Happy Holidays! Having a membership from around the world with a variety of religions, customs, and traditions, I hope you are able to enjoy the festivities of the season. We also approach the closing of a hectic 2021. What a year! I am hopeful that 2022 will calm down a bit and let us catch our breaths. 

I would like to thank all of you for your concern and support for my home state of Kentucky following the tornadoes. Early on, we were not sure of what we were facing and it was very comforting to know that we had the support and offered resources from our Crime Laboratory community. The outpouring was amazing and speaks volumes to the strength we have as a group; as a family. 

January will bring the legislative sessions to most of us in the United States. Often this results in requests to Crime Laboratories from legislators for data and other odd bits of information with a short turnaround time for responses. Don’t forget that ASCLD is here and often other members will have the information you need at their fingertips. Find me Laura.Sudkamp@ky.gov or John Byrd at ExecutiveDirector@ASCLD.org so that we can reach out to the larger community on your behalf. 

One of the legislative issues our state is dealing with is the search warrant requirement for blood in DUI cases where the subject refuses. The question of oral fluids instead of blood is looming on my horizon. One starting point that I look forward to listening to comes from ASCLD. Our FRC committee’s next Lightning Talks episode will be held on January 27th at 1:00 EST and will focus on Oral Fluid Toxicology. It will feature talks by Madeleine 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. To register, visit https://www.ascld.org/forensic-research-committee/. I invite others to come learn with me. The FRC has also posted their FRC Research Priority Areas – 2022-2024 list on the ASCLD.org website.

The Rhode Island State Crime Laboratory submitted one of the most upbeat and realistic safety committee bulletins that I have ever encountered. Please check it out below. I highly recommend that you take a look at it. 

NIJ also submitted the 14th Volume of their Forensic Science R&D Reports for ASCLD Crime Lab Minute. You can find it below. It includes summaries of seven research topics including NamUs, ALS for cutaneous bruise detection, 3D crime scene mapping, antioxidants and chelators for DNA sample preservation, drug testing of hair samples, and as a former Drug Chemist, I found the “Establishing Sufficiency Thresholds for Assessing the Quality of Mass Spectral Data” especially interesting. 

The window for nominations/applications will close with the New Year. You can nominate someone (http://www.ascld.org/nominations/) for the Briggs-White award or the Ed Rhoades Scholarship by December 31, 2021. If you are interested in running for the Board or would like to nominate someone that we can reach out to and ask, send an email to office@ascld.org by December 31, 2021. There also the three Forensic Research Committee award nominations/applications that can be located on the above referenced nominations link. We really need your input into all of these awards and recognition. ASCLD is a group effort in every aspect. Support and recognize your peers for their hard work and great minds. Registration for the 2022 symposium, “Facing the Challenge: Mission Possible”, is open and active (www.ascldsymposium.com ).

Again, I hope you enjoy the holiday season!

Laura