Greetings ASCLD Colleagues and Friends,
Last week was another busy week! It was also the week of our ASCLD Board of Directors meeting, and we had so much to discuss and put to vote. Be on the lookout for some updates on the Mangers Toolkit and, as mentioned a few weeks ago, some changes to distribution of our CLM. As we continue to evolve as a community, ASCLD is dedicated to keeping up with that evolution.
We had an excellent meeting this week on for the 50th Anniversary ASCLD Symposium. We are still looking for volunteers- please feel free to reach out! Don’t forget to get those abstract in as soon as you can. Remember, we are looking for: resiliency talks, leadership talks and technical talks. https://na.eventscloud.com/website/42572/abstracts/
Many of you are aware of the ASCLD Accreditation Initiative (AAI). Please see the link below to a report published by RTI International regarding the AAI. The report includes program success, lessons learned, challenges, and recommendations to improve the AAI in the future. Specific recommendations are provided for ASCLD, AAI mentors, toolkit updates, upfront training, and forensic science service providers participating in the AAI. I encourage you to read this report, and we thank our partners for putting this together!
As ASCLD members, it is important to “keep our finger on the pulse” of what is happening at the national level as far as policy and funding for forensics. The mission of the CFSO is to speak with a single forensic science voice in matters of mutual interest to its member organizations, to influence public policy at the national level, and to make a compelling case for greater federal funding for public crime laboratories and medical examiner offices. Check out the CFSO’s August newsletter HERE. Pay attention to the SDO Grant authorization, which ensures that many of the standards we use remain “no cost” to the forensic community.
Many of our ASCLD members (including myself) are actively involved in the Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science. As you all know, OSAC works to strengthen forensic science in the U.S. by facilitating the development and use high-quality standards. Did you know that OSAC is hosting a virtual event on September 13th? This virtual event will feature presentations from the seven chairs of OSAC's Scientific Area Committees (SACs) and chair of the Forensic Science Standards Board (FSSB). Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. Sign up now and mark those calendars!
As forensic science leaders, it is imperative that we continue to evolve. One of those areas of “evolution” is keeping in touch with our staff and understanding the stressors of their jobs. I received a stress survey from RTI and wanted to share it with you all. The survey will assist with a research study that aims to inform the criminal justice stakeholder community of the potential impact of vicarious trauma and/or burnout across all forensic science disciplines on work ability. To participate in this research study, please click link below: https://www.psychdata.com/s.asp?SID=196329
I hope you all have had a great weekend and are looking forward to a productive week!
Sincerely,
Jen
Jennifer D. Naugle
ASCLD President
|
|
ASCLD monthly board meeting
The next Board of Directors meeting date will be on Friday, August 19th at 1pm CST.
|
|
Weekly News and Resources |
|
Registration is now open for the Fall 2022 Leadership Academy
The ASCLD Leadership Academy to be held in Fall 2022. Twelve weekly, online webinars will be offered from August to December and will cover a wide range of essential leadership topics for forensic science supervisors and managers. The Fall Academy will finish with two intensive days of on-site, hands-on instruction in Phoenix, Arizona.
The 2022 Fall Academy will again focus on providing quality instruction to new supervisors in the forensic science field and supervisors who have previously had limited opportunities for structured forensic management education and training. Between affordable registration costs and high-quality instructors, ASCLD is confident that laboratories will see a valuable return on investment in a time when training budgets are lean across the US.
Click HERE for link to registration
|
|
|
|
National Forensic Science Week is September 18-24, 2022
We are happy to provide information for the 10th anniversary of National Forensic Science Week (NFSW), September 18th to the 24th, click HERE for more information
|
|
The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence is hosting a webinar
Hair Root Staining – What Can Hematoxylin Do for Your Laboratory?
|
|
The Research Forensic Library is officially launched and provides access to thousands of articles and reports in the scientific literature, a critical step in the forward momentum required of forensic science and its varied applications.
The Library is part of a cooperative agreement with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). You can find the full release on our website to republish and share:
|
|
with information on Lightning Talks, the FRC Collaboration Hub, the
Laboratories and Educators Alliance Program (LEAP), new LEAP Research
Partners, recent submissions to the Evaluation and Validation Repository,
and FRC Award Winners!
|
|
ASCLD FRC Validation and Evaluation Repository – Confirmation and Quantitation of Antiepileptic and Acidic Drugs by LC/MS/MS
The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee (FRC) is proud to announce a new submission to the Validation and Evaluation Repository. As you may already know, the purpose of this FRC initiative is to create a central repository of forensic validations and evaluations. ASCLD hopes that this repository will foster information sharing and promote collaboration with the forensic science community.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office / Miami Valley Regional Crime Laboratory recently submitted a summary validation report highlighting their internal validation for a new protein crash extraction and LC/MS/MS method for confirming and quantitating 14 antiepileptic/acidic drugs in blood, serum, urine and tissue homogenate. The method was validated using 7 blood calibrators and low, medium, and high controls in blood, serum, urine and tissue homogenate. The validation parameters are all included in the validation summary submitted.
Please consider submitting information about your lab’s validations or evaluations to the repository. Information could include basic information such as validation/evaluation title, lab name, and point of contact information (which enables other forensic scientists to contact you with questions) or additional information such as a short validation or evaluation summary or even a full validation or evaluation report. By sharing this information, you are supporting other laboratories that wish to expand their forensic capabilities!
|
|
The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee is proud to announce the next episode of virtual “Lightning Talks”
The series highlights new and emerging research in all areas of forensic science. Each episode will feature three short talks given by practitioners, researchers, and/or students. The next episode will be held on Thursday September 8th at 1:00 EST and will focus on Fire Debris Analysis. It will feature talks by Brenda Christy from the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, Michael Sigman from the University of Central Florida, and Brianna Capistran from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The live event is limited to 100 people. To register, visit https://www.ascld.org/forensic-research-committee/
|
|
The Project FORESIGHT benchmark report for FY2021 is now available HERE
|
|
The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee (FRC) is pleased to announce a new submission within the Collaboration Hub. As you may know, the purpose of the Collaboration Hub is to create a directory to connect researchers with ongoing projects to practitioners who are willing to participate in the studies or support the research. It is ASCLD’s hope that this program will further communication and cooperation between forensic researchers and practitioners.
Recently, a new project was added to the Collaboration Hub that aims to explore factors that may play a role in the decision-making of triaging items collected from crime scenes. The Principal Investigator for this study is Dr. Ifat Levy from Yale University with collaborators from the University of College London. The researchers are seeking volunteers to participate in an online study where participants will be asked to evaluate a forensic casework brief and photographs of items collected from a crime scene. Under a hypothetical scenario in which the participant is the expert assigned to this case, the participant will make a series of decisions about the case. The study will take approximately 30-40 minutes to complete.
If you are interested in supporting this project and contributing to forensic science research, please check out the ASCLD FRC Collaboration Hub.
|
|
Videos from the Annual Symposium in Reno are now available in the on the ASCLD website |
|
Forensic science service providers are invited to participate in OSAC’s 2022 Registry Implementation Survey.
The Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science wants to better understand how the standards on the OSAC Registry are being used, the challenges around standards implementation, and what support is needed to improve it. Your input will help to assess the current state of implementation of 95 standards that have been posted on the OSAC Registry through June 2022. This survey is now open and will close August 12, 2022. Take survey HERE
|
|
|
|
We cordially invite forensic DNA experts to attend the 29th International Congress of the International Society for Forensic Genetics in Washington DC, August 29th through September 2nd. The ISFG Congress is the largest professional society dedicated to advancement of
research and information for forensic DNA analysts, researchers, and students. With over 400 scientific posters, breakfast seminars, workshops, and other special events - this meeting will draw upon scientists from all of the world. The biennial ISFG Congress gathers these professionals who present the most current information, research, and updates in the field of forensic genetics.
#isfg2022 #forensics #forensicscience #ISFG
|
|
Please send all CLM submissions to our new electronic form!
|
|
Please continue to tag your photos on social media with the hashtag #ASCLDfun |
|
Opt Out.
ASCLD sells your email information to vendors for marketing and promotional material purposes. You may ‘opt-out’ of receiving vendor information not directly related to ASCLD by emailing executivedirector@ascld.org. If you do not opt out then your acceptance of this Agreement will constitute your affirmative consent to receiving marketing and promotional material from ASCLD.
|
|
Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
|
|
There are many standards open for comment on the ASB website. Be sure to check them out and provide your valuable input!
|
|
Safety Topics for your Lab |
|
|
|
Health and Safety in the Laboratory series by Jane Northup PhD, RI State Crime Laboratory
Click on links below for articles
|
|
ANAB Trainings
With the ability to reach wider audiences, we are expanding offerings of current courses in Spanish.
The following courses will be available live online in Spanish:
-
Forensic Technical Assessor
- Forensic ISO/IEC 17025 Internal Auditor
- Risk-based Thinking for Forensic Service Providers
We are also excited to introduce our courses:
Uncertainty, Sampling and Data Analysis: Understanding Statistical Calculations. This course provides an introduction to statistical concepts and techniques used for the collection, organization, analysis, and presentation of various types of data. The course touches on both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, including how to compute measures of central tendency and dispersion, and how to assess the relationship between two variables. More..
Verification and Validation for Laboratories and Inspection Bodies. This course provides an introduction to the validation and verification of analytical methods and the common elements of a validation or verification plan. In addition, a general approach to performing a validation or verification will be reviewed along with ISO/IEC 17025 requirements for validation and verification of methods. More…
Webinars:
We continue our monthly Webinars and stay tuned for information about upcoming Feature Sessions.
|
|
Donations to ASCLD can now be made online! This is a great way to honor the memory of a forensic colleague, to commemorate a life event for that person who has everything, or to otherwise assist in supporting the tireless efforts of the ASCLD organization in the pursuit of excellence in forensic science management. The donation page can be accessed by clicking HERE or by visiting the ASCLD website and clicking on "Donate to ASCLD" under the "Member Site" tab (this donation page is accessible even to non-members). Please consider donating and do share this information with anyone you think might be interested.
|
|
The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
65 Glen Road, Suite 123
Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.773.2044
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
