This paper summarizes discussions from a virtual roundtable on next generation sequencing early adopters regarding the catalysts and limitations of procuring NGS technology rather than outsourcing it via vendor laboratory, and it identifies opportunities for the in-house adoption of NGS technology within the forensic community.
This document reports on the 2023 virtual roundtable of forensic science service providers (FSSPs) and forensic science researchers, presented by the Forensic Technology Center of Excellence (FTCOE) and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The roundtable included forensic science professionals with experience implementing next generation sequencing (NGS) within their laboratories for practical application. The document notes the opportunity presented by NGS, including that it may offer long-term cost, labor, or time savings when compared with traditional forensic DNA sequencing and detecting methods. It summarizes discussions among state and local FSSPs who possess a wide range of experiences with the in-house implementation of NGS products, and among researchers who focus on technical challenges associated with forensic-specific NGS implementation and applications. During the virtual roundtable, panelists discussed current drivers of NGS technology, current needs for NGS implementation, vendor-agnostic training elements and resources, evaluation of tools and return on investment, proficiency testing (PT) options, and possible paths forward; the document summarizes those panelists’ insights and action items that the forensic science community might take in order to lower the NGS implementation barrier for FSSPs, for the ultimate goal of improving and increasing NGS technology adoption.