Forensic laboratories

In episode five of our community based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season Just Science sits down with doctor Nicole Swiderski, New Jersey path to recovery grant manager and Jass Pelland, New Jersey Path to Recovery program manager to discuss how the New Jersey State Parole Board's 2021 Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use Program Award is supporting peer recovery and other services that help individuals with a substance use disorder navigate reentering the community after release from prison. Those who are&n

In episode four of our community based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Doctor Nabarun Dasgupta, pharmacoepidemiologist and senior scientist at the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, and Erin Tracy, research chemist in the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, to discuss their unique approach to providing drug checking services on a broad scale.

In this special release episode, Just Science sat down with Chuck Heurich, senior physical scientist with the National Institute of Justice, and Dr. Jennifer Snippen, experienced medicolegal death investigator and consultant, to discuss recent updates to NIJ's guide for the Death Scene investigator. 25 years ago NIJ released a guide to help medicolegal death investigators navigate complex scenes and cases, a document that has since evolved with the development of best practices and technological advancements.

In this 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release episode, Just Science sat down with Doctor Katherine Scafide, Associate Professor and sexual assault response researcher at George Mason University, to discuss how her team is developing methods to improve the visibility of bruises on black and brown skin tones following a sexual assault involving victims of color. During a sexual assault medical forensic exam capturing injuries such as bruises can be crucial for helping bring a case to justice.

In this 2024 Sexual Assault Awareness Month special release episode, Just Science sat down with Erin House, Special Assistant Attorney General in Michigan, Richard Johnson, Kalamazoo SAKI investigator, and Lindsey King, Kalamazoo Community Based Victim Advocate, to discuss their team based approach for investigating sexual assault cold cases. While DNA can be a helpful tool for convicting sexual assault offenders, many sexual assault cold cases do not include DNA evidence.

In episode three of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Orlando Salinas, Lieutenant Trampas Gooding, and Jennifer Pollock from the Texas Department of Public Safety to discuss how statutes regarding lawfully owed DNA and familial DNA searches are utilized in sexual assault investigations. When an unknown DNA profile is found in samples collected within a sexual assault kit, the unknown profile is searched within national DNA databases such as the combined DNA index system, also known as CODIS.

In episode two of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, the Associate Dean of the Brigham Young University College of Nursing, to discuss the factors that contribute to low prosecution rates for sexual assault cases. In our last episode, Dr. Valentine highlighted the importance of sexual assault kit submission and DNA evidence as the groundwork for prosecution in sexual assault cases.

In episode one of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, to discuss how large-scale data collection can provide a better understanding of sexual assault cases and improve sexual assault response practices, policy, and education. Throughout her career, Dr. Valentine identified a gap in data driven practices for responding to sexual assault cases. Using her experience providing care to survivors, Dr.

In episode four of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Bridget Kinnier and Bethany Smith, the President and Executive Director of the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, also knows ABMDI, to discuss the importance of standardization and accreditation within the MDI community. Because of the complex and multidisciplinary role of a medicolegal death investigator, it is important that there are national standards of knowledge for those who work in the field.

In episode two of our Unidentified Human Remains season, Just Science sat down with Neal Parsons, a Research Forensic Scientist at RTI International, to discuss how rapid DNA analysis has become an important method for identifying unknown human remains, especially in cases of mass fatality. Rapid DNA analysis is a fully automated process of developing DNA profiles without the need for a DNA laboratory or human interpretation.

In this episode, Just Science sat down with Dr. Mohammed Almazrouei, a forensic practitioner with the Abu Dhabi Police, to discuss his dissertation work, which examines how workplace stressors may affect decision making in the field of forensic science. In their daily jobs, forensic science practitioners are tasked with making countless decisions that can make a large impact on people's lives. As a result of this experience, Dr. Almazrouei conducted a pivotal research study to examine how stress affects the way that forensic practitioners make these important decisions. Listen along as Dr.

In episode four of our Roadmap to Improving Technology Transition Season, Just on sat down with Doctor Catherine Grgicak, associate professor of chemistry at Rutgers University, Camden, and Stephanie Stoiloff, chief of the Forensic Services division at the Miami-Dade Police Department to discuss their real world experiences with introducing new forensic technology into practice. While new forensic research products are often innovative and interesting, they may not always be practical in operational forensic laboratories.

In episode two of our Roadmap to Improving Technology Transition season, Just Science sat down with Cleveland Miles, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigations Division of Forensic Science, and Henry Maynard, Lead Research Scientist for the United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, to discuss the importance of building partnerships in the forensic community to effectively communicate and advance forensic technology.

In episode three of our Roadmap to Improving Technology Transition season Just Science sat down with Doctor Catherine Grgicak, Associate Professor of Chemistry at Rutgers University, Camden, and Henry Maynard, Lead Research Scientist for the United States Army Criminal Investigation Laboratory, to discuss the importance of developing research infrastructure within forensic laboratories and communication channels with collaborators. Forensic research and advancement are impossible without the input of forensic practitioners.

In episode one of our Roadmap to Improving Technology Transition Season, Just Science sat down with Lucas Zarwell, Director of the Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences at the National Institute of Justice, and Doctor Jeri Ropero-Miller, Principal Scientist and Director of the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence at RTI International, to discuss a newly published roadmap that guides the transition of forensic research and technology innovations into the forensic practitioner community.

In episode three of our Resilient Leadership mini season. Just Science sat down with Jody Wolf, Crime Lab Administrator for the Phoenix Police Department, Tim Scanlon, President of Forensic Analysis Consulting and Training LLC, and Mikayla Martin, Forensic Scientist at RTI International, to highlight the impact of human factors on forensic DNA interpretation. Human Factors Research is a discipline that examines concepts like undue influence, employee wellness and human error, which impact the decisions that forensic science practitioners make on a daily basis.

In episode two, of our Resilient Leadership mini Season, Just Science sat down with Henry Maynard to discuss the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors, also known as ASCLD Forensic Research Committee. As researchers work to create better tools and technologies for the forensic science community, it is crucial that they are able to consult with practicing forensic professionals to better understand their needs and experiences.

This podcast episode was recorded at the 2023 American Society of Crime Laboratory Director Symposium in Austin, Texas, themed Resilient Leadership. This mini season will tease out what resiliency looks like in the forensic science community with a range of subject matter experts. Today, we'll be discussing a practical guide for employee wellness. Here to guide us in our discussion is Jamilah Dick and Meredith Rosenberg from the New York City office of Chief Medical Examiner. 

In part two of the final episode of our Strengthening the Forensic Workforce Season, Just Science continued the conversation with Dr. Peter Stout, Dr. Ray Wickenheiser and Matthew Gamette discussing the future of the forensic workforce. FEPAC accredited institutions provide high quality forensic science education for undergraduate and graduate students. However, coursework does not adequately emulate what working in a forensic laboratory and pursuing a career in forensic science will entail.

In Episode eight of our Strengthening the Forensic Workforce Season, just sat down with Dr. Peter Stout, president of the Houston Forensic Science Center, Dr. Ray Wickenheiser, Director of the New York State Police Crime Laboratory System and Matthew Gamette, Director of the Idaho State Police Forensic Services Laboratory System, to discuss their perspectives on forensic science training and recommendations for students and faculty and FEPAC accredited programs. FEPAC accredited institutions are preparing students for future jobs in crime laboratories across the United States.

In Episode seven of our Strengthening the Forensic Workforce Season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Karen Scott, an Associate Professor at Arcadia University, and Dr. Jarrad Wagner, a Professor at Oklahoma State University, to discuss research collaborations, keeping on top of the dynamic drug landscape encountered in forensic toxicology case work. One of the requirements of FEPAC accreditation is that programs maintain partnerships with external collaborators such as forensic science laboratories and professional organizations.

In Episode six of our Strengthening the Forensic Workforce Season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Brooke Kammrath, a Professor of Forensic Science at the University of New Haven, and Dr. Tatiana Trejos, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Forensic and Investigative Science at West Virginia University to discuss career paths for individuals trained in trace evidence analytical methods. Trace evidence analysts are tasked with extracting information from small quantity samples like glass, paint fibers and gunshot residue to shed light on what possibly occurred at a crime scene.

In Episode five of our Strengthening the Forensic Workforce Season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Robin Cotton, Director of the Master of Science Program and Biomedical Forensic Sciences at Boston University School of Medicine, and Dr. Daniele Podini, a professor in the Department of Forensic Sciences at the George Washington University to discuss forensic biology and DNA. Forensic biology can be described as the application of biochemistry and cellular biology to solve forensic problems.