ISHI 35 Workshops Announced
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Pre and post-conference workshops have been announced for the 35th International Symposium on Human Identification. Topics covered include probabilistic genotyping, forensic investigative genetic genealogy, leadership, expert witness testimony, and more.
Registration is limited, so claim your spot early!
Shortened descriptions, dates, and costs are included below. For more information on any of the workshops, including speakers, visit our website.
Sunday, September 22
8:30am - 11:30am
AABB Workshop
This workshop will address AABB accreditation topics, including quality systems, standards, proficiency testing, and calculations.
Cost
Standard Registration - $100
Fees include breakfast. The AABB Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories, 16th Edition may be purchased before the workshop at AABB.org
8:30am - 5:00pm
Bringing FGG into the Publicly Accredited Laboratory – Considerations from Validation to Implementation
In August 2023, the Center for Human Identification (CHI) at the University of North Texas became the first publicly accredited laboratory in the U.S. to implement SNP testing using NGS technology for Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG). This workshop will provide the audience with our roadmap and perspective on the challenges of implementing FGG into a public laboratory.
We will discuss the initial considerations and decisions we made early in the process, the benefits and limitations of each approach, and describe the validation, accreditation and implementation strategies for bringing FGG casework into the public laboratory.
Cost
Standard Registration - $345
Student Registration - $195
Fee includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and materials.
8:30am - 5:00pm
Beyond the “Who Done It…”–DNA Interpretation Given Activity Level Propositions
There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings regarding the interpretation of DNA evidence given activity level propositions. Yet questions at court often ask about hypothetical DNA transfers. Many people do not realize that by answering in any fashion, they are testifying about activity level propositions. Often these questions, while permissible in the legal arena, are answered in a manner contrary to best scientific practices. This workshop will demonstrate methods to interpret DNA evidence when questions about the evidence relate to what may have happened. These methods allow the expert to share knowledge using a scientifically sound framework and published practices.
Cost
Standard Registration - $345
Student Registration - $195
Fee includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and materials.
9:00am - 5:00pm
Identificación Genética de Restos Oseos de Víctimas
El propósito de este taller surge ante la necesidad de comunicar y actualizar la información relativa a los análisis genéticos realizados en muestras biológicas tanto en los restos óseos de víctimas en casos de desastres masivos o en conflictos armados, como en los realizados en las muestras biológicas tomados a familiares.
Para ello se dará a conocer el uso de un sistema LIMS de gestión de toda la información relativa a las muestras (datos, análisis asociados, perfiles obtenidos…) la valoración y cotejo de los perfiles genéticos generados tanto en electroforesis capilar como a través de NGS y el uso de software de valoración estadística (Familias, M-FISys).
Cost
Standard Registration - $100
Fee includes materials.
1:00 - 4:00pm
DNA Trainers’ Meeting
Adult learners come with past experiences, may it be from school or from previous work. Meeting your learner where they’re at and tailoring a DNA training program to their needs is very important. There is also pressure to get new staff trained and performing casework as soon as possible to alleviate the laboratory’s accumulation of casework. All this must be balanced with the numerous standards and guidance from the community.
In this interactive workshop, DNA trainers and researchers will share best practices for training new hires in serology and DNA typing. We will share research from discussion with lab managers and DNA technical leaders from small, medium, and large labs on how they conduct training, including their processes and timelines. Sample training programs will be presented, and we will learn how to improve the efficiency and organization of the training process to onboard new hires and get them working on casework faster.
Cost
Standard Registration - $200
Fee includes breaks
Monday, September 23
8:30am - 12:30pm
2025 FBI QAS – What You Need to Know About All the Upcoming QAS Changes and Forensic Rapid DNA
The primary goal of this workshop is to conduct a deep dive into all the changes to the FBI’s Quality Assurance Standards coming in 2025. Changes include portions of Standards 5 Personnel, 8 Validation, and 15 Audits, as well as edits to allow for the future use of expert systems in the forensic standards, and the new Rapid DNA Standards 18 and 19. These new Rapid Standards will consolidate the current Rapid DNA requirements and include the use of Rapid DNA on forensic samples.
Cost
Standard Registration - $275
Student Registration - $125
Fee includes breakfast and materials. Those attending both the morning and afternoon session will receive a discounted rate of $345, which includes both breakfast and lunch.
8:30am - 5:00pm
A Summary of the Recommendations made by the NIST/NIJ Expert Working Group on Human Factors in Forensic DNA Interpretation
In this workshop, members of this EWG will present, from a human factors perspective, their research and recommendations specific to the following key topic areas of interest:
- Management and leadership in a forensic DNA laboratory.
- Quality Assurance (QA)/Quality Control (QC) in a forensic DNA laboratory.
- The current and ideal future state of education, training, and professional credentialing opportunities for DNA analysts.
- The role of technology in DNA interpretation and the transition from manual to probabilistic methods of DNA interpretation in a forensic DNA laboratory.
- Specific interpretation tasks or decisions that DNA analysts may need to make throughout the course of an analysis from sample receipt through the pre-comparison, comparison, and post-comparison phases of interpretation.
- Written and verbal quantitative and qualitative communication of forensic DNA results.
- Interpretations of DNA results considering alleged activities that aim to contribute to questions about how or when the DNA may have been deposited, including consideration of the transfer, persistence, prevalence, and recovery of DNA.
- Although presented in the context of a forensic DNA laboratory, much of the material to be discussed can apply to policies and practices across any forensic discipline.
Cost
Standard Registration - $345
Student Registration - $195
Fee includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and materials.
8:30am - 5:00pm
Designing and Building the Forensic Scientist Pipeline: From Academic Instruction and Outreach to Hiring, Onboarding, Training, and Mentorship
Recruiting and hiring the best quality forensic scientist starts with developing a forensic mindset in students, providing current information for requirements for employment, and setting appropriate expectations. Post COVID low unemployment rates have decreased the availability of qualified candidates as many businesses and laboratories are now hiring. Recruiting the best candidates requires a pro-active approach, including designing and building a pipeline from academic institutions to the forensic laboratory. Once hired, young scientists must be effectively onboarded and trained, hand in hand with the new supervisors that must train and manage them.
Our experienced faculty will create and deliver an interactive workshop, combining their content, examples and exercises with discussions and networking, to share ways to design and build an effective forensic scientist pipeline. This workshop will also include a sharing and brainstorming session to bring real and specific shared challenges from workshop participants to the peer group for illustration, advice and solution generation.
Cost
Standard Registration - $345
Fee includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and materials.
8:30am - 5:00pm
Supporting Your Laboratory During Probabilistic Genotyping Implementation: from Validation to Admissibility
Forensic laboratories are increasingly adopting probabilistic genotyping methods for the interpretation of DNA mixtures. Guidance for the validation and implementation of PG methods is evolving, with new documents being released after laboratories have implemented software. These include guidance from OSAC, ISFG, ENFSI, and NIST.
This workshop will cover the key recommendations for internal validation. We will discuss experimental design to meet the recommendations, summarize published material addressing these key issues, and discuss common challenges to the use of PG methods. Using interactive engagement, we will provide the audience with strategies to address new guidelines and to prepare for admissibility hearings for PG software.
Cost
Standard Registration - $345
Student Registration - $195
Fee includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and materials.
8:30am - 5:00pm
From Lab to Verdict: Navigating the Intersection of Forensic Science, Media, and Legal Decision-Making
A panel of experts in the criminal justice arena will examine jury perception of expert testimony regarding DNA, how it’s presented, and what effect it may have on deliberation and the final verdict. The panel will include former and current scientists, lawyers, and judges. Further, to assess understanding of commonly used DNA terminology and how the media and genetic testing may influence potential jurors, an anonymous survey will be sent out prior to the workshop to those not traditionally involved in the court process or those not familiar with DNA.
Cost
Standard Registration - $345
Student Registration - $195
Fee includes breakfast, lunch, breaks, and materials.
9:00am - 5:00pm
Grupo Cientifico Latino-Americano de Trabajo Sobre Identificacion Humana
Description to be announced. This workshop will be presented entirely in Spanish.
Cost
Standard Registration - $100
Fee includes two breaks.
1:30pm - 5:00pm
Accreditation for Rapid DNA and Tips and Tricks for implementation
This workshop will focus on tips and tricks to implementing a Forensic Rapid DNA Program and include presentations on expanding the lab’s scope of accreditation for Rapid DNA by the accrediting bodies.
Cost
Standard Registration - $275
Fee includes lunch and materials. Those attending both the morning and afternoon session will receive a discounted rate of $345, which includes both breakfast and lunch.
Thursday, September 26
1:30 - 4:30pm
Expert Witness Testimony and FIGG
Testifying in forensic cases can often be stressful for witnesses. While testimony regarding DNA technology has been provided for decades, the recent advancements in Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy provide new and emerging considerations for expert witnesses.
With the rapid application of FIGG and the first acceptance of NGS in a criminal court case last year, there is a critical need to update expert testimony skills. As with anything else, practical experience provides a safe space to make mistakes and ask questions. In this workshop, we will provide a basic overview of testifying in FIGG cases for analysts and genealogists. This will include both the basics of expert witness testimony as well as legal considerations for both FIGG and NGS. Attendees will have lectures, be given a mock case, and have an opportunity to testify amongst other experienced experts.
Cost
Standard Registration - $275
Student Registration - $125
Fee includes lunch and materials.
1:30 - 4:30pm
Practical FIGG Casework Bioinformatics for the Forensic Practitioner
This workshop enables better understanding of whole genome FIGG SNP data processing. Educational content bridges operational criminalistics laboratories and “behind the scenes” bioinformatics. Attendees gain hands-on experience with publicly available tools. In immersive scenario-based activities attendees engage in interactive and dynamic learning. An end-to-end forensic workflow is learned in manageable steps: from raw sequence data through alignment, variant calling, and GEDmatch Pro report generation. Provided handouts can assist with subsequent in-house train-the-trainer efforts. By drawing parallels to familiar processes, subject matter is accessible to the non-bioinformatician. Participants apply advanced open-source tools to mock case data, e.g., allelic imputation, DNA mixtures.
Cost
Standard Registration - $275
Student Registration - $125
Fee includes lunch and materials.
1:30 - 4:30pm
Engaging Collaboration: How to Further Cold Cases with Advanced DNA Approaches
This workshop will provide a template for all stakeholders to further cold case investigations through collaboration across agencies and departments using advanced DNA methods. These methods include a combination of traditional STR/Mito CODIS upload, RapidDNA, and Forensic Investigative Genetic Genealogy (FIGG). Contemporary Missing Persons Day Events and DNA Drives are an important forensic tool. These events require careful coordination between law enforcement, medical examiner/coroner offices, forensic labs, and the public to ensure processes undertaken are within the boundaries of the law and are carried out ethically and responsibly. Successful execution fosters positive interactions between the stake holders and the community.
Cost
Standard Registration - $275
Student Registration - $125
Fee includes lunch and materials.
1:30 - 4:30pm
Technical Leaders Meeting
Description to be announced.
Cost
Standard Registration - $275
Fee includes lunch.