Forensic Technology Center of Excellence

In episode twelve of our 2018 Drugs Season, just Science speaks to Dr. Paul Speaker, from west Virginia University, about the economic burden our justice system has from opioid deaths. They are estimating that the crime labs alone are spending around 270 million dollars a year just on the opioid crisis. Laboratory budgets are not growing fast enough to handle this drain on resources. Listen along as Just Science delves into the data of the opioid crisis. This episode will conclude the FTCOE’s season on drugs.

Episode three of the Special Release Leadership season, just Science sat down with Martina Bison-Huckaby. the Director of the Center for Executive Education at West Virginia University's College of Business and Economics. Just Science examines how understanding and relating with people separates leadership from management. Also, we discuss that taking business techniques, and human psychology into a crime lab leadership position can be challenging. Martina Bison Huckaby explains how West Virginia University.

In episode three of our Forensic Advancement season, Just Science interviews Dr. Paul Speaker from West Virginia University about the jurisdictional return on investment for DMA Databases. With the help of FORESIGHT crime labs can have not only an emotional argument but also an economical argument for testing all sexual assault kits. Just Science explores questions in this episode such as, should labs test all sexual assault kits? Should labs prioritize by if it was a consent case? does this data have more than just a societal impact? Stay tuned as Dr.

In episode one of our Sexual Assault Awareness Month season, Just Science sat down with Jody West, the forensic science manager for the forensic biology section at the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory, and Dr. Patricia Melton, a senior research Forensic Social Scientist at RTI International. Discuss resources aimed to help Forensic Science Service Providers increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of sexual assault kit testing. Among Forensics Science Service providers, there's a variability in how they approach testing sexual assault kits.

In the final episode of our case study season Just Science sat down with Ashleigh Berg, senior forensic investigator for the Denton County Sheriff's Office, to discuss a capital murder case where a combination of a variety of forensic evidence types aided the resolution of the case. When a homicide occurs in a dynamic environment, like inside a moving vehicle that was involved in two car crashes, it can pose challenges for reconstructing the timeline of events and differentiating incident related evidence from post-incident artifacts.

In episode three of our case study season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Michael Nirenberg, a clinical and forensic podiatrist and current president of the American Society of Forensic Podiatry, to discuss how analyzing a perpetrator's gait and footprint evidence located at a crime scene can help advance investigations and resolve cases.

In episode two of our case studies Season Just Science sat down with Tim Fayle Training Capability Lead for IDEMIA Australasia and Chair of the International Association for Identifications Latent Print Certification Board to discuss the utility of friction ridge detail inadvertently captured via photographs as a valuable and potentially underutilized type of evidence within a variety of case types.

In episode one of our case study season just sat down with Anthony Earles, Forensics Identification Unit supervisor at the Maui Police Department, to discuss the Maui wildfires that occurred on August 8th, 2023, including the collaborative nature of the mass disaster emergency response effort, the forensic methodologies and technologies used to identify recovered human remains and the various challenges encountered during response mobilization due to the isolated geographic location of Maui County, Hawaii.

In the final episode of our Community Based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season Just Science sits down, Kristen Lee, substance use program coordinator at the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Lizann Roberts, executive director of the Coastal Georgia Indicators Coalition. And Tara Jennings, strategic planning administrator for Chatham County government, to discuss their COSSUP funded Community Data platform, which helps connect health and justice data for an individual so that first responders can best meet their needs.

In episode seven of our Community based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season.

In episode six of our community based solutions for Substance Use Challenges, Season Just Science sits down with Doctor Terry Kerns, substance abuse law enforcement coordinator of the Nevada Office of the Attorney General.

In episode three of our Community Based solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Doctor Chris Delcher, associate professor in the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science and director of the Institute for Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy at the University of Kentucky, to discuss how his team tracks community drug use through wastewater analysis. Much like analyzing a urine sample to determine what drugs an individual is using. Analyzing wastewater from a community offers insight into drug trends across an entire region of people.

In episode two of our Community-based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season, Just Science sits down with Bill Barbour, Fatal Overdose Surveillance Program Manager at King County Medical Examiner’s Office, to discuss his team’s methods for rapid toxicology results after a suspected overdose death.

In episode one of our Community Based Solutions for Substance Use Challenges season just sat down with Doctor Samantha Tolliver, Chief Toxicologist for the District of Columbia Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, or DC OCME, to discuss how their agency uses their Bureau of Justice Assistances Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use Program, or COSSUP, funding to improve their drug testing and analysis processes.

In episode four of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Mark Pooley, founder of Native Search Solutions, to discuss how the challenges faced by Indigenous communities impact sexual assault investigations. In the United States, many Indigenous communities are geographically isolated, which contributes to a lack of resources such as police staffing and training, healthcare, or even access to the Internet.

In episode three of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Rebecca Reid, Laramie County Coroner in Wyoming, and Meghan Clarke, Family Advocate Coordinator at the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner, to discuss the development of new roles in MDI offices that focus on providing support to the families of decedents. On a daily basis, the staff of medical examiner and coroner offices encounter grieving families who are in need of compassion, resources, or just a listening ear.

In episode two of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Lindsey McNaughton, founder of the National Association for Forensic Autopsy Technicians, to discuss the importance of forensic autopsy technicians and her efforts to create more resources for this community. When someone dies unexpectedly or of unnatural causes, performing a full autopsy examination can be an extensive process that requires many steps and close attention to detail.

In episode one of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Cory Russo, Medical Examiner Investigator at the Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner, and Chelsea Brown, Senior Deputy Coroner at the Orange County Coroner's Office, to discuss how internship programs at medical examiner and coroner's offices can be a great way to pursue a career in the field. While medicolegal death investigators are often heard about in the media, the path to join this profession is often unclear.

In episode four of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season Just Science sat down with Katharine Pope, a Research Public Health Analyst at RTI International, and Elissia Conlon, a Special Advisor to the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, to discuss mass fatality incident management and disaster victim identification. A mass fatality incident includes any incident where there are enough fatalities to require the involvement of a special operation or organization such as a natural disaster, large transportation accident, or terrorist attacks.

In episode one of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Kenneth Aschheim, Assistant Chief Forensic Ontologist for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, to discuss how dental evidence can be used to help identify human remains. Due to their strength, heat resistance, and lack of decomposition over time, teeth are one of the most resilient substances found in the human body. As a result, forensic odontologists can use the teeth of decedents to match the antemortem dental records in order to help identify unknown human remains. Listen as Dr.

In episode three of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Mark Pooley, founder of Native Search Solutions, and Dustin Driscoll, Research Public Health Analyst at RTI International, to discuss the many barriers faced by indigenous communities when it comes to identifying missing and murdered persons.