Kelly Elkins and Jaden Force Discuss the State of Forensics

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) Conference is an annual professional event that brings together researchers, industry professionals, and instrument vendors under one roof to talk about the latest trends and advancements in forensic science. This year, AAFS will be taking place in New Orleans, Louisiana, from February 9–14, 2026 (1).

The focus of this year’s conference will be on the strong scientific foundations that govern forensic science and the skilled practitioners who apply them. The AAFS Conference theme, titled “Back to Basics: The Fundamentals of Forensic Science,” will emphasize these core principles (1). The theme emphasizes renewed commitment to core principles that drive progress, including standards development, objective application of the scientific method, and prioritizing science over advocacy (1). Equally important is recognition of forensic practitioners, whose expertise, judgment, and well-being underpin reliable analysis and the effective functioning of the justice system across research, policy, and practice (1).

In a preview of the upcoming conference, we sat down with Kelly Elkins, a Professor of Chemistry at Towson University and Jaden Force, a Graduate Research Assistant at Towson University, to talk about the state of forensics and how they apply spectroscopic techniques in their research.

Elkins is a forensic scientist with extensive academic and research experience. Before joining Towson University’s Forensic Science faculty, she served as a Fulbright Scholar at the European Media Laboratory and the University of Heidelberg, completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at MIT’s Department of Biology as a Cancer Research Institute Fellow, and was a forensic faculty member and Director of the Forensic Science Program at Metropolitan State College of Denver. She is the author and editor of eight forensic science books. Her research focuses on applying next-generation sequencing and massively parallel sequencing to forensic samples, forensic DNA phenotyping, genetic genealogy, real-time PCR assay development, and novel bioinformatics tools.

Force began her academic career at the University of Maryland, earning a BS in Chemistry before pursuing her master’s degree in forensic science at Towson University. She is set to achieve this degree in May 2026.

Join us as we sit down with Elkins and Force to talk about the state of forensic science, which offers a look at what to expect at AAFS 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

References

1. American Academy of Forensic Sciences, President's Spotlight—Back to Basics. AAFS.org. Available at: https://www.aafs.org/article/presidents-spotlight-back-basics (accessed 2026-01-23).
2. Towson University, Kelly Elkins. Towson.edu. Available at: https://www.towson.edu/fcsm/departments/chemistry/facultystaff/kelkins.html (accessed 2026-01-27).