Letter from the Editor

May tends to arrive in forensic science laboratories with a particular kind of energy. ISHI 37 is coming into focus on the calendar, abstract deadlines are circulating, and the conversations that will define October in Providence are already taking shape. This issue of The ISHI Report arrives in that window.

The pieces gathered here are each distinct in topic and scope, but taken together they are asking some version of the same question: in a field being reshaped by new tools, persistent resource pressures, and shifting expectations, what does the human contribution actually consist of? And how do we protect it?

That question is posed most directly in Keeping Humans in the Loop Is Not Enough, an article by Dr. Niki Osborne of The New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science. Dr. Osborne writes from the uncomfortable position of someone who uses AI tools daily and is watching herself be changed by them. Her argument is not against AI. It is for something more specific: preserving the human expertise required to understand, challenge, and take responsibility for the outputs those tools produce. Forensic workflows carry a higher consequence profile than most professional settings, and her piece does not flinch from that reality. For any laboratory in the middle of AI adoption decisions right now, it is worth reading carefully.

The human dimension of leadership is at the center of You Don't Just Change Jobs. You Change Professions. Members of the Forensic Leadership Alliance, Dr. Pam Marshall, Julie Sikorsky, Ray Wickenheiser, and John Collins, gathered recently on the podcast Crime in the Courtroom to examine a pattern the field has been living with for years: the most technically excellent scientists get promoted into supervisory roles with almost no preparation for what those roles actually require. The skills that built a career at the bench are not the same skills leadership demands, and most people discover that on their own, after the fact, by making mistakes they had no reason to anticipate. The FLA's full-day workshop at ISHI 37 on Monday, October 26, takes succession planning as its organizing question, not as an HR exercise, but as a reflection of whether forensic laboratories are building cultures where leadership is something scientists want to pursue.

The 2026 ISHI Student Ambassadors are at the beginning of that same path. The Science Led Them Here: Meet the 2026 ISHI Student Ambassadors introduces Irina Badell Garcia, Simone Yang, Elizabeth Kowalczyk, Daniel Arend, and Mia Gale. Each arrived in forensic science from a different starting point. Each carries a clear sense of why the work matters. They will be at ISHI 37 in Providence. We are glad to introduce them here first.

The weight of long commitment is made visible in Fox Hollow Murders: Victim Identification Effort. In 1996, investigators made horrific discoveries at Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield, Indiana. Nearly three decades later, the work of identifying victims continues. The piece follows a coroner's mission at the center of that effort, and it is a reminder that some identification cases do not resolve quickly, and that the people committed to them carry the work forward regardless.

On the technology side, the STRmix team shares a preview of what is coming for FaSTR™ DNA. A new version is in development, with major upgrades designed to strengthen the expert forensic witness workflow. The direction is significant for any laboratory currently planning its probabilistic genotyping infrastructure.

The ISHI On-Demand library continues to grow. Three modules are currently available focusing on expert witness testimony, probabilistic genotyping, and forensic investigative genetic genealogy. All three draw on the same practical, candid approach that ISHI brings to its live programming. Access is available now.

Looking ahead, this issue also introduces ISHI On-Demand, a new way to engage with complex topics like probabilistic genotyping, mixture interpretation, and courtroom communication. Designed to complement—not replace—laboratory training, these modules reflect ISHI’s commitment to continued learning that’s practical, candid, and rooted in real experience.

The oral and interesting case abstract deadline for ISHI 37 is June 7. If something in this issue reflects a challenge your laboratory has worked through, a case that has stayed with you, or a question your field has not fully answered yet, that is a reasonable place to start.

Thank you for being part of this community and for the work you do every day.

Warm regards,

The Editorial Board