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Willow Dawn Becker
15 Top Forensic Pathology Professors
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Forensic pathologists bring their considerable expertise to bear on cases that rely on their medical and investigative training to determine cause of injury, death, or disease, and whether a case is worthy of criminal investigation. While the academic path to become a forensic pathologist can be long and arduous, the career can be a rewarding one, as pathology is so essential to the realization of justice.
Here at www.forensicscolleges.com, we have compiled a list of the top 15 forensic pathology professors in the nation, professors who have established their expertise in the field and who continue to advance it, all whilst educating the next generation of forensic pathologists, and shaping the future of the industry as a whole. Come meet them.
Victor W. Weedn
George Washington UniversityDr. Victor W. Weedn serves as an attorney, forensic pathologist, and professor in the George Washington University Department of Forensic Sciences. Notably, he is a past president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). He’s held a wealth of positions over the course of his illustrious career, including work as a crime lab director, medical examiner, and flight surgeon with the Air National Guard. He is the founder of the military’s DNA identification program, developing techniques such as capillary electrophoretic DNA fragment separation and directing the Armed Forces Identification Laboratory (AFDIL), which identified victims in mass graves and the remains of Czar Nicholas II of Russia, among many others.
Judy Melinek
University of California, San FranciscoDr. Judy Melinek is a board certified forensic pathologist who is also an Associate Clinical Professor of Pathology at the University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, where she won the residency teaching award in 2008. Dr. Melinek maintains a blog, named Forensic Pathology Forum which includes updates on developments in the field of forensic pathology, and lessons learned from her experiences as a forensic pathologist and expert witness through her private practice, PathologyExpert Inc.
Cyril Wecht
Duquense UniversityDr. Cyril Wecht is a highly experienced forensic pathologist with both a medical degree and a law degree. He helped to found the Cyril Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law at Duquesne University and is also a clinical professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. With nearly 50 years of experience, he is highly regarded in his field and across the medical profession.
Alphonse Poklis
Dr. Henry Lee
University of New Haven
Jeffrey Barnard
University of Texas Southwestern
Nicholas I. Batalis
Medical University of South CarolinaDr. Nicholas Batalis is the associate director of the pathology program at the Medical University of South Carolina. Having completed his own fellowship in forensic pathology at the University of Texas Southwestern and the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office, he went on to become an associate professor and publish numerous articles about forensic pathology in medical journals.
Michael Graham
St. Louis University School of Medicine
Gregory Davis
University of KentuckyDr. Gregory Davis is the director of the Resident Training Program at the University of Kentucky as well as an Assistant Medical Examiner for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As with many forensic pathology professors on this list, he has consulted on high profile criminal cases. Dr. Davis is also director of the Annual New England Seminar in Forensic Sciences.
Virginia Knez
University of Colorado at Denver
Robert M. Brissie
University of Alabama at BirminghamDr. Robert Brissie is a forensic pathology professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine. His clinic interest includes injury prevention and trauma research. Dr. Brissie is an active member of the medical community, having joined the Alabama Coroner's Association along with the Medical Association of the State of Alabama, the National Association of Medical Examiners, and many others.
Tracey Corey
University of LouisvilleDr. Tracy Corey is a Chief Medical Examiner and a Clinical Professor at the University of Louisville in Louisville Kentucky. She is the director of the Forensic Pathology Division at that university and is board certified in forensic pathology. Her expertise also led to an appearance on Dateline NBC.
Corinne Fligner
University of Washington School of Medicine
James R. Gill
New York UniversityA clinical associate professor at New York University, Dr. James R. Gill is an experience pathologist with a focus on forensic pathology. The list of his professional publications is truly impressive from journals like Modern Pathology and Laboratory Investigation. In addition to his duties as a forensic pathologist professor, he also works as the chief medical examiner for the state of Connecticut. Dr. Gill also won the Distinguished Forensic Science Award from the University of New Haven and the Henry C. Lee Institute of Forensic Science.
Mary Ann Sens
University of North DakotaDr. Mary Ann Sens is a professor and chair of the pathology department at the University of North Dakota’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences. She holds a PhD in physical inorganic chemistry from the University of South Carolina and completed her post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School. She also earned an MD from the Medical University of South Carolina. She’s an expert in renal pathology, autopsy pathology, and forensic pathology. She has served as president of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME), where she currently serves as executive vice president.
Methodology For Choosing the Top 15 Forensic Pathology Professors
In compiling this list of the top forensic pathology professors in the United States, we used a number of metrics. First, the professor must be associated with a specific forensic pathology program. These are not a part of the curriculum at all major universities and a position in one of these programs shows a dedication to the forensic pathology specialty. Department heads and fellowship supervisors were strongly considered.
- Publication:
When looking at academic credentials, publication is always another consideration. The professors on this list have published extensive work in peer reviewed journals that cover the field of forensic pathology, including the American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. Additionally, the majority of these forensic pathology professors have an affiliation with at least one of the two chief forensic sciences associations: the American Academy of Forensic Sciences or the National Association of Medical Examiners. Most have also been certified by the American Board of Pathology, which denotes that they are specialists in the field of pathology.
- Online Community Participation:
Finally, because this is a list of the top forensic pathology professors online, the professors on this list have at least some presence online. While not all of them have a personal site or blog, many of them do. This allows them to share research, news, and other interesting facts with their students as well as the interested public.
Willow is a blogger, parent, former educator and regular contributor to www.forensicscolleges.com. When she's not writing about forensic science, you'll find her blogging about education online, or enjoying the beauty of Oregon.
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