Forensic Lab Talks
Free Virtual Seminar
Wednesday, August 21, 2024 | 1 pm EDT
About This Series
The Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS) of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) has joined forces with Wiley to present a series of virtual educational seminars for forensic scientists.
The series will cover a range of topics important to this community highlighting the most recent methods and best practices in areas such as forensic chemistry (covering spectroscopy, microscopy, and other techniques), toxicology, trace evidence, DNA analysis, and many more.
Please Note: Previous Forensic Lab Talks participants must register below to attend this Virtual Seminar.
FLT #8: High Performance Computing Tools to Identify Novel Psychoactive Substances in Toxicology Samples
The unregulated drug supply is constantly evolving as drug producers look for ways to evade detection, circumvent controlled substance laws, and search for compounds with more desirable pharmacological effects. The uncertainty associated with the pharmacology and toxicity of these novel psychoactive substances (NPS) can present significant risks to people who use drugs. It is therefore incumbent on toxicology laboratories to identify NPS as quickly as possible. Identification of NPS in biological samples is often performed by retrospectively analyzing high resolution mass spectrometry data for a specific drug after it has been identified in seized materials and characterized by research laboratories. In some cases, NPS are replaced with newer derivatives before many laboratories can test for the original structures. Using high performance computing, retrospective analyses have been automated in a way that is both scalable and compatible with new artificial intelligence tools. The goal of this project is to improve testing capabilities and reduce turnaround times. During this presentation, challenges with implementing this system and opportunities that can arise from its integration into forensic casework will be discussed.
*A Certificate of Attendance will be sent to participants who attend the FLT #8 virtual seminar live*
The opinions expressed in this seminar are those of the presenter and do not reflect of the opinions of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) or its members.