Greetings ASCLD Colleagues and Friends,
I hope you all are gearing up for another great week!
Last week, my husband, Bart, and I were excited to watch my daughter, Cadence, participate in her board breaking event for karate. The kids were all excited, nervous and very determined. Their instructor walked them through the process and encouraged them to “reset” and keep trying even if they did not break a board on the first try. I was just amazed at how mentally resilient these kids were. It is a hard thing to focus on foot placement and get yourself in the right headspace while all these eyes are staring at you and cameras are flashing when you are eight years old. None of the kids broke their board on the first kick. Watching them step back, take a breath, reset their form, and try again was rewarding.
It reminded me of the resilience all of us must display and the upcoming ASCLD Symposium- which features the theme of resilience. We are hard at work getting this event organized and we will be launching the website soon. I hope you have cleared your calendar to join us in Austin, TX on April 30th-May 5th at the Renaissance Austin Hotel. It will be our 50th Anniversary so we need all of you to celebrate with us!
I know many of you utilize, review and reflect often on the Project FORESIGHT benchmark report for FY2021. I am happy to share with you that it is now available here.
You will see, based on the data, that many of the concerns we have as a community are still reflected. Forensic science laboratories are still observing increasing demands with shortfalls in fulltime positions.
As we strive to meet demands, we are also striving to move forward with technology and scientific process. The best way for us to succeed in our endeavors is to work together. The ASCLD FRC Collaboration Hub has another opportunity to 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.
Well, I have to finish up my coffee and figure out where to place a broken board in my home office! I hope you all have a fantastic and productive week.
Be well,
Jen
Jennifer D. Naugle
ASCLD President
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ASCLD monthly board meeting
The next Board of Directors meeting date will be on Friday, August 19th at 1pm CST.
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Weekly News and Resources
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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:
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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!
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The Project FORESIGHT benchmark report for FY2021 is now available HERE
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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.
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Videos from the Annual Symposium in Reno are now available in the on the ASCLD website
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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
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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
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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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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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Crime Lab Minute Sponsors
For More Information, Click the LOGO below:
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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
Click on links below for articles
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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:
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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