On September 27, 2024, NIJ announced $13.6 million in new funding to support 24 projects under the “FY24 Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes” solicitation. Through this program, NIJ continues to advance the speed, accuracy, and reliability of forensic analysis, which bolsters the administration of justice.
Funding Highlights for Fiscal Year 2024
Since 2009, NIJ has invested over $313 million in its Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes program – its largest ongoing research initiative – making it a global leader in the advancement of forensic science. The program spans the breadth of forensic science disciplines from forensic biology, medicolegal death investigation, and toxicology to trace evidence analysis and more. The following are a few examples from this year’s awards:
The Impact of Processing and Sampling Procedures on the Integrity of Forensically Relevant Biomolecules in Bones for Human Identification and Forensic Intelligence Purposes, Sam Houston State University – Huntsville, TX ($823,669)
Challenging skeletal samples are often encountered in missing persons cases, mass disasters, or various military conflicts which are important for criminal investigations and humanitarian efforts. Every year thousands of unidentified bodies are discovered and analyzed for identification. Unfortunately, current forensic methods for processing highly decomposed or skeletonized material focus on anatomical information and use a range of harsh methods. These techniques neglect the preservation of biomolecules, which deprives investigators of major sources of biological information. This project focuses on the preserving skeletal material and the remaining biomolecules, both of which give genetic and phenotypic information, by optimizing processing protocols of skeletal remains and sampling methods. How forensic bones are cleaned and processed affects the integrity of bone biomolecules, including the success of downstream DNA analyses, multi-omics analyses for human identification, investigative leads, and forensic intelligence. This research will impact multiple forensic disciplines including forensic biology/DNA, forensic anthropology and odontology, and medicolegal death investigation and pathology, as well as fulfill some of the relevant focus areas and operational requirements set forth by NIJ’s Forensic Science Research and Development Technology Working Group.
Droplet digital PCR: assessing the increased performance for DNA quantification in forensic science, North Carolina State University – Raleigh, NC ($422,235)
DNA quantification is an important step as downstream amplification performs best when used with an accurately determined input quantity: either too much or too little DNA can result in stochastic effects that can complicate interpretation. Typically, quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays designed for nuclear DNA or mitochondrial DNA targets are performed in casework. However, the current quantitative polymerase chain reaction assays have shortcomings that can be improved upon (e.g., a standard curve is used to determine DNA copy number in a sample, which provides indirect quantification and is sensitive to reproducibility issues, and amplification can be negatively impacted by sample-associated inhibitors). Droplet digital polymerase chain reaction addresses these shortcomings by partitioning one reaction into ~20,000 smaller reactions prior to polymerase chain reaction to assess each molecule in the sample and partition any inhibitors present to minimize impact on the result. This project will assess the increased performance that droplet digital polymerase chain reaction provides over quantitative polymerase chain reaction by combining five published targets into one assay to allow for simultaneous analysis of nuclear DNA degradation, male DNA quantification, mitochondrial DNA quantification, and inhibitor presence. This research will positively impact the forensic biology/DNA discipline, adheres to the FBI Quality Assurance Standards, and fulfills some of the relevant focus areas and operational requirements set forth by NIJ’s Forensic Science Research and Development Technology Working Group.
Research and Development for the Creation of Validated Protocols for the Forensic Detection and Quantification of Psilocybin and Psilocin in Complex Edible Matrices, University at Albany, SUNY – Albany, NY ($781,087)
Psilocybin, a natural product that is present in over 200 species of Psilocybe mushrooms (aka “magic mushrooms”), and its hallucinogenic breakdown product, psilocin, are Schedule I drugs in the U.S. However, these drugs are being increasingly legalized or decriminalization at the state level, due in part to the results of medical research showing its potential efficacy as a treatment for mental health disorders. This has contributed to a spike in availability, production, and retail sales of food and drink products containing psilocybin mushrooms or their psychoactive small-molecule components, raising public health concerns. This project seeks to develop an optimized protocol for the rapid detection and differentiation of psilocybin and psilocin in edible matrices by direct analysis in real time-high resolution mass spectrometry, with no sample pretreatment steps. A rapid, universal, and efficient extraction approach for psilocybin and psilocin, independent of the complexity of the matrix will also be developed. With the optimized extraction protocol, quantification methods for psilocybin and psilocin by several techniques will be developed. The stability of psilocybin and psilocin in food and drink products as a function of the temperature and pH of the environment will also be investigated.
A Comprehensive Evaluation and Error Rate Assessment of Field Colorimetric Testing for Seized Drugs, RTI International – Research Triangle Park, NC ($499,902)
Color testing may be used to field test suspected drugs in several operational environments, such as roadside testing during a traffic stop. In these scenarios, the sample screening is performed as a preliminary test for the presence or absence of a controlled drug class to inform subsequent operational procedures or decisions. Although it is well-understood that the purpose of presumptive tests is not to replace laboratory analysis, and that confirmatory lab testing should be performed for legal proceedings, this is not always the outcome in practice. In light of findings in a recent report and knowing that field color test results may be used in guilty plea or plea bargain decisions prior to or in the absence of lab testing, understanding the accuracy and reliability of these frequently used tests is of utmost importance. This research aims to address critical gaps in the understanding and evaluation of color tests used in the field by law enforcement and in forensic laboratories. The study seeks to achieve several goals: (1) to comprehensively characterize the performance of field color tests; (2) to assess the inherent accuracy, reliability, and error rates of these tests and to explore the operational influences on test reliability; and (3) to evaluate the impact of real-world sample compositions on test performance.
Black Box Evaluation of Hand Detail Image Comparisons, Noblis, Inc. – Reston, VA ($746,866)
The forensic comparison of human hand images can be relevant to investigations of the perpetrators of child sexual abuse materials (images and videos). This project will conduct a comprehensive, multiphase study to characterize this emerging forensic discipline and provide empirical data to practitioners, standards organizations, and the legal system. This includes a detailed understanding of the capabilities, variability, and limits of examiners; the associations between examiners’ abilities and their training and experience; and the extent to which a single examiner’s conclusion is accurate and can be reproduced by a second examiner.
Improving the Data Interpretation Process in Forensic Fire Debris Analysis, Marshall University – Huntington, WV ($179,968)
Forensic fire debris analysis involves the examination of evidence from a fire scene to determine if an ignitable liquid is present. This process includes the subjective recognition and comparison of patterns in chemical data from questioned samples to patterns from known reference materials. When an examiner is tasked with making subjective decisions at key stages of a process, they may be susceptible to cognitive biases that can impact the reliability of their results. This project aims to improve the reliability of data interpretation in forensic fire debris analysis by investigating the impact of human factors, with a specific focus on the potential for cognitive bias arising from exposure to contextual information.
MOSAIC: Unifying Methods of Sex, Stature, Affinity, & Age for Identification through Computational Standardization, Michigan State University – East Lansing, MI ($2,062,069)
To aid in the identification of unknown human remains, forensic anthropologists are often called upon to create a biological profile, or an estimation of the unknown individual's age, biological sex, population affinity (i.e., ancestry), and stature. However, forensic anthropologists work with a bewildering array of methods that may produce idiosyncratic results, with no evidence-based way to determine how differing results should be weighed or reported. MOSAIC, or Methods of Sex, Stature, Affinity, & Age for Identification through Computational Standardization, is a computer program that will produce a holistic estimation for all biological profile parameters. The use of a reference sample of matched data and a non-partitioned approach addresses pitfalls in traditional approaches, while standardizing the analytical process of biological profile estimation.
Effects of insects and soils on the assembly of universal microbial decomposers and prediction of postmortem interval, Colorado State University – Fort Collins, CO ($481,616)
Establishing a timeline of events associated with death is fundamental to medicolegal death investigations. However, estimating postmortem interval is difficult and may require the use of biological-based evidence such as microorganisms and insects. Therefore, the researchers aim to address knowledge gaps about how microbial decomposer communities interact with insect and soil sources and how the absence of these potential sources affects postmortem interval accuracy. The purpose of the proposed research is to create a microbial-based model to predict postmortem interval across multiple environmental contexts, and thus increase knowledge about physical evidence.
Review the full list of fiscal year 2024 awards.
Review NIJ’s Forensic Science Strategic Research Plan.