AAFS 2025
What is a Deep-Dive Session?
New in 2025, the Professional Deep-Dive Breakouts are designed to showcase content and topics not typically included in the oral scientific session or poster session categories, but are still of strong interest and importance to the forensic and greater professional communities. These sessions are designed to be highly engaging and interactive with the attendees, focusing on professional development topics, technology use cases, and other content aimed at furthering personal and professional skills and knowledge.
Thursday, February 20
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Kris Cano, MA
Signature Science, LLC
Scottsdale, AZJ. Keith Pinckard, MD, PhD
Travis County Medical Examiner Office
Austin, TXAfter attending this presentation, attendees will learn about the importance of documentary standards in forensic sciences, how the standards development process works, and how participating in standards development can help develop skills and abilities that can advance one's career trajectory while also advancing the field.
Participating in standards development is more than just a task; it is an opportunity to shape the future of forensic science and advance your career. By embracing this work, you not only contribute to the quality and consistency of forensic practice but also enhance your own professional growth and leadership capabilities. This session aims to help you recognize and leverage these benefits, turning what may seem like a thankless task into a powerful career-building tool.
Thursday, February 20
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Brandon Epstein, MS
Medex Forensics
Freehold, NJ
Chichi Lee, LLM
Middlesex County District Attorney's Office
Waltham, MAAttendees with a legal background will learn the authentication issues surrounding AI-generated or -modified synthetic media such as photos and videos, including several proposals to amend the authentication rules under Fed. R. Evid. 901(a). They will also learn how to admit expert testimony on synthetic media under Fed. R. Evid. 702, including possible challenges to the experts' qualifications, principles, and methods.
Attendees with a forensic background will learn the issues that may come up in court from pretrial motions in limine to qualify the expert under Fed. R. Evid. 702. Forensic expert attendees will learn how an attorney will present their testimony in court and what an opposing party might contest as to their qualifications, principles, methods. While going through these, the attendees will also learn the relevant technology surrounding synthetic media.
Because synthetic media authentication is new, this presentation will introduce the admissibility of synthetic media authentication in court to the forensic science community. This presentation will allow the forensic experts to: (1) understand if their qualifications and their training that they provide to future experts will pass the legal muster, and (2) allow the forensic experts to have a preview of their future testimony in court; whether they are understandable to non-experts and reliable under the law, with a portion of a mock direct examination. With this presentation, scientists will be able to work with legal practitioners to overcome the hurdles in court and further their trustworthiness in the legal world with this new, developing authentication method.
Friday, February 21
8:00 am – 9:00 am
Prateek Shetty, BSc
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, OK
Keisha Jones, MS
University of Central Oklahoma
Edmond, OKAttendees of the presentation will learn about the impact of breathwork (cyclic sighing) and meditation as methods to mitigate workplace stress in the forensic science field. Data gathered from analyzing variations in stress among students studying forensic science and professionals working in the field before and after implementing the interventions will be discussed along with the future implications and research opportunities. Session attendees can expect to learn the methods implemented in the study, practice them during this presentation, and join a discussion about how these methods could be implemented in their everyday lives.
Attending this session will allow participants to learn about stress mitigation techniques such as breathwork (cyclic sighing) and meditation, which can be implemented in their personal lives and help them combat workplace stressors that come with being a part of the forensic science community. Learning and practicing these exercises can contribute to the growth of a holistically healthy forensic science workspace in the present and future
Friday, February 21
9:30 am – 10:30 am
Charlotte Word, PhD
Charlotte Word Consulting
Richmond, VAJohn D. Schmid, JD
Sixth District Public Defender's Office
Duluth, MNAfter attending this session, both forensic science practitioners and members of the legal community should have an increased awareness of terms and associated language with a high susceptibility of being misinterpreted during judicial proceedings. Attendees should gain an increased understanding and appreciation of the meaning and strengths of the four focus areas to be discussed, along with their limitations and common misinterpretations. Insights into the need for effective training and communications with robust safeguards to ensure the reliability of forensic science evidence presented in court should be gained by the attendees, along with knowledge regarding mechanisms of improvement and potential ways to overcome any apparent obstacles.
This presentation will impact the forensic science community through training and discussions aimed to improve stakeholder competence, performance, and outcomes by facilitating an accurate understanding of common laboratory quality assurance terms frequently misinterpreted in court proceedings. By increasing awareness of the strengths and limitations of scientific and legal safeguards, forensic science practitioners will be better equipped to avoid misstatements and errors in testing, reporting, and testimony.
Friday, February 21
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Catherine Cupples Connon, PhD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, VAAfter attending this deep-dive session, attendees will be aware of key concerns regarding the use of FIGG and the need to use this technology in an ethical and responsible manner. We will discuss: (1) what types of cases this technology should be limited to, (2) privacy considerations, (3) use of approved genetic genealogy databases, (4) the intersection of law enforcement, forensic laboratories, and FIGG investigators, and (5) appropriate and necessary documentation. Last, we will also address the needs for legislation, research, and FIGG certification/training.
This session will impact the forensic science community by offering much-needed guidance surrounding appropriate practices of the emerging FIGG field and its related technologies.