Axis Expert Joins Newly Formed Postmortem Toxicology Committee
We are pleased to announce that an Axis Forensic Toxicology subject matter expert has been appointed to a new Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT) standing committee.
Kevin Shanks, M.S., D-ABFT-FT has joined SOFT’s newly formed Postmortem Toxicology committee, which is comprised of 11 forensic professionals who have experience in postmortem toxicology, forensic pathology, and/or medicolegal death investigation from across the United States and Canada. The committee is holding its first official meeting during the 2021 Society of Forensic Toxicologists annual conference in Nashville, TN. Shanks is also a member of SOFT’s Young Forensic Toxicologists committee and Designer Drugs committee.
The mission of the Postmortem Toxicology committee is to serve as a resource for medicolegal professionals and to promote collaboration and communication between forensic toxicologists, forensic pathologists and coroners, medicolegal death investigators, and law enforcement to assist in the determination of cause and manner of death.
The Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), founded in 1970, is a professional organization for forensic toxicologists and chemists. The Society’s peer reviewed scientific journal is the Journal of Analytical Toxicology. The Society will hold its annual conference September 26th through October 1st, 2021, in Nashville, TN.
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National Forensic Science Week
By Phil Roberts, CEO
This week we join fellow forensic scientists across the county in observance of National Forensic Science Week!
What a wonderful opportunity to…
- Recognize the important role medical examiners, coroners, pathologists, death investigators, forensic nurses, and infant clinicians play
- Celebrate the use of proper forensic science
- Appreciate the complexity of medicolegal death investigations, drug facilitated crimes, and infant welfare protection throughout the nation
- Applaud the scientific and technical professionals that serve our communities in this vital role.
Watch for communication throughout the week as we recognize and celebrate together.
Axis is proud to walk alongside you with your casework, and to be your forensic toxicology partner!
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Axis Experts to Present at Fall National Medical Examiner and Toxicology Conferences
By Denise Purdie Andrews
The life blood of advancing the science of forensic toxicology lies in the academic peer reviewed contributions of the field’s rank-in-file members. A variety of forums exist for a laboratory to share its experiences for the greater good. These include published full length journal manuscripts, case reports, and technical notes; additionally, sharing our experiences with colleagues from around the United States and the world is made possible by our participation in various meetings and scientific gatherings. Most often, these take the form of short oral platform presentations, poster sessions and contributions as workshop faculty speakers. The opportunity to do these things is only possible by the diligence, skilled professional competence, and effort of the laboratory as a team. We also acknowledge the collaboration we enjoy with our coroner and medical examiner clients.
We are pleased to announce that Axis Forensic Toxicology subject matter experts have had presentations accepted for national forensic toxicology and medical examiner conferences upcoming in the fall 2021.
Kevin Shanks, M.S., D-ABFT-FT will be presenting two poster presentations and one oral platform presentation on various topics including novel psychoactive substances (synthetic cannabinoids and metonitazene) at the Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT) annual meeting in Nashville, TN in September 2021.
George Behonick, Ph.D., F-ABFT will be presenting a case report describing novel psychoactive substances (brorphine, flualprazolam, and metonitazene) in the setting of heroin and fentanyl at the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) annual meeting in West Palm Beach, FL in October 2021.
We hope you can attend these presentations.
Postmortem Toxicology in Kentucky: Looking Back at 2020
Kevin G. Shanks1, Dr. George S. Behonick1, and Dr. William Ralston2
1Axis Forensic Toxicology
2Kentucky Office of the Medical Examiner
The Ever-Changing Scope of Synthetic Cannabinoids in Toxicology Casework II (2016-2020)
Kevin G. Shanks1 and Dr. George S. Behonick1
1Axis Forensic Toxicology
Emergence of the Novel Opioid, Metonitazene, in Postmortem Toxicology and Detection by LC-QToF-MS
Kevin G. Shanks1*, Dr. George S. Behonick1, and Dr. Lisa K. Mannix2
1Axis Forensic Toxicology
2Butler County, Ohio Coroner’s Office
Case Report: Detection of Novel Psychoactive Drugs in the Context of Fentanyl and Heroin use
Dr. George S. Behonick1, Dr. Zhuo Wang2, Kevin G. Shanks1 and Merrilee Frey2
1Axis Forensic Toxicology
2Office of the Lake County Coroner, Crown Point, IN
If you would like a copy of these presentations, we can provide them after the conference dates. Please email us at [email protected].
The Society of Forensic Toxicologists (SOFT), founded in 1970, is a professional organization for forensic toxicologists and chemists. The Society’s peer reviewed scientific journal is the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME), founded in 1966, is a professional organization for medical examiners, forensic pathologists, and medical-legal affiliates and administrators. The Association’s peer reviewed scientific journal is The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology.
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Kevin Shanks presents to London Toxicology Group
by Denise Purdie Andrews
Kevin Shanks will be giving a presentation on synthetic cannabinoids at the meeting of the LTG (London Toxicology Group) on June 18, 2021. He will be speaking alongside colleagues in the field of forensic toxicology from Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Medical Examiner’s Office, the University of Lincoln (United Kingdom), The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (Alberta, Canada), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The LTG, first established in 1979, aims to promote the advancement of the science of analytical toxicology for public benefit and education. The group is comprised of members from the United Kingdom, Ireland, and elsewhere.
The agenda for the meeting can be found here: Agenda
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From the Experts: Axis’ New Blog Debuts
by Denise Purdie Andrews
Axis Forensic Toxicology, your forensic toxicology partner, is excited to announce its new blog! This new feature of our website will provide an additional communication channel to bring you important information to help you be more productive and effective with your toxicology testing. We are committed to keeping you informed of the ever changing landscape of forensic toxicology. This information will be prepared by our experienced toxicologists and chemists as well as our client service professionals. Articles will include:
- Primers regarding drugs or drug classes
- Statistics and trends for various drugs drawn from our nationwide base of toxicology testing.
- Current event articles, including emerging threats
- Book reviews and links to other references
- Operational bulletins to assist with collection and submission of testing requests
We will begin publishing the blog in June and are committed to posting at least monthly. Our goal is to continue to serve you well, so please let us know if there are particularly topics of interest. We hope that you find this to be a helpful resource to your important work.
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