Announcements

Early reagistration for ISFG 2022 ends on May 31st

Please note that early registration for the 29^th ISFG Congress in Washington D.C. with reduced fees will end on May 31^st. All details can be found here: https://www.isfg2022.org/attend/registration-pricing/ So hurry up, book your participation in the most important forensic genetics conference in 2022, and save US$100!

EAFS 2022 in Stockholm

The European Academy of Forensic Science (EAFS) Conference will be held from May 30 to June 3, 2022. It will comprise topics such as technology transformation, digitisation of forensic process, forensic data science, forensic human factor and forensic social responsibility. The conference is an excellent opportunity to share knowledge, experience and skills by providing a forum for all different parties related to forensic science.

Conference topics will include:

• Digital Evidence
• DNA
• Chemistry & Trace Evidence
• Pattern Recognition
• Scene of Crime
• Medicine & Toxicology
• Legal & Ethical Aspects
• Management
• Forensic Statistics
• European Perspective

You will find all relevant information on the conference website https://www.eafs2022.eu/

ICFIS in Lund, Sweden, postponed to 2023

The 11^th International Conference on Forensic Inference and Statistics (ICFIS2022) at the Faculty of Law, Lund University, Sweden has been postponed to 2023. Details will be given here: http://www.law.lu.se/#!ICFIS2022 This international conference unites lawyers, statisticians and forensic scientists in their interest in optimal reasoning concerning forensic evidence. Technical developments in biological, physical, chemical and digital forensic disciplines are fast and have an increasing impact on law enforcement and the justice system. Examples are DNA profiling, fingerprint and illicit drug analysis, and analysis of large digital datasets for intelligence purposes. Whatever the type of evidence, it can only be of value when it is properly gathered, analysed, evaluated, and communicated by the scientist. Moreover, it should be understood by the legal decision maker. This requires sound statistical and logical methods, and good communication between lawyers and scientists.

12th ISABS Conference in Dubrovnik in June 2022

Due to the Corona virus pandemic, the 12^th ISABS Conference had been postponed from 2021 to 2022, now taking place June 22-27, 2022 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. The International Society for Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS) Conference series is unique in that it brings together scientists from three typically separated but overlapping and synergetic areas of genetics. The three program parts Forensic Genetics, Anthropological Genetics (Program Director Manfred Kayser, Erasmus MC for both), and Medical Genetics / Individualized Medicine (Program Director Tamas Ordog, Mayo Clinic) have dedicated sessions as well as integrated sessions and there is a Nobel Laureate session. ISABS Conferences operate on renowned invited speakers for plenary lectures and open abstract submission for poster presentations with the best submitted abstracts selected for short oral presentations and the best young scientists being awarded the ISABS Future Scientist Awards.

• Invited speakers

• Preliminary program

• The ISABS Future Scientist Awards

Abstract submission deadline is March 15, 2022 (but may be elongated): https://isabs.hr/guidelines-for-on-line-abstract-submission/

Arabian-Speaking ISFG Working Group Meeting 2022 in Dubai

At the occasion of the Forensic Science Conference at the World Police Summit in Dubai (see previous announcement), the Arabian-Speaking ISFG Working Group will hold a meeting on March 15, 2022. Please register online using the following link: https://worldpolicesummit.com/ASWG

Advanced online DNA interpretation course 2021-2022

The University of Lausanne is planning to run an advanced DNA interpretation course (date to be decided) that allows to assess results considering activity level propositions. Spread over 13 months, this 150 hour course represents an average workload of 4 hours per week. The course material is provided electronically, along with full support from the lecturers and discussion sessions. At the end of the course participants will be proficient to report given activity level propositions with likelihood ratios (computed with and without Bayesian Networks). A time-limited version of a Bayesian Network software is provided. The course is fully accredited. Candidates receive a certificate of participation, along with 5 ECTS credits. Further details, where you can also register your interest, at: https://www.formation-continue-unil-epfl.ch/en/formation/advanced-dna-interpretation/ or you can also contact us directly at sefe@unil.ch. Prof. Dr. Christophe Champod, Prof. Dr. Franco Taroni, Prof. Dr. Alex Biedermann, DrSc. Tacha Hicks

12th Haploid Markers Meeting postponed to 2023

Important message: Due to the still unpredictable Corona virus / Covid-19 situation, the 12^th Haploid Markers Meeting has been postponed to May 17­–20, 2023, 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/.

IAFS in Sydney postponed to 2023

The 22^nd Triennial Meeting of the International Association of Forensic Science (IAFS) in conjunction with the 25^th Symposium of the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS) originally due to be held in September 2020 has been postponed to November 20-24, 2023, see https://iafs2023.com.au/.

Gordon Research Conference 2022

Announcing the next Gordon Research Conference Forensic Analysis of Human DNA, June 19-24, 2022, in Mount Snow, West Dover, VT, United States. Congress Chairs are Sarah Seashols Williams and Steven Lee, and vice chairs are Katherine B. Gettings and Titia Sijen.

• Congress Website

It will be accompanied by a Gordon Research Seminar for graduate students and postdocs on June 18-19, 2020, chaired by Tiffany Layne and Laurence Devesse:

• Seminar Website