Just Science

In episode two of our Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project mini season, Just Science sat down with Samantha Charm, Christina Melander, Lauren Vollinger, and Brianna D’Arcangelo, research public health analysts at RTI International, to discuss a project which focuses on economic empowerment for those who have experienced human trafficking as part of the larger Human Trafficking Po...

In episode one of our Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project mini season, Just Science sat down with Elizabeth Tibaduiza and Christina Melander, research public health analysts from RTI, as well as Ada Pecos Melton and Rita Martinez, President and Vice President of American Indian Development Associates, to discuss a formative evaluation of the Demonstration Grants to Strengthen th...

In the final episode of our Trauma-Informed Research Methods mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Noni Gaylord-Harden, a researcher from Texas A&M University, and Dr. Vicki Johnson-Lawrence, a researcher from RTI International, to discuss how to thoughtfully conduct research outreach and dissemination in a community setting. At the initial stages of community-based research, it is important...

In episode three of our Trauma-Informed Research Methods mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Rebecca Campbell, Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University, to discuss the importance of taking a trauma-informed approach when managing a research team. For research staff who are regularly exposed to traumatic material, it can be difficult to recognize and respond to signs of their ow...

In episode two of our Trauma-Informed Research Methods mini season, Just Science sat down with Katherine Bright, a sexual violence researcher, to discuss the importance of prioritizing trauma-informed data collection methods. Researchers are often conditioned to collect data in a way that minimizes methodological error and prioritizes scientific output. As a result, there is a need to reevaluate r...

In episode one of our Trauma-Informed Research Methods mini season, Drs. Jaclyn Houston-Kolnik, Hannah Feeney, and Rebecca Pfeffer, research scientists at RTI International, sat down to discuss incorporating trauma-informed practices when conducting research. Given the prevalence of trauma among the population, it is important for researchers to be mindful and aware of trauma in their research par...

In the final episode of our Resilient Leadership mini season, Just Science sat down with Brian Hoey from the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crime Laboratory to discuss the importance of practicing good followership within a resilient workplace. In the field of forensic science, there is often an emphasis on practicing good leadership, while few resources are devoted to cultivating good followership...

In episode 3 of our Resilient Leadership mini season, Just Science sat down with Jody Wolf, Crime Lab Administrator for the Phoenix Police Department; Tim Scanlan, president of Forensic Analysis, Consulting, and Training, LLC; and Mikalaa Martin, Forensic Scientist at RTI International to highlight the impact of human factors on forensic DNA interpretation. Human factors research is a discipline t...

In episode 2 of our Resilient Leadership mini season, Just Science sat down with Henry Maynard to discuss the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD) Forensic Research Committee (FRC). As researchers work to create better tools and technologies for the forensic science community, it is crucial that they are able consult with practicing forensic professionals to better understand the...

In episode one of our Resilient Leadership mini season, Just Science sat down with Jamilla Dick-Quashie, Director of Health and Safety, and Meredith Rosenberg, the Department of Forensic Biology Deputy Director, with the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) to discuss their most successful strategies for creating a resilient workplace in the field of forensic science. In general,...

In this Special Release episode, Just Science sat down with Dr. Mohammed Almazrouei, a forensic practitioner with the Abu Dhabi Police, to discuss his dissertation work, which examines how workplace stressors may affect decision-making in the field of forensic science. In their daily jobs, forensic science practitioners are tasked with making countless decisions that could make a large impact on p...

In episode four of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Mark Pooley, founder of Native Search Solutions, to discuss how the challenges faced by indigenous communities impact sexual assault investigations. In the United States, many indigenous communities are geographically isolated, which contributes to a lack of resources such as police staff and trainin...

In episode three of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Orlando Salinas, Lieutenant Trampas Gooding, and Jennifer Pollock from the Texas Department of Public Safety to discuss how statutes regarding lawfully owed DNA and familial DNA searches are utilized in sexual assault investigations. When an unknown DNA profile is found in samples collected within a...

In episode two of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, the Associate Dean of the Brigham Young University College of Nursing, to discuss the factors that contribute to low prosecution rates for sexual assault cases. In our last episode, Dr. Valentine highlighted the importance of sexual assault kit submission and DNA evidence as the g...

In episode one of our 2023 Sexual Assault Awareness Month mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Julie Valentine, a certified Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, to discuss how large-scale data collection can provide a better understanding of sexual assault cases and improve sexual assault response practices, policy, and education. Throughout her career, Dr. Valentine identified a gap in data-driv...

In episode four of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Bridget Kinnier and Bethany Smith, the President and Executive Director of the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI), to discuss the importance of standardization and accreditation within the medicolegal death investigator community. Because of the complex and multidiscipli...

In episode three of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Rebecca Reid, Laramie County Coroner in Wyoming, and Meghan Clarke, Family Advocate Coordinator at the Denver Office of the Medical Examiner, to discuss the development of new roles in medicolegal death investigation (MDI) offices that focus on providing support to the families of decedents....

In episode two of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Lindsey McNaughton, founder of the National Association of Forensic Autopsy Technicians, to discuss the importance of forensic autopsy technicians, and her efforts to create more resources for this community. When someone dies unexpectedly or of unnatural causes, performing a full autopsy exami...

In episode one of our Supporting Medicolegal Death Investigators mini season, Just Science sat down with Cory Russo, Medical Examiner Investigator at the Utah State Office of the Medical Examiner, and Chelsea Brown, Senior Deputy Coroner at the Orange County Coroner’s Office, to discuss how internship programs at medical examiner and coroner’s offices can be a great way to pursue a career in the f...

In episode four of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Katharine Pope, a Research Public Health Analyst at RTI International, and Elissia Conlon, a Special Advisor to the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, to discuss mass fatality incident management and disaster victim identification. A mass fatality incident includes any incident where there are en...

In episode three of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Mark Pooley, founder of Native Search Solutions, and Dustin Driscoll, Research Public Health Analyst at RTI International, to discuss the many barriers faced by indigenous communities when it comes to identifying missing and murdered persons. In order to properly investigate cases of missing and murdered ind...

In episode two of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Neal Parsons, a Research Forensic Scientist at RTI International, to discuss how rapid DNA analysis has become an important method for identifying unknown human remains, especially in cases of mass fatality. Rapid DNA analysis is a fully automated process of developing DNA profiles without the need for a DNA l...

In episode one of our Unidentified Human Remains mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Kenneth Aschheim, Assistant Chief Forensic Odontologist for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, to discuss how dental evidence can be used to help identify human remains. Due to their strength, heat resistance, and lack of decomposition over time, teeth are one of the most resilient substan...

In the final episode of our Case Studies: Part 2 mini season, Just Science sat down with Dr. Thomas Gilson, Dr. Harmeet Kaur, and Hristina Lekova with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, to discuss a puzzling case in which the identity of a decedent from 2014 still remains unknown. Since 2011, it has been uncommon for the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office to have a case in which...

In episode three of our Case Studies: Part 2 mini season, Just Science sat down again with Jason Moran, Commander of Police at the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, to continue discussing how his Forensic Services Initiative team re-opened the John Wayne Gacy case, in attempt to identify the eight remaining victims. Once Commander Moran’s cold case unit announced the re-opening of the Gacy case, his t...