Dear ASCLD Colleagues,
I am very happy to share with you that the Laboratories & Educators Alliance Program (LEAP) recently hit an important milestone - there are now 100 participating LEAP Labs and Universities that are willing to collaborate on research projects. We are excited to watch the future growth of both research collaborations and research projects that the product from successful partnerships.
For those organizations that are already part of LEAP, we thank you for your willingness to work together to tackle the research needs for the forensic science community. For those of you that are unfamiliar with LEAP or are interested in joining, please visit the ASCLD Forensic Research Committee Webpage for more information on the program. Join us and help develop the future forensic capabilities of tomorrow – today.
The Forensic Research Committee has extended the deadline on the LEAP Award, Innovation Award, and Evaluation Validation Reward to March 1. For more information about LEAP or other FRC initiatives, please visit the ASCLD FRC Webpage at: https://www.ascld.org/forensic-research-committee/.
The ASCLD Nominating & Awards Committee is accepting nominations for the Member of the Year Award and the prestigious Briggs White Award. ASCLD Member of the Year Award recognizes members who have embodied the ASCLD Mission, have participated substantively in ASCLD activities, or have contributed to an ASCLD project or committee. Nominations are due by February 1.
The Briggs White Award, which was established in honor of our first chair recognizes a present ASCLD member who has demonstrated managerial excellence in forensic science. The award plaque will be presented to the recipient at the Annual Symposium in Boston. Please submit nominations by March 8.
Have a terrific week!
Be well,
Erin
Erin P. Forry
ASCLD President
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ASCLD monthly board meeting, 3rd Friday of every month
Next meeting: February 19th, 2021 at 1:00pm EST
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Weekly News and Resources |
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ASCLD has a few award opportunities with deadlines listed below. If you have any questions, please contact office@ascld.org and your questions will be forwarded to Nominations & Awards committee chair, Director Scott O’Neill.
deadline February 15
The application for any examination in the following year is due December 31.
deadline February 1
deadline February 15th
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The Forensic Research Committee of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors announces
The LEAP Collaboration Award. (flyer)
The Outstanding Evaluation/Validation Award. (flyer)
The Second Annual Innovation Award. (flyer)
Application Process:
1. Complete the application, found at https://www.ascld.org/nominations/
2. Include a 1 – 2 page description of the evaluation/validation study, specifically addressing the criteria
Application Window: December 14th, 2020 - January 18th, 2021
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Abstract submissions deadline for the 2021 ASCLD Symposium is January 31, 2021.
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The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee
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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 fourth episode
will be held on Thursday February 4th at 1:00 EST and will focus on The Future
of Genetic Genealogy. It will feature talks by Daniel Kling and Andreas Tillmar
from National Board of Forensic Medicine, Sweden, on diving inside the black
box and approaches to generate high density SNP data. It will also feature a
talk by CeCe Moore, of Parabon, on the power of investigative genetic
genealogy.
The live event is limited to 100 people. See the flyer HERE
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Health and Safety in the Lab: More important now than ever before
Health and safety in forensic labs has been a policy topic staple for many years. Whether it is managing the environmental factors in the lab, keeping analysts safe while they process evidence, preparing risk assessments for health and safety, and having proper PPE available for your staff, you probably have a policy discussing each of these situations and many more. However, with the added burden of COVID-19 protocols, are we continuing to effectively manage our health and safety programs? Keeping safety committees engaged has been an issue all along, but with COVID protocols in place, is COVID fatigue effecting general lab health and safety?
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Forensic applications of DART-MS: A review of recent literature Executive Summary
ASCLD Forensic Research Committee Future Forensics Subcommittee
Review Reference E. Sisco, T.P. Forbes Forensic applications of DART-MS: A review of recent literature Forensic Chemistry, 22 (2021) 100294. DOI: 10.1016/j.forc.2020.100294
This review article covers applications of direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry (DARTMS) from 2015 – 2020. Also discussed in the article are the fundamentals of DART-MS, approaches for sample analysis, and data analysis trends.
Click HERE to view the Review article
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ASCLD members: We need you!
To make a video in the comfort of your own space (whether that be home/office/outside…be creative) telling us why you like being a member of ASCLD!
Being a part of ASCLD helps our leadership across the world build connections with its memberships and allows members to gain more knowledge in this field by learning from others.
So what are we looking for? A video of you can include:
- Introduce yourself (your name, title, organization, years in the field)
- What got you in the field?
- What made you decide to join ASCLD?
- What benefits have you gained as a member of ASCLD?
- Is there anything you would want a prospective ASCLD member to know?
The video should be around 3 min to 3.5 min in length.
We are asking for videos so we can stay connected with our community during these unprecedented times. Additionally, it was pointed out to us that often times it can be intimidating to take that “leap” into engaging in such a large organization with such great leadership in our field. Let’s show those leaders out there in crime laboratories that we are a welcoming group seeking a diverse membership. Please consider helping us!”
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Stop by and visit the ASCLD Forensic Research Committee Validation and Evaluation Repository! Our goal is share information about important Validations and Evaluations with the forensic science community by compiling a list of unique validations and evaluations conducted by forensic labs and universities. The repository will catalog these efforts and provide the contact information of the people responsible for the work. Join ASCLD in this effort to foster information sharing, promote communication, and read about the accomplishments of others worldwide!
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Also, please continue to submit your photos to social media with the hashtag #ASCLDfun
Here are some photos of forensic science in action!
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Is your laboratory doing something exciting like building a new lab, incorporating new standards or tackling and overcoming operational challenges during COVID? Are you interested in submitting an article for publication in the CLM? Please submit articles electronically to https://www.ascld.org/clm-submission/
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Did you know ASCLD has a preferred journal via FSI Synergy? ASCLD has signed Journal Affiliation Agreements with Elsevier B.V. Publishing. This agreement gives ASCLD members some advantages for submitting articles. Elsevier B.V. has agreed to an open access fee of $550 (plus applicable taxes) for ASCLD members to publish, with preferential treatment to ASCLD members in terms of waivers. In return, ASCLD allows Elsevier B.V. Publishing to use the ASCLD logo and trademarks and a membership roster once a year. |
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NIJ recently released a new FY2021 solicitation on “Research and Evaluation on Crime Laboratory Systems and Processes”. With this solicitation NIJ seeks proposals for research and evaluation projects aimed at understanding and strengthening the accuracy and reliability of a crime laboratory’s systems and processes.
Closing date is March 22, 2021
Please note:
In FY 2021, applications will be submitted in a new two-step process, each with its own deadline:
1. Submit an SF-424 and an SF-LLL in Grants.gov.
Step 1, Grants.gov, Deadline: March 8, 2021, by 11:59 PM ET
2. Submit the full application including attachments in JustGrants.
Step 2, Application JustGrants, Deadline: March 22, 2021, by 11:59 PM ET
For more information, click HERE. |
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The Consortium of Forensic Science Organizations
Formed in 2000, CFSO is an association of six forensic science professional organizations: American Academy of Forensic Sciences; American Society of Crime Lab Directors; International Association for Identification; American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law; National Association of Medical Examiners; and Society of Forensic Toxicologists - American Board of Forensic Toxicology.
These professional organizations together represent more than 21,000 forensic science professionals across the United States.
CFSO worked with BJA to put on a webinar for our membership on navigation of the new JustGrant system and errors they were encountering. The presentation and the slides have now been posted. Please forward to any that may be interested.
See the November 2020 Newsletter HERE.
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Community Research, Newsletters, and Surveys |
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73rd AAFS Annual Scientific Meeting Goes Virtual!
The 73rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) will be held virtually from February 15-19, 2021. Abstracts were due by October 8, 2020. Notification of Acceptance will be mailed to all presenting authors by November 27, 2020. Meeting registration materials will be subsequently sent to presenting authors.
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Contribute To the ASB
Your contribution will help ensure the ASB's success in establishing standards and best practices for the forensic science community. Your contribution may be tax deductible as an ordinary and necessary business expense for federal income tax purposes. Make a donation.
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ASB updates from ANSI Standards Action
To view a summary of items of interest to ASB members in ANSI Standards Action, visit the ANSI Standards Action Weekly Report folder on the ASB Workspace page. Please contact asb@aafs.org if you have difficulties logging on to the Workspace site.
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The Forensic Science Masters Program at Arcadia University is currently working on a project to gather the opinions of forensic biologists about “Activity Level Evaluative Reporting” through a Qualtrics survey. With the increased stress and uncertainty because of COVID19, we understand that time is limited. The survey should not take more than 5-10 minutes depending on the depth of your answers. This survey bridges important gaps in forensic literature and aims to better inform practitioners regarding activity level
reporting.
Please feel free to share the link to the survey below with your lab staff. We would appreciate getting the thoughts and opinions of as many forensic scientists as possible.
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The Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science monthly Standards Bulletin is now available. Read about the latest DNA standard to be added to the OSAC Registry and the nine other standards currently open for Registry comment. Also learn about the recently published toxicology and footwear and tire standards, the eight standards open for comment at standards developing organizations, and the new documents being initiated.
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August 22-26, 2021 | Together Toward Tomorrow | Boston, MA
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Are you interested in presenting at ASCLD 2021? Click HERE to submit an abstract.
Continue to watch the 2021 ASCLD Symposium website here. for important updates. If you have any questions, please contact our Symposium Chair, Laura Sudkamp, laura.sudkamp@ky.gov.
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2021 NIJ FORENSIC SCIENCE R&D SYMPOSIUM
The Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCoE) will be assisting the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) in hosting the annual NIJ Forensic Science Research and Development (R&D) Symposium on February 16, 2021 from 10:00 AM to 5:40 PM ET.
Click HERE for more details.
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ASCLD Emerging Issues: Employee Webinar Series (Archived)
Providing training and education to our membership is a core mission for ASCLD. Despite the unfortunate cancellation of our annual symposium this year, the Symposium Planning and Training and Education Committees found a way to bring timely and relevant content that would have been experienced in Denver, to the ASCLD membership.
Through a generous partnership with the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence at RTI International, ASCLD presented a three-part webinar series entitled ASCLD Emerging Issues: Employee Wellness. Providing training and education in employee wellness is part of the current ASCLD Strategic Plan. In an already stressful profession, as we adapt and lead through the COVID-19 pandemic, this topic is particularly timely.
In June 2020, ASCLD Emerging Issues: Employee Wellness presented the webinars bleow. To view these and other archived training opportunities please visit: https://forensiccoe.org/allresources/
Speakers: Andrew Levin, Jonathan McGrath, Heidi Putney, & Danielle Crimmins
Speaker: Jody Wolf
Speaker: Robert Kirkby
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ANAB - Upcoming training events
New! ANAB is offering live instructor lead online courses to meet the need for continued learning in light of widespread travel restrictions and the need for social distancing. Each class is offered via WebEx and includes the opportunity for participants to submit questions, as well as interact with the instructor and other participants.
Self-paced Training (Web-based)
Self-paced Training (Web-based)
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The Coronavirus and Stress: How they affect your Lab
Jane Northup Ph.D.
RI State Crime Laboratory
HHS Secretary Azar recently announced that the US expects to have 40 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of the year. That equates to a vaccine for 20 million people. With COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across the United States rising due to cold weather moving in, people spending more time indoors, and COVID fatigue setting in, the news of a vaccine coming soon gives much hope. The CDC recommends that healthcare workers be given priority, including nursing homes and congregate care residents and staff. However, there are an estimated 21 million healthcare workers in the US, let alone the over 3 million individuals who work and live in nursing care facilities. These two groups will be given first preference to a vaccine leaving the rest of the country to wait for future vaccines. At best, the bulk of your agency's staff may not be eligible for a vaccine until late spring in 2021. We know that everyone should wear a mask, stay at least 6 feet apart, avoid crowds, and wash hands frequently. But, with at least another six months looming ahead, are we doing enough, and is it sustainable through 2021, if not longer?
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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
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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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