Who do I get in touch with forscientific research opportunities?

Hi Sadie!

I think it's wonderful that you want to get involved in research. I have worked in two different research labs during my time as an undergraduate student (both of them in the intersection of engineering and the biomedical field) and have loved both experiences very much! The first step to getting a research opportunity is almost always to reach out to a member of the university faculty who conducts research. A good start could be to Google search "(insert University name here) forensic research" and then look for a published website with a list of research faculty on it. Most often there will also be email addresses associated with the faculty, and it would be a great idea to send emails to some professors introducing yourself and letting them know that you are very interested in their research (be sure to include specific details about their projects to show that you have looked into it already). If you are currently enrolled in a college or about to be enrolled in a college, you can also go to the professor's office hours in person or visit the lab. If you are unsure of what to request in the email, you can always ask to shadow some current research assistants in the lab (this is how both experiences started for me!).

I hope that this answers your question! Let me know if you need anything else

Research opportunities abounds and the best way to go about this is to have a clear path of what you want to do, then you write a proposal and get in touch with scientist working in your field. That is the starting point.