(Washington, DC) – Next week, the District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) and Department of Forensic Sciences (DFS) are participating in the 77th Annual Scientific Conference of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) from February 17-22, 2025, in Baltimore, Maryland.

Led by Dr. Francisco J. Diaz, Chief Medical Examiner and Interim Director of DFS, OCME and DFS scientists will lead 14 speaking presentations and poster displays on topics including: medicolegal investigation, medicolegal education, forensic photography, activity-level proposition in DNA analysis, mitigating potential bias on forensic testing plans, drug-use trends within DC, crime laboratory independence, achieving ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation, and DNA backlog reduction.

"This conference provides a crucial platform for sharing OCME and DFS’s advances in forensic science methodology and standards," said Dr. Diaz. "Our research directly supports the District of Columbia public safety partners and stakeholders and strengthens the scientific foundation of forensic evidence analysis."

Key presentations include:

• Bulletproof Heart: Defying the Odds with an Embedded Remote Projectile
• Death by Self-Inflicted Captive Bolt Device
• Driving the Influence Snapshot: Uncovering Drug Prevalence Trends in Washington, DC
• The Remarkable Redemption of a Lost Latent Fingerprint Unit
• The Benefits and the Challenges of an Independent Crime Lab
• A Unique Approach to Developing Impactful, Strategic Testing Plans While Minimizing Cognitive Bias
• Achieving Accreditation Through Collaboration
• Back to the Future: Applying Decades-Old Probabilistic Models to Today’s DNA Results when Activities are of Interest

OCME and DFS participation underscores the agencies’ commitment to advancing forensic science through rigorous research and the development of evidence-based standards.

In January 2025, the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board (ANAB) reaccredited the DFS Latent Fingerprint Unit (LFU). The process included a meticulous review of policies and procedures, aligned with best practices. In addition to the reaccreditation for the LFU, the Department’s Forensic Biology and Forensic Chemistry Units maintained their accreditation by ANAB.