AAFS 2025: Heidi Eldridge Talks About Funding Issues in Forensic Science

Whenever there is a change in leadership of Washington D.C., there is a certain degree of change that comes with it. Some of those changes go unnoticed in the daily lives of Americans, whereas some changes are noticeable quickly.

One change that has the forensic science field in a state of uncertainty is the pause or cutting of funding for scientific research (1). Funding has always been an issue in forensic science and other scientific disciplines, but it has become an even greater challenge as the federal government has cut or paused federal grants for scientific research (1). That has left agencies and laboratories unable to purchase the new equipment they want to conduct their research or find a way to conduct research without the latest equipment.

At the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Conference, Heidi Eldridge, who is a Certified Latent Print Examiner and the Director of Crime Scene Investigations at George Washington University, observed that these funding uncertainties led to talks getting canceled as funding issues prevented some from traveling to Baltimore for the AAFS Conference.

“Agencies are trying to do more with less,” Eldridge said to Spectroscopy. “There’s always new technology coming out that people want to use, and they want to get the latest tool to use, but those things are very expensive.”

Heidi Eldridge holds an MS in Biology from Duke University and a PhD in Forensic Science from the University of Lausanne (2). With over 11 years in forensic laboratories and seven as a researcher at RTI International, Eldridge’s work spans latent print analysis, palmar comparisons, and human factors in forensic science (1). She chairs the Friction Ridge Consensus Body of the ASB, serves on multiple boards, and is a Certified Latent Print Examiner (1). Dr. Eldridge is a Fellow of the AAFS and a peer reviewer for several forensic journals, contributing significantly to standardization and error reduction in forensic science (1).

In this video clip, Eldridge identifies three main challenges in the forensic science field: funding constraints, effective communication of results, and the implementation of new standards.

This interview is part of our coverage of the AAFS Conference. To view more of our coverage from AAFS, click here.

References

1. Seminera, M. Universities Are Facing Big Cuts to Research Funding. At Duke, it’s a time for ‘Damage Control’. AP News. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/trump-cuts-research-funding-nih-duke-7f24b33bbad54490583520536ab40e0c (accessed 2025-03-17)
2. George Washington University, Heidi Eldridge. GWU.edu. Available at: https://forensicsciences.columbian.gwu.edu/heidi-eldridge (accessed 2025-03-17).