Dear ASCLD Colleagues,
 
Many of you have likely read, or are at least familiar with, the draft publication from NIST entitled DNA Mixture Interpretation: A Scientific Foundation Review. This report reviews methods that forensic laboratories use to interpret DNA profiles with mixtures of DNA from two or more people. This report was open to public comment and feedback. The ASCLD Board of Directors read this report and provided comments which are attached here.

After over 60 weekly messages, this is my final President’s Message! Serving as President of ASCLD has been a great experience. During my time on the Board, as well as my term as President, I hope that we have been able to provide our membership with resources you need to lead your laboratories, as well as to grow as leaders yourselves with Leadership Academy, information in the CLM, research partnerships, our Annual Symposium and more.

I also hope that ASCLD has fostered a collegial environment where people can build relationships with other forensic science leaders. One of the great things about ASCLD is our community. We come together to support one another in tough times with an email to check in on colleagues after reading about some high-profile crimes in their county, with a text to a friend to see how they are doing moving evidence from coastal labs as a hurricane approaches, or with a webinar to help everyone navigate through the COVID-19 pandemic. We come together to celebrate one another with a virtual happy hour to celebrate the retirement of a colleague, sharing news articles about a lab overcoming a backlog, or calling a colleague to listen to their excitement about their new laboratory.
 
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” -Helen Keller
 
Thank you for this opportunity to serve as your ASCLD President. Best wishes to you all.
 
Be well,

Erin
 
Erin P. Forry
ASCLD President