Managing Drug-Impaired Driving

 Willow Grove, Pennsylvania toxicologist and PhD graduate Barry Logan has served as executive director for the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education for more than ten years. Toxicologist Barry Logan has devoted his professional life to researching the impact of certain types of drugs on human behavior. He specializes in designer drugs, synthetic cannabinoids, and drug-impaired driving.

Drug-impaired driving is driving under the influence, even if the substance of choice is alcohol, heroin, or marijuana. Drugged driving continues to raise serious public safety concerns, with cases of fatal traffic-related deaths rising.

Reducing the number of persons driving while intoxicated remains a priority in the United States. And while statistics indicate that driving under the influence has diminished over the years, the National Highway Traffic Administration reports suggest that many individuals are still under the influence of other drugs.

Various organizations have worked to reduce drug-impaired driving and introduced strategies such as alcohol-impaired driving laws, sobriety checkpoints, high-visibility saturation patrols, and assessment and treatment programs.

However, some organizations, like the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education (CFSRE) - in collaboration with forensic laboratories and law enforcement - are managing drug-impaired driving through research and formulation of evidence-based public policy for screening and testing drivers.

How Biological Substances Are Measured through Assays

 Dr. Barry Logan is a forensic toxicologist who serves as executive director of the Center for Forensic Science Research and Education and chief scientist with NMS Labs. Among the solutions offered by toxicologist Dr. Barry Logan and his team are bioanalysis and novel assay validations that meet the product development needs of clinical researchers.

Assays encompass any process that involves analysis of a particular substance, as a way of ascertaining quality or composition. Within the mining industry, this substance will be minerals or ore, while in the pharmaceutical sphere, it encompasses specific therapeutic combinations. When it comes to biological laboratories, assays are split into three categories.

Bioassays provide data on biological activity triggered by specific stimuli, ligand-binding assays measure the binding between a receptor and a ligand (molecule that binds to other molecules), and immunoassays focus on antibody-antigen binding detection. Common to all of these in vitro (outside the body) assays is a process of collecting a test sample of biological material and preparing it within a culture dish or test tube. The sample is often purified, in a process that removes unwanted substances and eliminates background interference.

Among the techniques then used for analysis are ultracentrifugation, filtration, and selective binding. After the sample is introduced into a controlled environment, signals are measured within the chosen detection system.

Testing Type Services from National Medical Services Inc

 A clinical toxicologist with over 30 years of experience, Barry Logan serves as senior vice president of forensic science initiatives at National Medical Services, Inc. (NMS Labs). In this role, Barry Logan oversees toxicologist case reviews and provides expert testimony in court cases involving alcohol or drugs.

NMS Labs’ forensics testing services comply with multiple standards and accommodate many object submission types. It accepts biological and nonbiological samples and can create reports suited for criminal and civil litigation. Its legal experts can guide clients through the process of exhibiting evidence collected through NMS Labs for court cases, and its experts can identify legal pharmaceutical drugs and new psychoactive substances (NPSs).

Other testing types that NMS Labs performs include its clinical toxicology arm that can process uncommon diagnostic tests, unavailable on-hand at hospitals. NMS Labs’ pharmaceutical testing capacities can determine a drug’s safety for consumers and execute consumer product safety testing.