President (2023-2025)

Jason Byrd, PhD, D-ABFE
Professor, Department of Pathology
University of Florida College of Medicine
Associate Director of the William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine

Dr. Jason Byrd is an Associate Professor and Associate Director of the William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine.  He is a Board Certified Forensic Entomologist and Diplomate of the American Board of Forensic Entomology.  Jason is a member of the UF Faculty Senate and is the program administrator for UF’s Veterinary Forensic Sciences, Wildlife Forensic Sciences, Shelter Medicine, and Forensic Medicine educational programs.  He has served as President of the American Board of Forensic Entomology, the North American Forensic Entomology Association, and the International Veterinary Forensic Science Association.  He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Jason has been consulting on forensic casework for over 25 years in the area of postmortem interval estimation and point of origin determination.  Outside of academics, Jason serves as a Medicolegal Death Investigator within the National Disaster Medical System, Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, Region IV, and serves as Commander for the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System.  He is a subject editor for the Journal of Medical Entomology and has published numerous scientific articles and book contributions on the use and application of entomological evidence in legal investigations.  Jason has combined his formal academic training in Entomology and Forensic Science to serve as a consultant and educator in both criminal and civil legal investigations throughout the United States and Internationally.  Jason specializes in the education of law enforcement officials, medical examiners, coroners, attorneys, and other death investigators on the use and applicability of arthropods in legal investigations.  His research efforts have focused on the development and behavior of insects that have forensic importance.

Contact Information

1600 SW Archer Road
Gainesville, FL 32610
352-265-0680, ext. 72217

Vice-President (2022-2025)

Pamela Marshall, Ph.D.
Director and Associate Teaching Professor
Forensic Science and Law Master’s Program
Director, Cyril H. Wecht Institute of Forensic Science and Law
Bayer School of Natural and Environmental Science
Duquesne University

Dr. Pamela Marshall has been involved in the field of forensic analysis since 2002. Upon the completion of her MS in Forensic Genetics in 2002, she worked as a Forensic Scientist III at the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division. While in Maryland, Pam became an expert on sexual assault kit examination and collection practices. She was the Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE) Coordinator for the state, helped to promote 120-hour SAFE collection legislation, and assisted in the training of over 200 SAFE nurses. Pam has also travelled abroad to Luanda, Angola, Africa in order to train analysts in forensic DNA analysis. She has been qualified as an expert witness in the field of serology in Maryland and Texas. Her dissertation was titled “Improved Tools for the Robust Analysis of Low Copy Number and Challenged DNA Samples”, leading to her graduation with her doctorate in 2014 under the guidance of Drs. Bruce Budowle, Art Eisenberg, Ranajit Chakraborty, and Angela van Daal.

From 2014-2018, Pam served as the Director of the Forensic Science Program at the Southern University at New Orleans, a public, historically black college and university (HBCU). While at SUNO, Pam created a state of the art forensic laboratory for hands-on research and experimentation. She has received numerous grants as well as partnered on research projects with other faculty and students. She is an advocate for increasing the number of African American and underrepresented minority professionals in the field of forensic science. In July 2018, Pam became the Director of the Forensic Science and Law Program at Duquesne University, the nation’s only entry level Master’s degree program in forensic science. She also serves as an Associate Professor and holds a courtesy appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Pam has extensive graduate and undergraduate teaching experience in the forensic disciplines of serology, DNA, and microscopy. Her research interests include low copy number DNA, human and wildlife DNA identification challenges, nanoparticle technology, pressure cycling technology, and PCR enhancement.  She is a member or is active in the Alpha Chi Sigma Professional Chemistry Fraternity, American Society of Cold Case Investigators, Delta Delta Epsilon Forensic Honor Society, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society.

Contact Information

340 Fisher Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15282
412-396-1703
marshallp@duq.edu

Secretary (2023-2025)

Lerah Sutton, PhD.
Director, Forensic Medicine Educational Program
University of Florida College of Medicine
Assistant Director of the William R. Maples Center for Forensic Medicine

Dr. Lerah Sutton is the Director of the Forensic Medicine Educational Program at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine and the Assistant Director for the UF Maples Center for Forensic Medicine. As Program Director she teaches numerous academic courses on topics including Artifacts of Decomposition and Forensic Investigations within the Forensic Medicine Master’s Degree Program – a program for which she was instrumental in the design and development – and oversees other program faculty, instructors, and staff. As Assistant Director of the Maples Center she oversees the creation, implementation, and instruction of continuing education courses for law enforcement and forensic science professionals. She is also a Medicolegal Death Investigator for the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System and the Executive Director of the International Forensic Medicine Association. She holds five degrees from the University of Florida: an interdisciplinary PhD earned between the Forensic Medicine Division and the Department of Anthropology, a Master’s Degree in Forensic Science, Graduate Certificates in Forensic Death Investigation and Veterinary Forensic Science, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology which she earned with highest honors. Prior to her academic career she was employed at the Florida District 7 and 24 Office of the Medical Examiner. Dr. Sutton’s research interests and areas of specialization include human decomposition, estimation of the postmortem interval, forensic taphonomy, clandestine grave detection, forensic entomology, and comparative osteology. At the request of law enforcement agencies, medical examiner and coroner’s offices, and academic institutions nationwide, she frequently responds to death investigation scenes, consults on both active and cold cases, and instructs hands-on workshops and specialized forensic education seminars.

Contact Information

1600 SW Archer Road
Gainesville, FL 32610
352-265-0680, ext. 72217

Treasurer

Cait Porterfield, MS
Instructor
Forensic Science Institute
University of Oklahoma

Cait Porterfield received a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Biochemistry from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Science degree in Forensic Science with an emphasis in forensic molecular biology from the University of Central Oklahoma. Her thesis research focused on the genetic, microscopic, and chemical evaluation of processed human hair extensions for their probative value in forensic casework. Cait is currently a doctoral candidate in the Educational Psychology department at the University of Oklahoma with research focused on issues confronting women in STEM.  Cait Porterfield is also a faculty member at the Forensic Science Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma.  Her courses focus on the forensic analysis of fingerprints and the identification of biological samples through serological techniques.  Cait also teaches an Innocence Project Course in conjunction with the OCU School of Law where she works with forensic science graduate students and law students on cases of wrongful conviction.  Cait’s current research interests include biometric measures in forensic science, conceptual change in science, and the woman-scientist identity interference. She serves as the Student Academy of Forensic Sciences Faculty Advisor, the Forensic Science Living-Learning Community coordinator, and serves on the forensic science curriculum council and planning and evaluation committee.

Immediate Past President (2021-2023)

Gina Londino-Smolar, MS
Senior Lecturer
Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology
Forensic and Investigative Sciences Program
Faculty Fellow
Teaching and Learning Technologies, UITS
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Ms. Gina Londino-Smolar is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology teaching in the forensic and investigative sciences program, as well as a faculty fellow with Teaching and Learning Technologies.  She has taught multiple courses in forensic science and chemistry, including instrumentation, analysis chemistry, forensic chemistry, and forensic microscopy for both undergraduate and graduate students.  Currently, Gina teaches the introductory courses in forensic science both face-to-face and online, and works with online teaching faculty through IU in creation of online material.  Since 2006, Gina has been a part of the forensic science program and had direct experience with the FEPAC accreditation process of the forensic and investigative sciences program.  Throughout her time at IUPUI, she has developed multiple courses in forensic science, along with participating in the development of courses taught online to reach out to other student populations.  She has published a laboratory manual, The Basics of Investigating Forensic Science: A Laboratory Manual, for undergraduate forensic science laboratory courses for non-science majors.  Gina has also developed an online forensic science laboratory course for non-science majors to fulfill laboratory credit that many programs outside of science require.  Gina is heavy involved in distance education at IUPUI and with academic integrity initiatives.   She is currently a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and the Chair of the Disciplines committee for the General Section, a charter member of the American Society of Trace Evidence Examiners, and a member of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Contact Information

402 N. Blackford, LD222
Indianapolis IN 46202
317-274-6820
glondino@iupui.edu