JFS Update and Call to AAFS 2024 Presenters

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS) leadership team, we continue to grow our scientific recognition and improve our performance metrics. Included below are summaries of the key achievements during 2023. Thank you to all who have contributed, especially the JFS Associate Editors and the JFS Managing Editor, to the continued success of JFS.          

JFS leadership realizes the importance of turnaround time (TAT). Great strides have been made over the past few years to improve TAT, and efforts to continue to improve the process are ongoing. A few JFS performance metrics for 2023 are bulleted below. Additional JFS metrics are available here. Note: Weekends are included in TAT stats.

• Average days from submission to first decision:  31 days 
• Average days from original submission to final decision:  46 days
• Average days from final decision to Early View online publication:  19 days 

If you presented at AAFS 2024, please consider submitting your research to JFS. The electronic platform for JFS manuscript submissions can be accessed at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jofs, and the JFS author guidelines are available at: JFS Information for Authors. Increase the visibility of your research and submit your manuscript to JFS – the official journal of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS).   

The current JFS Associate Editors, together with respective specialty areas:

• Anthropology – Ann H. Ross, Ph.D.
• Digital & Multimedia Sciences – Douglas Lacey, M.S. 
• Forensic Biology – Mechthild K. Prinz, Ph.D. 
• Forensic Chemistry – Ruth Waddell Smith, Ph.D.
• Odontology – Iain A. Pretty, D.D.S., Ph.D.
• Pathology/Biology – Corinne L. Fligner, M.D.
• Psychiatry & Behavioral Science – Daniel A. Martell, Ph.D.
• Toxicology – Marta Concheiro-Guisan, Pharm.D., Ph.D. 
• Trace Evidence – Brooke Kammrath, Ph.D. 

We are pleased to announce the new appointments to the JFS Editorial Board, which occurred at the AAFS 2024 Board of Directors Meeting. The full JFS Editorial Board is available at: 2024-25 JFS Editorial Board 

Michael S. Adamowicz, Ph.D.
Anna S. Duggar, Ph.D. 
Erin K. Hanson, Ph.D.
Erin L. Karschner, Ph.D.
Eric Law, Ph.D.
Justin L. Poklis, B.S.
Robert E. Wood, D.D.S., Ph.D.

We would also like to recognize the following JFS Editorial Board Members for their service, as their terms ended in February 2024.    

Joseph Almog, Ph.D.
Tracey Dawson Green, Ph.D. 
Adam J. Freeman, D.D.S. 
Daniel S. Isenschmid, Ph.D.
Robert A. Middleberg, Ph.D.
Joseph A. Prahlow, M.D. 
Charlotte J. Word, Ph.D. 

JFS continues to see an increase in content usage and engagement, with JFS full text downloads increasing by 11% during 2023 – and 86.4% since 2018. Continuing to grow the readership, visibility, and utilization of JFS content is a key objective of the JFS Strategic Plan.  

JFS continued its Noteworthy Articles initiative in 2023. The JFS 2023 Noteworthy Articles collection are available via free access through March 2024 and the Virtual Issue is accessible at: JFS 2023 Noteworthy Articles Virtual Issue. Additional information on the JFS Noteworthy Articles initiative is available HERE. 

JFS undertook two Special Issue initiatives in 2023:  1. JFS Special Section on Fentanyl and its Analogs in Forensic Science, which was published in the JFS September 2023 issue; and 2. JFS Special Issue on Disaster Victim Identification, which has a Summer/Fall 2024 target publication timeline. Special Issues are an effective tool for increasing output of high-quality content, promoting a journal to a wider audience, and increasing a journal's Impact Factor. For that reason, it is a goal of JFS to continue to offer at least one Special Section/Issue per year going forward. 

The JFS Editorial Office continued its Forensic Lab Talks (FLT) Seminar Series in 2023, in partnership with Wiley. The JFS FLT Seminar Series has been extremely successful, averaging approximately 1,400 registrants per seminar to-date. The global reach has been wide, increasing the visibility of both JFS and AAFS. Certificates of Attendance, seen as a value add to potential registrants as well as an incentive for individuals to participate live, was implemented in 2023 and will continue to be an enhanced element for all JFS FLT seminars going forward. 

JFS compiled a special Virtual Issue in September 2023, to celebrate National Forensic Science Week: The Path Forward – Forensic Sciences Response to the National Academies of Sciences Report 2009

JFS continued its social media (SM) initiative in 2023, utilizing the AAFS SM accounts to promote selected articles deemed to be high impact. In addition, JFS implemented a "Featured Article of the Week" initiative, highlighting an article each week in the AAFS Newsletter. 

The new production workflow implemented for JFS has resulted in improved export to online publication (Early View) TAT metrics for the production side of JFS. Recent JFS articles have been published as early as eight days after acceptance. This process modification supports the JFS Strategic Plan objective to leverage modern digital platforms to improve author experience.  

The JFS leadership is excited about further improvements and enhancements scheduled for launch in 2024-25, and we look forward to announcing these developments over the next several weeks. 

Thank you for your continued support of JFS and its initiatives. For questions, please contact JFS Managing Editor Brenda Peat at bpeat@aafs.org.