

"Honestly, when people ask me if it’s anything like that, I say, ‘You know what, what I do is kinda boring,’" says the Jersey City-born Fil-Am. "I spend 30 percent of my time in the lab analyzing saliva, hair or blood samples, and 70 percent sitting at my desk doing data analysis."

"Because people see things on TV, they think it’s so exciting," she adds. "Since we do it everyday, it’s kind of common to us. But there’s a sense of fulfillment knowing you are able to help solve crimes and put in jail people who shouldn’t be on the streets."

Banaag, 31, has been exposed to the worst cases in DNA analysis. She was still working for the U.S. Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory in Maryland when she helped identify the remains of the victims of the hijacked planes that crashed into the Pentagon and at a Pennsylvania field during the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

"The government sent a team of medical examiners to Dover Air Force Base (Delaware) where they set up a makeshift autopsy site and brought all the remains there," Banaag recalls. "We were seeing a lot of bones and tissues. Since the plane exploded, there were a lot of charred remains. As forensic scientists, we guided the examiners on what kind of samples would be good for DNA analysis.

"We did a lot of overtime, we pretty much were there 24 hours for three to four weeks just doing the identification," she explains. "We wanted to just get it done and get those IDs out for the grieving family members. It was overwhelming, very emotional, just knowing that those were innocent people and seeing the bodies and knowing the circumstances around it. It’s kind of depressing."

Banaag gets assigned an average of ten cases every month. "Technically, it takes about a month to actually put out a report for one case," she says. "But if we get down to the nitty-gritty, we can probably have a DNA profile within 24 to 48 hours. The technology continues to improve that it’s a lot quicker now, a lot easier and a lot more discriminating."

She has analyzed hundreds of DNA samples, many of them from high-profile crimes, including the murder case of Dr. Jonathan Nyce, who killed his Bataan-born Filipina wife, Michelle Rivera Nyce, in January 2004 and trying to make it look like an accident by driving Michelle’s Land Cruiser into a creek.

But Banaag, who last year appeared in court to testify about her findings, won’t go into the details of the DNA analysis in the case against Nyce, who eventually was convicted and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Banaag first took interest in forensics during an anatomy class while a sophomore at the College of New Jersey in Ewing in the mid 90s.

In 1998, her parents–Vid Figueras, a registered nurse and owner of the Garden State Travel Agency, one of America’s most successful Fil-Am owned businesses, and Jane Figueras, also a registered nurse–enrolled her at the De La Salle University in Manila to pursue medicine. But just five months into medical school, she called it quits.

"I called my dad and told him it was not what I wanted to do," recalls Banaag, who is married to Edson T. Banaag, a quality assurance engineer with Vonage. "I told my dad, ‘You’re paying all this money and I know I’m not going to finish.’ When he picked me up in Manila, I already had a back up plan because I knew I was interested in forensic science."

She went to George Washington University on a student loan and completed her master’s degree in forensic science, with a concentration in forensic molecular biology.

"My parents were always ready to help, but I felt bad to again ask them to pay for my tuition because I felt like I dashed their hopes for me to become a doctor," says Banaag, now a mother of three boys. "So I’m still paying back my student loan–and you can tell that to my dad and mom!" she adds, laughing.

But Banaag has no regrets whatsoever. She enjoys her profession so much that during a recent career day at her high school alma mater (Mt. Saint Dominic Academy in Caldwell, New Jersey), she encouraged the students to seek a career in forensic science. "I told them to seek something they’re really interested in, and to pursue higher education," she says.

"What is important is I like what I’m doing, I really like my job," she shares. "It pays pretty well, the benefits are good, I get a lot of vacations and the work environment is really good because I enjoy working with the people I work with."

And she quickly adds, "Best of all, I have the greatest husband and kids in the world!"