JFS Update and Call to AAFS 2026 Presenters

Thanks to the ongoing efforts of the Journal of Forensic Sciences (JFS) leadership team, we continue to grow our scientific recognition and improve our performance metrics. Included below are summaries of the key achievements and metrics during 2025, which demonstrate JFS had another exceptionally strong and successful year. Thank you to all who have contributed, especially the JFS Associate Editors and the JFS Managing Editor, to the continued success of JFS.     

JFS submissions continued to be very strong in 2025, with a total of 1,151 original submissions received for consideration (1,600 inclusive with revisions) – a record for JFS, and a 21% increase in submissions in 2025 over 2024.   

JFS leadership realizes the importance of turnaround time (TAT). Great strides have been made over the past few years to improve TAT, and efforts to improve the process are ongoing. A few JFS performance metrics for 2025 are bulleted below. Additional JFS metrics are available here. Note: Weekends are included in TAT stats.

• Average days to first decision:  37 days 
• Average days to final decision:  50 days
• Average days from final decision to Early View online publication:  16 days 

If you presented at AAFS 2026, please consider submitting your research to JFS. The electronic platform for JFS manuscript submissions can be accessed via the JFS Research Exchange submission site,  wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/JFO. The JFS author guidelines are available at: JFS Information for Authors.  Increase the visibility of your research and submit your manuscript to JFS – the official journal of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS).      

The current JFS Associate Editors, together with respective specialty areas:   

• Anthropology – Ann H. Ross, PhD
• Digital Forensics – Doug Elrick, PhD
• Forensic Biology – Mechthild K. Prinz, PhD 
• Forensic Chemistry – Ruth Waddell Smith, PhD
• Material Traces – Brooke Kammrath, PhD
• Multimedia Forensics – Douglas Lacey, MS   
• Odontology – Jayakumar Jayaraman, BDS, MDS, MS, PhD
• Pathology/Biology – Nicholas Batalis, MD 
• Pattern Traces – Anna S. Duggar, PhD
• Psychiatry & Behavioral Science – Daniel A. Martell, PhD
• Toxicology – Marta Concheiro-Guisan, PharmD, PhD 

Due to the substantial increase JFS has experienced over the past few years in Digital & Multimedia Sciences submissions, the JFS AE role has now been split into two areas: Digital Forensics and Multimedia Forensics. Dr. Doug Elrick's AE role will focus on Digital Forensics and Mr. Douglas Lacey's AE role will focus on Multimedia Forensics. 

We are pleased to announce the new appointments to the JFS Editorial Board, which occurred at the AAFS 2026 Board of Directors Meeting. The full JFS Editorial Board is available at: 2026-27 JFS Editorial Board.

• Melissa M. Blessing, DO
• Candice Bridge, PhD
• Nancy R. Downing, PhD, RN
• Mark A. Giffen, Jr., DO
• Lorenzo Gitto, MD 
• Jason Lewis, PhD
• Michelle D. Miranda, PhD
• Rhonda Mittenzwei, MD
• David Pienkowski, PhD, MBA
• Daniel Rappaport, MS

We would also like to recognize the following JFS Editorial Board Members for their service, as their terms ended in February 2026.   

• Peter Alexander, PhD
• Sarah Lathrop, DVM, PhD
• Brandi C. McCleskey, MD

JFS continues to see an increase in content usage and engagement, with full text readership increasing by 8% in 2025 – to a record-breaking 855,900+. Increasing the visibility, usage, and readership of JFS content remains a primary objective of the JFS Strategic Plan.

Author experience continues to be a key focus for JFS. To further that focus, the JFS Editorial Office collaborated with Wiley to migrate to a new manuscript submission platform called Research Exchange (ReX), which has several modules. The first module introduced was the Manuscript Submission module, with migration completed and the new author facing submission platform launched in March 2025. The submission process is more author friendly, designed to reduce the time it takes to submit manuscripts, aligning with our increased "author first" philosophy. 

The JFS Editorial Office has also been collaborating with Wiley on the second module of ReX, Screening and Review, with migration scheduled for 2026. This platform will provide additional screening tools for JFS leadership to determine quality and scope of submissions, author authentication, reviewer relevance, and to help ensure integrity and ethical publishing. The goals of the additional tools are to improve operational efficiency and editorial workflows, as well as an improved experience for the respective stakeholders. Further information will be provided in the upcoming months. 

JFS continued its Noteworthy Articles initiative in 2025. The JFS 2025 Noteworthy Articles collection was available via free access for the months of February and March 2026. The Virtual Issue is accessible at: 2025 JFS Noteworthy Articles. Additional information on the JFS Noteworthy Articles initiative is available HERE.     

JFS undertook a Special Issue initiative in 2025, titled JFS Special Section on Vicarious Trauma in Forensic Scientists, which was published in the JFS January 2026 issue. JFS utilized a two-prong approach in soliciting articles for this Special Issue, i.e., via special invitation as well as a Call for Papers.  The articles published are multidisciplinary and examine how forensic scientists' cumulative exposure to traumatic workplace experiences affects their mental health and job burnout. Special Issues are an effective tool for increasing high-quality content, expanding readership, and enhancing the journal's Impact Factor. Our thanks and gratitude are extended to AAFS Past President Joanna Collins for providing the Introduction, and to Dr. Daniel Martell for his leadership as Special Section Guest Editor. JFS is considering another Special Issue for 2026. Please watch for further information in the upcoming months. 

The JFS Editorial Office continued its Forensic Lab Talks (FLT) Seminar Series in 2025, in partnership with Wiley. The JFS FLT Seminar Series has been extremely successful, averaging approximately 1,300 registrants per seminar to-date. The global reach has been wide, increasing the visibility of both JFS and AAFS. Certificates of Attendance, seen as a value add to potential registrants as well as an incentive for individuals to participate live, will continue to be an enhanced element for JFS FLT seminars going forward.  

JFS compiled a special Virtual Issue in September 2025, to celebrate National Forensic Science Week: Invisible Killers, Inevitable Traces: Innovations in Forensic Toxicology from Around the World.  

JFS continued its social media (SM) initiative in 2025, utilizing the AAFS SM accounts to promote selected articles deemed to be high impact. In addition, JFS continued its "Featured Article of the Week" initiative, highlighting an article in each AAFS Newsletter. 

The current JFS production workflow continues to exceed industry standard export to online publication TAT metrics. Recent JFS articles have been published as early as six days after acceptance. This process modification supports the JFS Strategic Plan objective to leverage modern digital platforms to improve author experience.   

The JFS leadership is excited about further improvements and enhancements scheduled for launch in 2026-27, and we look forward to announcing these developments over the next several months. 

Thank you for your continued support of JFS and its initiatives. For questions, please contact JFS Managing Editor Brenda Peat at bpeat@aafs.org.