Just Science

In the third episode of the 2018 NIJ R&D Season, Just Science speaks with Dr. David Carter, Director and Associate Professor of Forensic Sciences at Chaminade University of Honolulu, about his research, “Evaluating the Skin Microbiome as Trace Evidence on Common Surface Types.” Microbiome trace evidence samples can be tracked back to individuals with high accuracy and used to narrow pools of suspects even when multiple people have touched a surface. The potential for microorganisms to reveal whether a particular person has touched an object is substantial. Listen along as Dr. Morgan and Dr. Carter discuss the implications of these findings as they apply to forensic science. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In the second episode of our new R&D Season, Just Science host Dr. John Morgan speaks with human population geneticist Dr. Kenneth Kid, Professor Emeritus of Genetics and Senior Research Scientist with 44 years under his belt at Yale University. With the advent of massively parallel sequencing, microhaplotypes have become a valuable new type of DNA marker for use in forensics. These markers have great potential through MPS not only because their statistical power can greatly exceed that of standard forensic markers typed by capillary electrophoresis, but because they are also excellent at quantifying biologic relationships without having to worry about the high mutation rates. Listen to the discussion surrounding microhaplotypes, from the history of mapping the human genome and the evolution of population genetics, to the implications on forensics that new research in this field is providing. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In the first episode of our new R&D Season, Just Science host Dr. John Morgan speaks with Dr. Bruce Budowle, the Executive Director of the Institute of Applied Genetics and Professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Did you know that if you swab a 1cm square area of skin you'll recover up to ten thousand bacterial cells? Microbiome profiling for forensic identification complements partial or inconclusive STR profiles to increase resolution for human source attribution. Performance assessment is underway and preliminary data indicate that the candidate panel can characterize human-based selected microbes even at initially low abundant body sites. Listen along as John and Bruce explore research surrounding human microbiome flora and their implications on forensic science. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

Just So You Know: In Remembrance of Dr. Cantu This Just So You Know episode was produced in remembrance of Dr. Antonio Cantu who passed away Friday, June 29, 2018. "Dr. Cantu worked as a Forensic Scientist for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and served as Chief Scientist for the Forensic Service Division of U.S. Secret Service (USSS) until he retired in 2007.  Dr. Cantu’s expertise included the chemistry of documents and fingerprints.    With a relentless commitment to education, love of knowledge and passion for his craft, Antonio touched, inspired and empowered everyone who knew him." Please click here to read Dr. Cantu's obituary. Listen along as Joseph Stephens, from the FBI Laboratory, discusses how Dr. Cantu shaped his forensic career and overall outlook on work and friendship.

In episode twelve of our 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 milions dollars a year 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. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode eleven of our Drugs Season, Just Science visits Atlanta for the 45th Annual ASCLD symposium to visit with Dr. Barry Logan, Sr. Vice President of Forensic Science Initiatives and Chief of Forensic Toxicology at National Medical Services, to discuss the convergence of drivers of the national opioid epidemic. Follow along to learn what's in these novel compounds, and why it matters to illicit drug manufacturers, regulatory agencies, and local crime labs. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode ten of our Drugs Season, Just Science visits Atlanta for the 45th Annual ASCLD symposium to talk with the Orange County, California Laboratory Director, and chair of the ASCLD Opioid Taskforce Committee, Bruce Houlihan. Listen along as John and Bruce tackle the nation's most complex drug war front on the topic of seized drugs in labs, and why post-mortem findings, research, and collaborations are hot topics around today's changing landscape for laboratory safety. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode Nine of our Drugs Season, Just Science discusses the Opioid Epidemic with RTI International's Dr. Gary Zarkin and Dr. Jeri Ropero-Miller. Solving the United State's Opioid Epidemic that's riddled with unknowns and inconsistencies starts with a holistic understanding of the pervading issues. It's not just the prevention and treatment associated with novel psychoactive substances, but surveillance, drug chemistry identification, legislative and policy reform, and influential stakeholders acting in a concerted effort that will turn the tide of the nation's most devastating drug war front. Follow along with Just Science as we discuss the opioid epidemic, from its history and origins, to modern day strategies for prevention and treatment that capitalize on the use of existing data and policies to help home in on a national solution. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode eight of our Drugs Season, Just Science discusses research in the area of e-cigarettes with Dr. Michelle Peace. Vaping, the act of inhaling vapor from e-liquid through a vaporizer, or also known as an e-cigarette, has gained popularity in recent years. The first half of the episode was recorded over a year ago. During the second half Dr. Peace will give us an update on where her research stands today. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

How do career trajectories differ for Women in Forensics? It’s not just about showcasing academic rigor, producing great research, and chasing grants. This Just So You Know, we speak with Dr. Campo of FIU and touch on creating women leaders in science, academia, STEM, and forensics, and finding a balance between children and careers, while not sacrificing living other parts of life. This episode of Just Science is funded by the National Institute of Justice’s Forensic Technology Center of Excellence [Award 2016-MU-BX-K110].

In episode seven of our Drugs Season, Just Science discusses with Dr. Nadja Schreiber Compo, an associate professor at Florida International University, her research on the effects of alcohol on witnesses' and victims' memory for events and faces. Victims and witnesses are discredited for being intoxicated, and may encounter obstacles as a result, but there is no science at this point that suggests that alcohol negatively affects witnesses memory for a face. Listen along as the discussion meanders along the research and perceptions surrounding the credibility of intoxicated victim and witness testimonies. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode six of our Drugs Season, Just Science uses the 30-year career of Randy Hanzlick of the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office in Atlanta to explore the field of forensic pathology. Nerd out with Dr. John Morgan and Dr. Hanzlick as they discuss everything you'd want to know about medicolegal death investigation, from the history of forensic pathology, board certifications and standards, to the complexities between the Coroner and Medical Examiner systems and shortages. Also how does this shortage of pathologists link with the Opioid Crisis? Could having more pathologists have helped raise awareness earlier? This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode five of our Drugs Season, Just Science interviews Jennifer Knudsen, Colorado's Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor, and Glenn Davis, the Highway Safety Manager for the Colorado Department of Transportation. Listen along as Colorado's recreational marijuana legalization traffic experts discuss the law and operations of the existence of recreational marijuana and its impact on the transportation sector. They will discuss the post-legalization effects of marijuana on Colorado law enforcement, specifically focusing on driving and traffic topics. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode four of our Drugs Season, Just Science interviews Dr. Carl Wolf, from the Medical College of Virginia Commonwealth University to discuss his NIJ funded research, titled "Liver Doesn't DIE, or at least its Enzymes, and Other Useful Information Discovered while Evaluating the Effect of Sample Preparation Techniques on Matrix Effects and Absolute Recovery of Opiates in Liver Tissue using UPLC-MS/MS." Stay tuned as we discuss the challenges associated with post-mortem work in forensic toxicology to dispel incorrect assumptions associated with how the human body functions in death. Is your liver dead if the cells are still living? Listen along as we explore this question, novel psychoactive substances and more on forensic toxicology and body fluids. This episode was recorded at the America Academy of Forensic Sciences 2018 annual meeting where Carl presented the research at the NIJ R&D Symposium. If you missed his talk please visit forensiccoe.org to watch the archival. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.

In episode three of the Drugs Season, Just Science interviews Alex Krotulski, a research scientist, and Amanda Mohr, a forensic scientist 2, at the Center for Forensic Science Research and education. Both discuss their NIJ funded research titled Evaluating Trends in Novel Psychoactive Substances Using a Sentinel Population of Electronic Dance Music Festival Attendees. Stay tuned as we answer some Electronic Dance Music festival culture questions such as, what do the bracelets that attendees wear really mean? How knowledgeable are attendees about the drugs they are taking? And many more… This episode was recorded at the America Academy of Forensic Sciences 2018 annual meeting where Alex presented the research at the NIJ R&D Symposium. If you missed his talk please visit forenscoe.org to watch the archival. This season is funded by the National Institute of Justice's Forensic Technology Center of Excellence.