The final week of 2021 is upon us. I had hopes back in the summer that we had seen the worst of COVID and were getting back on track to return to normal. That obviously did not happen. 2021 was actually one of the busiest and unconventional years of my career. COVID is again dominating the headlines. My hope for us all is that 2022 brings some much needed peace and calmness.
I only have a few items to mention during this holiday gap period.
Last call for things with the 12/31/2021 deadline… nominations for the Briggs-White award for excellence in crime lab management and Ed Rhodes scholarship for ABC exam sitting can be made here: https://www.ascld.org/nominations/. Contact John Byrd if you would like to run for the ASCLD
Board of Directors ExecutiveDirector@nullASCLD.org.
As a reminder, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) will be delivering a four-day, no-cost, virtual Firearm and Toolmarks Policy and Practice Forum on January 11-14, 2022. https://forensiccoe.org/2022-firearm-toolmarks-forum/
The Wisconsin State Crime Laboratories Symposium has been identified as one of the relatively few forensic science training efforts for judges/ prosecutors and defense attorneys. Thanks to Katie McCoy and Heather Williams, the program will be included in the research that Marna McLendon is conducting for NIST to gain insight on such programs. Marna, a lawyer from Arizona who loves all things forensic science, is researching forensic science training for judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys on behalf of NIST. She is attempting to identify ongoing, established programs and has reached out to ASCLD to see if we might be aware or participate in any such projects. If you know of such forensic science training for "officers of the court," please contact her at marnamc@nullcox.net.
My husband sees me sitting on the couch typing this out and asks if I am making my 2022 New Year resolution list. I wish you could have heard me bust out laughing. Every to-do list I made in 2021 was rendered mute as soon as I stepped through the office door each morning. It was just one of those years. I am ready for it to be 2022. Here is my toast to all of you, “Happy 2022! May we always be grateful for the past, find joy in the present, and remain excited for the future!”
Laura
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ASCLD monthly board meeting
The next in person BOD meeting will be in
Savannah, GA from January 14-16th, 2022
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Weekly News and Resources |
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ASCLD 2022 Registration is now OPEN! Please join your forensic colleagues April 24-28, 2022 in Reno, NV where we will be Facing the Challenge: Mission Possible!
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Join us for the ASCLD Symposium 2022 |
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Thank you to our 2022 Gold Sponsors: |
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ASCLD FRC Awards to be distributed during the 2022 ASCLD Symposium
Applications are now being accepted
LEAP Collaboration Award - The goal of the award is to highlight a collaborative partnership between an academic lab and an operational forensic lab whose work is a significant contribution to forensic science.
that impact the operational forensic science laboratory.
Application Process for each:
- Complete the application, found at https://www.ascld.org/nominations/
- Include a 1 – 2 page description of the research, specifically addressing the criteria
- Submit the completed application electronically to ascldfrc@gmail.com
Application Window: November 8 th , 2021 - January 20 th , 2022
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Ready to Learn About NSG at the Symposium???
If you're ready to learn more about NSG, join Ray Wickenheiser, Amy Lightfoot, Rachel Oefelein, Meredith Turnbough, Amy Liberty, and Kameran Wong for the half day workshop Operationalizing Next-Generation Sequencing: A Practical Guide to Implementing NGS Into Your Casework. This afternoon session will be on Sunday, April 24th at the ASCLD Symposium.
Register now before the session fills up!
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The Next Lightning Talk on Toxicology is Moving to January 27th!
The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee is proud to announce the next episode of a virtual “Lightning Talks” series to highlight 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 now be held on January 27th at 1:00 EST and will focus on Oral Fluid Toxicology. It will feature talks by Madeline Swortwood from Sam Houston State University on oral fluid and DUID, Joseph Cox from West Virginia University on the use of QuEChERS for postmortem oral fluid, and Roberta Gorziza from the Florida International University on dried oral fluid for drug identification. The live event is limited to 100 people. To register, visit https://www.ascld.org/forensic-research-committee/.
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Please send all CLM submissions to our new electronic form!
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Please continue to tag your photos on social media with the hashtag #ASCLDfun |
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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
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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.
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The NIJ is proud to provide an update to the ASCLD membership on the NIJ Forensic Science R&D Reports. These include Evaluation of Massively Parallel Sequencing for Missing Persons Identification, Cases Associated with Violence in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs): The Examination of Circumstances & Characteristics Project and more!
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There are many standards open for comment on the ASB website. Be sure to check them out and provide your valuable input!
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Safety Topics for your Lab |
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Health and Safety in the Laboratory series by Jane Northup PhD, RI State Crime Laboratory
Read article HERE
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2022 Firearm and Toolmarks Policy and Practice Forum
https://forensiccoe.org/2022-firearm-toolmarks-forum/
Register Here: https://learning.forensicac.org/course/view.php?id=481
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) will be delivering a four-day, no-cost, virtual Firearm and Toolmarks Policy and Practice Forum on January 11-14, 2022. The Forum will explore new developments, discuss the foundations of firearm and toolmark examination, and address the implementation of new technologies into workflows. Additionally, the Forum will inform firearm and toolmark examiners on the legal issues surrounding firearm testimony and recent court decisions. We expect to convene several hundred criminal justice practitioners representing federal, state, and local agencies as well as subject matter experts from across the United States.
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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:
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Forensic Technical Assessor
- Forensic ISO/IEC 17025 Internal Auditor
- Risk-based Thinking for Forensic Service Providers
We are also excited to introduce our courses:oratories and Inspection:
Basic Statistics for Laboratories and Inspection Bodies. This course will introduce basic statistical techniques for collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting data. Participants will strengthen their knowledge base of statistical techniques and their application to ISO/IEC 17020 and ISO/IEC 17025, and build confidence in the validity and reliability of their results. 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.
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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.
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The American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors
65 Glen Road, Suite 123
Garner, NC 27529
Phone: 919.773.2044
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