Forensic Science Seminar Series

Past Guest Speakers

Feb 11th @ 10am: “Forensic Photography”

Keith Mancini has been a Forensic Photographer for the Westchester County, NY Forensic Lab for the past 22 years. He graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Photographic Communications (BioMed Photo for short). Keith is certified as a Forensic Photographer and Forensic Video Examiner by the International Association for Identification. Keith is also a member of the National Institute of Justice’s Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) Video and Image Analysis Subcommittee, and a member of the Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) where he serves on the Photography task groups.

Feb 18th @ 10am: “Detection of biological fluids of human origin by forensic SERATEC products.”

Gabriela Roca, PhD is a Senior Scientist and Scientific Affairs Coordinator at SERATEC Gesellschaft für Biotechnologie mbH in Goettingen, Germany. She holds a doctorate in Genetics from the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil in partnership with the University of Bath, United Kingdom. Her background in genetics and her extensive experience in multidisciplinary research have allowed her to integrate quickly and collaborate with different universities, forensic institutions and police departments, both in Germany and internationally. Gabriela is actively involved in new product development and validation projects on forensically relevant protein markers and their applicability for laboratory and crime scene, as well as their compatibility with the established techniques of forensic DNA analysis. Gabriela started to work in 2015, as Research & Development Project Manager for SERATEC® GmbH, a Biotechnology research spin-off company in Goettingen, Germany. In addition, she also gives workshops, trains, and supervises activities that support the merging or integration of the academic community with the private sector.

Mar 9th @ 10am: “ A new paradigm in forensic sciences: research towards estimating the age of fingerprints at crime scenes”

Dr. Joseph De Alcaraz-Fossoul’s professional and educational careers have developed in three different countries in the public and private sectors since 1996. He earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology in the UK (University of Liverpool) and a M.S. in Criminalistics in Catalonia (University of Barcelona). Professionally, he held a Post-Doc position at the Biomedical Research Institute of Barcelona (IRBB) and as Forensic Scientist at the Catalonia Police (Mossos d'Esquadra) for nearly 10 years. He has lectured forensic science at the University of Barcelona, California State University-Los Angeles, and Arizona State University before his current position at the University of New Haven (Connecticut). He also directs an international scientific research project on latent fingerprint aging processes. He is actively involved in the forensic science community and is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the International Association for Identification.

Mar 22nd @ 1pm (Tiernan 209): “Forensic Histopathology”

Andrew Falzon, MD, is a native of Malta. He graduated from the University of Malta, School of Medicine in 1986 and received a Master’s degree in Anatomy from the University of Mississippi Medical Center, followed by a 4-year residency program in Anatomic and Clinical Pathology at the same institution. In 1996 he did his Forensic Pathology Training at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. From 1999 to 2001 he worked as an Associate Medical Examiner with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, in Atlanta, GA. In 2001 he was hired as an Assistant Medical Examiner in Middlesex County, NJ, and was later appointed County Medical Examiner for Middlesex in 2007. In 2015 he was appointed State Medical Examiner for the State of New Jersey. He is certified by the American Board of Pathology in Anatomic, Clinical and Forensic Pathology. He is a Member of the American Academy of Forensic Science, Fellow of the National Association of Medical Examiners and a Member of the American Association of Suicidology.

Mar 30th @ 10am: “Trade Enforcement at the US Customs and Border Protection Lab”

Eric Press, PhD, is a chemist with the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) New York Laboratory. The Laboratories and Scientific Services is the forensic and scientific arm of US CBP, providing forensic and scientific testing in the area of trade enforcement, weapons of mass destruction, intellectual property rights, and narcotics enforcement. US CBP Scientific Services coordinates technical and scientific support to all CBP trade and border protection activities. Dr. Press received his PhD in chemistry from The Johns Hopkins University and works in the food group of the CBP lab focusing on trade enforcement relating to imported food.

Apr 22nd @ 10am: “Forensic Science and the International Committee of the Red Cross”

Sarah Ellingham, PhD, is a Forensic Coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In her six years with the ICRC Sarah has worked in several contexts in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, and is currently based in Syria. Sarah is a forensic anthropologist certified by the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (RAI), a Steering Committee Member of the British Association for Forensic Anthropology (BAFA) and an active member of the Interpol DVI Sub-Working Group for Anthropology and Pathology. Sarah obtained her PhD on the biochemical analysis of burnt bone from Teesside University in 2015. Her research interests mainly focus on the analysis of burnt remains, disaster victim identification and forensic humanitarian action.

Contact Prof. David Fisher (dfisher@njit.edu) for more information.