Letter from the Editor

Dear ISHI Report Readers,

We hope you are staying well as summer draws to a close.

There is still time to register for ISHI 32 with options to attend either in person at the Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Florida or virtually. Virtual attendees can choose to participate in the general session or select workshops for a nominal fee. Complete details can be found at www.ishinews.com.

This year’s general session will feature some amazing talks including in depth accounts of the challenges posed when identifying casualties from the attacks on 9/11. We’ll hear personal accounts from forensic scientists who worked with samples recovered from Ground Zero, the Pentagon and Flight 93. They will share lessons learned and describe advances made because of these efforts. Additional talks will cover the use of Forensic Genetic Genealogy to solve cold cases, real world applications of Rapid DNA analysis, and new forensic technologies. Visit the symposium website to see the complete list of speakers and topics.

Guest authors in this issue include Nicole Novroski who describes the research her lab is undertaking to explore how well phenotyping prediction models hold up in admixed populations. This work has important implications as phenotyping becomes more widely used in forensic science.

Ken Doyle explores how new technologies are resolving decades old cases at AFDIL, Armed Forces DNA Identification Lab. As new techniques are incorporated into AFDILs workflow, samples which previously provided no useful genetic information are leading to DNA identifications.

Finally, W. Mark Dale shares how the work of the KADAP committee, formed in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks lead to recommendations useful for other mass disasters. Mr. Dale retired from the New York State Police after 30 years as the Director of Laboratories.

We hope you enjoy the September issue. As always, we welcome your ideas and written contributions to our publication.

Stay well,

The Editorial Board