Rivaldo Mockson

Forensic Geneticist, MSc Wildlife Forensics Researcher & Digital Systems Builder.

I study forensic DNA degradation and build digital systems for researchers, creators, and small businesses.

Forensic Genetics & Wildlife Forensics

Degraded wildlife evidence, COI barcoding, microsatellite limits, substrate effects, processed products, and careful forensic interpretation.

Research & Academic Writing

MSc thesis work, literature discipline, research notes, conference learning, and clear scientific communication.

Digital Products & Web Systems

GradWise, Muzica, tutoring, and systems built for study, service businesses, and creator workflows.

Public Learning & Writing

Building in public across research, code, design, discipline, faith, exercise, and continuous learning.

Who I Am

Forensic genetics, research writing, tutoring, and useful digital work.

My centre of gravity is forensic genetics. The edge is what I build around it: writing, software, product systems, tutoring, and useful digital work.

Academic credibility

My academic base is forensic science and genetics, with MSc work focused on wildlife forensic DNA degradation.

Product thinking

I build around pressure points I understand: research, studying, publishing, service businesses, and getting work done.

Wildlife forensics

I care about what happens to biological evidence after real surfaces, heat, exposure, mixtures, and handling complicate it.

Public learning

I write to sharpen the work for myself and leave useful notes for someone coming behind me.

Conference

SAWMA 2025 speaker

I attended and spoke at the Southern African Wildlife Management Association conference in 2025, putting wildlife forensic genetics work in front of people thinking about conservation, research, and practical management.

2025Conference attendee and speaker

SAWMA 2025

I attended and spoke at the Southern African Wildlife Management Association conference in 2025, sharing wildlife forensic genetics work with a conservation and research audience.

Featured Research

MSc Wildlife Forensics: DNA degradation and species identification

My MSc work studies how blesbok DNA persists or degrades in environmental blood traces and processed wildlife products, and what those results can responsibly support in forensic interpretation.

Research Snapshot

The project follows blesbok DNA through exposed blood traces, processed products, species identification, individual-level comparison, and targeted assay development.

Environmental blood evidence across metal, wood, cotton, soil, grass, and rubberized car mat substrates

Indoor, semi-covered outdoor, and fully exposed outdoor conditions

COI barcoding for wildlife species identification

Microsatellite marker recovery for individual-level comparison

NanoDrop DNA concentration and purity assessment

Species-specific qPCR assay development for targeted blesbok detection in processed and mixed samples

Processed wildlife products, mixed samples, and dominant-template effects

Explore Research

Featured Projects