The mission of the ASCLD Forensic Research Committee (FRC) is to advance the core science of forensics by closing technology gaps and enabling future forensic technologies through the following strategic goals:
- Identifying the Research, Development, Technology, and Evaluation (RDT&E) needs and priorities for the forensic community
- Developing recommendations and courses of action
- Advising the ASCLD Board of Directors on RDT&E related issues, projects, and processes in order to support the development of enduring future forensic capabilities
FRC Collaboration Hub
The FRC collaboration hub hosts the Researcher-Practitioner Collaboration Directory. If you are a researcher looking for practitioners to participate in your study, or if you are a practitioner looking to become involved in research opportunities, this is the place for you. View the directory or submit your project for inclusion in the directory below.
RESEARCHERS
Complete the project form to advertise your project to practitioners looking for research opportunities.
PRACTITIONERS
Search the Researcher/Practitioner Collaboration Directory for projects in need of participants.
FRC Lightning Talks
The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee is proud to announce the next episode of a virtual “Lightning Talks” series to highlight new and emerging research in all areas of forensic science. Each episode will feature three short talks given by practitioners, researchers, and/or students.
The next episode will be held live on Thursday, May 12th at 1:00pm EST and will focus on Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry.
It will feature talks on hair analysis by Glen Jackson from West Virginia University, drug analysis by David Morello from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and accelerant analysis by Bob Wright from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Please note - the live event is limited to 100 people.
You can view the archive of previous Lightning Talks HERE
ASCLD Research Priorities (2022)
In May of 2017, at the American Society of Crime Laboratory Director's Meeting in Dallas Texas, the Forensic Research Committee (FRC) gathered to discuss forensic science research opportunities. From this discussion, the FRC created a list of high-impact research opportunities which was submitted to and prioritized by the ASCLD Board of Directors.
This list (updated in 2021) serves as a guiding light to researchers who are interested in conducting forensic science research and helps identify key areas where impactful research would support the forensic science community and enhance laboratory operations. You can find the updated 2022-2024 list below.
Forensic Research Committee Awards
Innovation Award
The goal of the Forensic Research Committee Innovation Award is to recognize activities highlighting new technologies, protocols, or tools that impact the operational forensic science laboratory. The award is open to scientists from all disciplines in operational U.S. forensic laboratories (Bio/DNA, drug chemistry, toxicology, fingerprints, questioned documents, trace/microscopy, firearms/toolmarks, other) who have performed the highlighted work in the past two years.
The winners of the 2021 FRC Innovation Award are Linda Eisenhart, Joseph Stephens, Jocelyn V. Abonamah, Colbey Ryman, Paige Riley, Nirmeen Salah, and Brian Eckenrode of the FBI Laboratory for their project, "A Method for Generating and Harnessing Objective Data for Standardized Trash Mark Examinations."
LEAP COLLABORATION AWARD
The goal of the Forensic Research Committee LEAP Collaboration Award is to recognize an outstanding partnership between LEAP participating academic and operational forensic laboratories. The award is open to scientists from all disciplines such as Bio/DNA, drug chemistry, toxicology, fingerprints, questioned documents, trace/microscopy, firearms/toolmarks, and digital/multimedia sciences in LEAP participating operational and academic forensic laboratories.
The winners of the 2021 FRC LEAP Collaboration Award are John Jay College of Criminal Justice and the New York Police Department for the project, "Non-destructive DNA recovery from handwritten documents using a dry vacuum technique."
OUTSTANDING EVALUATION / VALIDATION AWARD
The goal of the Forensic Research Committee Innovation Award is to recognize an outstanding evaluation/validation study that has been submitted to the FRC Validation and Evaluation Repository. The award is open to scientists from all disciplines (bio/DNA, drug chemistry, toxicology, fingerprints, questioned documents, trace/microscopy, firearms/toolmarks, other) in operational forensic labs or research laboratories.
The winner of the 2021 FRC LEAP Collaboration Award is Lindsey Admire of the North Carolina State Laboratory for the project, "Implementing Hematoxylin into Casework at the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory."
LABORATORIES AND EDUCATORS ALLIANCE PROGRAM
What is LEAP?
The goal of the Laboratories and Educators Alliance Program (LEAP) is to facilitate collaborative research between academia and forensic science laboratories. This joint effort between the American Society of Crime Lab Directors (ASCLD) and the Council of Forensic Science Educators (COFSE) identifies forensic science needs and provides a platform for laboratories, researchers, and students to seek projects aligning with their mutual research capabilities.
A Picture of Success
Watch below to see how the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Washburn University have established a successful and mutually beneficial research partnership.
LEAP PARTNERS
Approximately 100 LEAP Participating Labs and Universities!
Click on the Map above to find potential forensic research partners near you
LEAP SIGN-UP
Interested in a research partnership with a University? Want to host an intern? Sign up for the LEAP program today by clicking the appropriate button below, completing the form, and returning it to the ASCLD FRC.
Validation & Evaluation Repository
The ASCLD Forensic Research Committee is proud to announce the launch of the Validation and Evaluation Repository. The goal of this activity is share information about important Validations and Evaluations.
Future Forensics:
Research Executive Summaries
The Future Forensics Subcommittee of the ASCLD Forensic Research Committee (FRC) has initiated the publication of brief executive summaries of the recent literature within the forensic sciences. The initial source of the executive summaries is the proceedings of the triannual 19th INTERPOL International Forensic Science Manager’s Symposium literature reviews, originally published by INTERPOL here. These reviews are also now published as open access manuscripts in FSI:Synergy.
The following links to the executive summaries (usually 3-5 pages in length) are written by ASCLD members and are meant to provide a brief overview of the most noteworthy publications and trends in the literature within the last 3 years (2016-2019), including references. A link to each of the original INTERPOL review article is also found within the executive summary.
The current list of eight (8) executive summaries include reviews in the areas of fingermarks, controlled substances, paint and glass evidence, forensic toxicology, forensic biology, gunshot residue analysis, and firearms and toolmarks.
Additional INTERPOL reviews can be found on the FSI:Synergy website here.
If any ASCLD member would like to volunteer to author an executive summary of any of the other areas within the list of INTERPOL reviews, please contact Jose Almirall, Chair of the Future Forensics Subcommittee at: almirall@nullfiu.edu.
Forensic Biology
Forensic Biology
Gunshot Residue
Gunshot Residue
Firearms
Firearms
Friction Ridge
Friction Ridge
Paint & Glass
Paint & Glass
Seized Drugs
Seized Drugs
Toxicology
Toxicology
DART-MS
DART-MS
RESEARCH RESOURCES
Forensic Research Committee Bulletins
- FRC Bulletin 1 - December 2019
- FRC Bulletin 2 - February 2020
- FRC Bulletin 3 - July 2020
- FRC Bulletin 4 - September 2020
- FRC Bulletin 5 - December 2020
- FRC Bulletin 6 - April 2021
- FRC Bulletin 7 - August 2021
- FRC Bulletin 8 - February 2022
Previous Webinars
- Using Mixture Models to Examine Group Differences: An Illustration Involving the Perceived Strength of Forensic Science Evidence
- Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Black Box Study
- A Survey of Fingerprint Examiners’ Attitudes towards Probabilistic Reporting
- Algorithms in Forensic Science: Challenges, Considerations, and a Path Forward
- Assessing Footwear Examiner Performance
- IRT for Forensics
- Handwriting Analysis at CSAFE
- Treatment of Inconclusive Results in Error Rates of Firearm Studies
- Opioid Crisis – A Public Health Enemy Webinar Series: Identify Synthetic Opioids using Ambient Ionization TOF-MSM
- Developing Probe Capture NGS Systems for Forensics
- Stable Isotope Forensics & Unknown Persons Investigations
- Error & Uncertainty in Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
- Utilization of Organic Constituents into GSR Analysis
- The Critical Role of SNPs in the Future of Forensics
- Sure Footing: Fundamental Forensic Science Research – Part I
- Sure Footing: Fundamental Forensic Science Research-Part II
- Regioisomer Differentiation for Substances Using GC-IR
- Proteomics – Multiplex Assay to Identify Biological Stains
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