Standards set the bar for minimum practice to ensure reliability, build trust in forensic results, and simplify the playing field so that the most robust methods are used in the most consistent manner possible. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) administers the Organization of Scientific Area Committees for Forensic Science, or OSAC, which works to strengthen the nation’s use of forensic science by facilitating the development and promoting the use of high-quality standards. The OSAC Registry is a repository of selected published and proposed standards for forensic science, and forensic science service providers are encouraged to implement these standards into their operations.
There are multiple DNA training standards that have been published by the Academy Standards Board (ASB), many of which were listed on the OSAC Registry. One of these standards, ANSI / ASB Standard 115 Standard for Training in Forensic Short Tandem Repeat Typing Methods using Amplification, DNA Separation, and Allele Detection. 2020. 1st. Ed., provides the requirements a forensic DNA laboratory’s training program must meet related to these areas. This document is part of a series of training documents under ANSI/ASB Standard 022, Standard for Forensic DNA Analysis Training Programs, which had standardized the concepts and topics to teach but not the actual curriculum.
In September 2023, Towson University was awarded a Cooperative Agreement from NIST’s Measurement Science and Engineering Grant Program to help address this gap. Our project of standardizing the forensic DNA curriculum and assessment process for the United States that maps to the ANSI / ASB Standard 115 is a collaborative effort that is being built with input from many stakeholders and is intended to leverage the successful training programs from crime laboratories across the country.
We surveyed and interviewed crime lab directors and their designees about how training (covering the entire DNA workflow) is currently administered in forensic DNA testing laboratories across the country and what tools and resources are being used. From our research and stakeholder input, we are creating the curriculum materials on this site and will continue to update them to align them to community needs. We welcome comments and suggestions from the forensic DNA community.
This project was supported by the National Institute of Standards and Technology Award No. 70NANB23H276.
Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials, commercial or non-commercial, are identified in the curriculum in order to specify the experimental procedure adequately. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement of any product or service by NIST or the author, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.
The opinions, recommendations, findings, and conclusions in this project do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of NIST or the United States Government.