Announcements

12th Haploid Markers Meeting 2020

Important message: Due to the Corona virus / Covid-19 situation, the 12^th Haploid Markers Meeting has been postponed to June 9-12, 2021, taking place in Budapest, Hungary. The Conference motto is “Big data – stretching the borders of forensic genetics”. Novel sequencing techniques have significantly increased the body of haploid data and will continue to shape our understanding of extant lineage variation. This also impacts forensic applications. Therefore, attendees who specialize in this aspect are encouraged to submit relevant abstracts. The organizers invite papers on a variety of topics including

• forensic biostatistics of haploid markers
• haploid markers in the courtroom
• evidential value of high-resolution mtDNA and Y haplotypes - new sequencing technologies and bioinformatics
• update on forensic databases
• population structure and inference on its history
• forensic genealogical testing
• human evolutionary genomics
• ethical considerations in the context of phenotyping and biogeographic ancestry testing

All conference details can be retrieved from the meeting website: http://www.hm2020.hu/.

Cancellation of ESWG scientific meeting 2020

Due to the Corona virus/Covid-19 situation we have decided to cancel this year’s ESWG scientific meeting in Oslo, Norway. This is sad of course, but we could not see how the meeting would be successful given the circumstances. We have chosen not to postpone the meeting but instead plan for a new scientific meeting in 2022. We will have an ESWG member meeting at the ISFG congress in Washington, 2021, where we will discuss and decide the host of the 2022 meeting. We are grateful for all the work that our colleagues in Oslo have done on the planning. We would also like to thank all planned workshop leaders, keynote speakers and participants that have registered, and hope that you will join our 2022 meeting! Furthermore, we aim for a webinar in the autumn to present and discuss the results from the ESWG proficiency testing program. More information will follow! (Andreas Tillmar)

Forensic Biology Conference in Poland 2020

Important message: Due to the Corona virus / Covid-19 situation, the NEXTlab Conference has been postponed to October 27-30, 2020! The 4^th edition of the NEXTLab 2020 Forensic Biology Conference, which will take place on May 27-29, 2020 in Uniejów, Poland, see http://nextlab2020.pl. The conference languages are Polish and English (with simultaneous translation). The topics for discussion will include such issues as:

• genetic research (including predictive analysis),
• automation and computerization of research processes,
• forensic DNA databases,
• and many other equally interesting issues related to forensic biology.

ISHI 2020 in San Antonio, Texas

The 31^st International Symposium on Human Identification will be held September 14-17, 2020 in San Antonio, Texas. Twelve optional workshops will take place before and after the general session on topics of interest to both seasoned and new forensic scientists, including Use of genetic genealogy, Implementation of Rapid DNA, Probabilistic genotyping, Leadership and more. Submit an abstract for oral or poster presentation. Oral abstract deadline is June 5. Find more details at http://www.ishinews.com Please note the announcements by the organizers regarding plans to address the COVID-19 situation!

International Conference on Forensic Inference and Statistics 2020 in Lund

The 11^th International Conference on Forensic Inference and Statistics (ICFIS 2020) will be held on June 15-18, 2020, at the Faculty of Law, Lund University, Sweden. The conference promotes the interaction between providers and users of forensic evidence. It focuses on probabilistic methods for the evaluation of forensic evidence, and their use in law and law enforcement. The conference provides a forum for oral presentations and posters. Furthermore, the first day of the conference consists of workshops. Please visit the ICFIS homepage for registration and all further details: http://www.law.lu.se/#!ICFIS2020 Important announcement: The conference has been rescheduled to 2021 due to the Covid-19 situation! See also: http://www.law.lu.se/#!ICFIS2020registration

Summer Course in Forensic Genetics and MPS

A summer course on forensic genetics and massively parallel sequencing will be help by the Section of Forensic Genetics of the University of Copenhagen for 3 weeks in June and August 2020. Week 1: June 20^th - 26^th 2020 (self-study); weeks 2 and 3: August 10^th -21^st 2020 (on campus). The course is intended for master students and includes a final exam to obtain 5 ECTS. The application deadline is April 1^st, 2020. All further details regarding the application procedure, tuition fees, and all practical details can be found here: https://healthsciences.ku.dk/education/summercourses/forensic-genetics/ The course is organized by Niels Morling, Jeppe Dyrberg Andersen and Marie-Louise Kampmann, and focuses on relevant forensic topics such as:

• Crime scene investigation and trace samples
• DNA profiling and weight of the evidence
• MPS of forensic genetic markers (SNPs, STRs, and mitochondria)
• Molecular autopsy (sudden cardiac death)
• Paternity and relationship testing
• Future forensic investigation (prediction of age and externally visible characteristics)

Gordon Research Conference 2020

Announcing the next Gordon Research Conference Forensic Analysis of Human DNA, June 21-26, 2020, in Mount Snow, West Dover, VT, United States. Congress Chair are Sarah Seashols Williams and Steven Lee.

• Conference Flyer
• Congress Website

Important message (17.03.2020): The conference has been cancelled due to the Corona virus epidemic, and will be rescheduled for 2022!

Online courses in forensic statistics and DNA evidence interpretation at the University of Lausanne

• Registrations opened, courses start in March 2020

These courses necessitate no pre-requisites in statistics and are tailored for forensic scientists. They are meant to be practical and help you in your daily work. You will benefit from personal feedback and will be able for example to work on your own casework.

Essentials of DNA Interpretation - short course (150 hours, 5 ECTS)

You encounter challenging casework, are a forensic DNA specialist who is not fully at ease with the literature published on DNA interpretation given sub-source level propositions (e.g., probabilistic software, formulation of propositions, LR), then the course ‘Essentials of DNA interpretation’ is meant for you. For more information

Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Statistics and the Evaluation of Forensic Evidence (470 hours, 20 ECTS)

You want to assess the value of biological results given activity level propositions but are unsure this can be done in casework? You want to further develop your skills in managing forensic interpretation issues from case reception to court and feel at ease with the debates on interpretation issues? Then, you will find more information on our Certificate of Advanced studies here

Essentials of Bayesian Networks - short course (150 hours, 5 ECTS)

You are familiar with interpretation issues and want to use Bayesian Networks in your daily practice? This course will give you a comprehensive view of the use of BNs for the probabilistic evaluation of scientific evidence in forensic science applications. It will provide you with in-depth study of the various aspects that a solid mastery of BNs in practical applications demands. For more information